tax implications of self-employed persons - irasoutline • who is a self-employed individual? •...

Copyright @ IRAS 2016. All Rights Reserved

Tax Implications of Self-Employed Persons

Legal Practice Management Course

1

2 Copyright @ IRAS 2017. All Rights Reserved

Outline • Who is a Self-Employed Individual?• Sole-Proprietorship• Partnership• Obligations of a Self-Employed Person• Filing Income Tax Returns• Making Compulsory Medisave Contributions• Keeping Proper Records• Avoiding Common Errors• Penalties• Voluntary Disclosure of Past Mistakes• Seeking Assistance


Who is a Self-Employed Individual?

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• Carries on a trade, business, profession orvocation

• May be a:– Sole-Proprietor of a registered business– Partner of a partnership business (i.e. general

partnership, limited liability partnership, limitedpartnership)



• Self-employed or Employee?

Self-Employed Employee Contract for service Contract of service You are the owner of the business (work for yourself) and are in the position to realise a business profit or loss

You work under the control of your employer



• Tax Treatment

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Self-Employed Employee Income assessable as ‘Trade Income’

Income assessable as ‘Employment Income’

Can claim business expenses incurred against the trade income (subject to deductibility rules)

Can claim employment expenses if • incurred in carrying out officialduties • not reimbursed by employer• not private or capital expense

Trade losses can be offset against other income (e.g. employment, rental)

Not applicable


Sole-Proprietorship

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Sole-Proprietorship

• A business owned by one person or onecompany.

• The sole-proprietor has absolute say in therunning of the business.


Partnership

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Partnership

• A partnership is a relationship between twoor more persons who carry on a business with the objective of making profit and sharing it between them.

• Different types of partnerships:– General Partnership– Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)– Limited Partnership (LP)


Partnership

• The precedent partner is:– The partner who, among all the partners present

in Singapore, is the first named in the partnershipagreement.

– If there is no partnership agreement, theprecedent partner is a partner who is agreed uponand appointed by the other partners to be theprecedent partner.

– For an LP, the precedent partner must be thegeneral partner.


Partnership – Overview

General Partnership LLP LP Not a separate legal entity

Separate legal entity Not a separate legal entity

Partners have unlimited liability

Partners have limited liability up to their contributed capital

For income tax purposes, an LLP will be treated as a partnership and not as a separate legal entity

Consists of: one or more general

partner(s) who haveunlimited liability, and one or more limited

partners who enjoylimited liability up totheir contributedcapital

Partners pay tax on their share of partnership income

Partners pay tax on their share of income from the LLP

Partners pay tax on their share of income from the LP

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Partnership – Comparison General Partnership

LLP LP

Tax Rate Individual partners taxed according to their personal income tax rate

Liability of Partners Unlimited liability Limited to the extent of partner’s contributed capital

General partner Unlimited liability

Limited partner Liability limited to the extent of his contributed capital

Contributed Capital (CC)

CC is irrelevant in determining the capital allowances & loss available for offset against other sources of income.

CC is necessary for application of relevant deduction restriction.

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Partnership – LLP & LP

Deduction Restriction Rule for Partners with Limited Liability • Relevant deduction for a Year of Assessment

(YA) together with all of the past relevantdeductions of the partner shall not exceed hiscontributed capital.



• Relevant deduction– The amount of a partner’s share of capital

allowance and trade loss allowed against hisincome from other sources.

• Past relevant deduction– The aggregate of any relevant deduction allowed

in all past Years of Assessment.



• Contributed Capital– Amount of capital contributed in cash or in kind

(not including any loan to the LLP / LP) that hasnot been withdrawn (directly / indirectly) orreceived back by the partner; plus

– Amount of profits or gains from past Years ofAssessment that the partner is entitled to but hasnot received.


Obligations of a Self-Employed Person

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Obligations of a Self-Employed Person

• File Income Tax Return on time and pay taxpayable within one month from the date ofthe Tax Bill

• Make compulsory Medisave Contributions• Keep proper records and accounts for 5 years• Register for GST if your business revenue

exceeds $1 million a year or if you expect yourrevenue to exceed $1 million a year


Filing Income Tax Returns

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• As a self-employed person, the businessincome is treated as a part of your totalpersonal income and taxed at personal incometax rates.

• Sole-proprietor:– Owner should report business income in Form B– Report

• 4-line statement if your revenue is > $100,000, or• 2-line statement if your revenue is < $100,000


Filing Income Tax Returns • Partnership:

– Precedent partner is required to report partnershipincome in Form P and inform all partners of theirshare of income from the partnership.

– Partner should report his share of partnership incomein Form B. Share of partnership income comprises:

• Partner’s share of divisible profit/ loss;• Partner’s salary, bonus, CPF & benefits from the

partnership; and• Partner’s share of other income from the partnership (e.g.

interest, rent, other Singapore income and foreign income)



REVENUE < $100,000

2-Line Statement

1st line – Revenue

2nd line – Adjusted Profit/ Loss

REVENUE between $100,000

and $500,000 4-Line Statement

1st line - Revenue

2nd line - Gross Profit/ Loss

3rd line - Allowable Business Expenses

4th line – Adjusted Profit/ Loss

REVENUE > $500,000

4-Line Statement

+ Submit Certified Statement of

Accounts (Profit & Loss Account

and Balance Sheet signed by the sole-

proprietor/ precedent partner certifying that accounts are true and

correct)


Filing Income Tax Returns • The 4-Line Statement

1. Revenue Total payments/ fees/ commissions received or receivable for services provided before deducting any expenses

2. Gross Profit/ Loss For a service business: Same as Revenue

3. Allowable BusinessExpenses

Expenses incurred wholly and exclusively in the production of your income

4. Adjusted Profit/ Loss Gross Profit – Allowable Business Expenses



• Business Expenses must fulfill all the followingcriteria to be allowed as deduction againstyour business income:

Related to your business

Incurred in the production of

income

Allowed by tax law


Filing Income Tax Returns Examples of Allowable Business Expenses: • Business running costs (e.g. rental, utilities, book-keeping fees)• Stationery, printing & postage fees• Repair & maintenance of assets for business use• Subscription to professional bodies & trade associations• Cost of hiring (e.g. employee’s salary, bonus & compulsory CPF

contribution by employer)• Public transport incurred in the course of business• Business entertainment (e.g. for customers)• * Capital allowance on fixed assets • * Renovation & refurbishment of business premises (R&R Cost) • * Pre-commencement revenue expenses

* Further explained in subsequent slides


Capital Allowance on Fixed Assets 3-year write-off 1-year write-off • All assets • Computers and

automationequipment

• Assets costing notmore than $5,000each, capped at$30,000 per YA

• Alternatively, you may choose to write-off anasset over its working life.


Renovation & Refurbishment of Business Premises (R&R Cost)

• Objective: To help businesses reduce theirbusiness costs, tax deduction will be grantedon all qualifying R&R costs incurred.

• Expenditure cap on qualifying costs: $300,000for each taxpayer over every relevant 3-yearperiod.


Renovation & Refurbishment of Business Premises (R&R Cost)

• General electrical installation andwiring to supply electricity

• General lighting• Hot/ cold water system (pipes,

water tanks etc)• Gas system• Kitchen fittings (sinks, pipes etc)• Sanitary fittings (toilet bowls,

urinals, plumbing, toilet cubicles,vanity tops, wash basins etc.)

• Doors, gates and roller shutters(manual or automated)

• Fixed partitions (glass or otherwise)

• Wall coverings (such as paint, wall-paper etc.)

• Floorings (marble, tiles, laminatedwood, parquet etc.)

• False ceilings and cornices• Ornamental features or decorations

that are not fine art (mirrors,drawings, pictures, decorativecolumns etc.)

• Canopies or awnings (retractable ornon-retractable)

• Windows (including the grilles etc.)• Fitting rooms in retail outlets

Qualifying R&R Cost Examples:


Pre-commencement Revenue Expenses

• Known as Concession for EnterpriseDevelopment

• You can claim revenue expenses incurred ayear before the first day of the accountingyear where revenue was earned


Pre-commencement Revenue Expenses

Example: • Business was set up on 1 Dec 2013• Accounting year end on 31 Dec• The first dollar of business receipt was earned on 1 Feb

2015 (deemed to have commenced business on 1 Jan 2015)

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1 Dec 2013 1 Jan 2014 1 Jan 2015 1 Feb 2015 31 Dec 2015

Business set up Deemed date of commencement

1st dollar of business receipt

Revenue expenses deductible (Without concession)

Accounting year-end

Revenue expenses deductible (With enterprise development concession)

Revenue expenses incurred during the basis period 1 Jan 2014 to 31 Dec 2014 for YA 2015 are deemed incurred on 1 January 2015 (first day of the accounting year in which first dollar of business receipt was earned) and deductible in YA 2016.



• Expenses are not allowed as deductionagainst your business income as long as theyfall into any of the following categories:

Capital in nature

Personal and private in

nature

Prohibited by tax law



Examples of Disallowable Business Expenses: • Donations to charities & gifts to non-customers• Capital costs (e.g. purchase of fixed assets, hire-purchase

instalments)• Private expenses (e.g. own medical expenses)• Fines for breach of law (e.g. CPF late payment, interest, fines)• Sole-proprietor’s & partner’s salary, bonus, CPF & medisave

contributions• All expenses in respect of private vehicles (even if it is incurred in

the course of business)• Entertainment of family members & friends



Adjusted Profit VS Net Profit? • The following may have been included in the

profit & loss accounts:– Non-trade income– Expenses that are not deductible for income tax

purposes• To arrive at the Adjusted Profit/ Loss,

adjustments have to be made to the net profit/loss to:– Exclude the non-trade income– Add back the disallowable expenses



• Examples of non-trade income:– Bank interest from deposits with approved banks

or licensed finance companies in Singapore (i.e.exempt)

– Rental income – to be declared under “Rent fromProperty” in the Income Tax Return (i.e. separateincome source)



• To compute the Adjusted Profit/ Loss, usethe Template for Computation of AdjustedProfit/ Loss (downloadable from the IRASwebsite)– Can be detached and submitted together with

Form B and the certified Statement of Accounts



Template for Computation of Adjusted Profit/ Loss can be found at IRAS website (www.iras.gov.sg): • Businesses > Self Employed/ Sole Proprietors/ Partners

> Working Out Your Taxes > Calculating and ReportingBusiness Income

• Select Subheading “Preparing the Statement forReporting Adjusted Profit/Loss for Sole-Proprietorship”

• Under Heading “Summary Table”, click on the“Computation of Adjusted Profit/ Loss” hyperlink

(Detailed screenshots in the next few slides)


Personal & Business details

To exclude non-trade receipts

To add back non-deductible expenses and claim for capital allowances

Adjusted profit/loss for 4-line statement

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Filing Income Tax Returns (PIC Scheme)

• Productivity & Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme– Introduced in Budget 2010 and enhanced in

Budgets 2011 to 2015– Encourage businesses to invest in productivity and

innovation– All businesses benefit, especially SMEs (i.e. either

get a cash payout or claim tax deduction)



• 6 activities covered under the scheme:1. Acquisition and leasing of PIC IT and automation

equipment2. Training of employees3. Acquisition and licensing of intellectual property

rights4. Registration of patents, trademarks, designs and

plant varieties5. Research & development6. Investment in design projects



Tax Deductions/ Allowances Cash Payout

PIC Benefits • 400% tax deductions /allowances on up to $400,000 ofspending per year in each of the6 qualifying activities.

• PIC+ Scheme: From YAs 2015 to2018, qualifying businesses canenjoy 400% tax deductions /allowances on up to $600,000.

• Option to convert up to $100,000of total spending in all 6 activitiesfor each YA into a non-taxablecash payout, in lieu of the taxdeduction / allowance.

• For YAs 2013 to 2018, the cashpayout rate is 60% of qualifyingexpenditure incurred.

Qualifying Conditions

• Carries on active businessoperations in Singapore.

• Incurred qualifying expenditureand are entitled to PIC during thebasis period of qualifying YA.

• Carries on active businessoperations in Singapore.

• Incurred qualifying expenditureand are entitled to PIC during thebasis period of qualifying YA.

• Meets the 3-local-employeecondition



Tax Deductions / Allowances Cash Payout

Applicable YA YAs 2011 to 2018

How • Include tax deduction in “AllowableBusiness Expenses” of the 4-linestatement in Income Tax Return (FormB/ P)

• Submit PIC Enhanced Allowances/Deductions Declaration Form for Sole-proprietors & Partnerships (availableon IRAS website)

• Claim tax deductions/ allowances inIncome Tax Return (for Companies)

• Submit PIC Cash Payout ApplicationForm (Online) and Hire PurchaseTemplate (where applicable)(available on IRAS website)

When • Submit Income Tax Return and PICdeclaration form by 15 April

• Submit Income Tax Return by 30 Nov(for Companies)

• For YAs 2013 to 2018: After the endof each quarter or combinedquarters in the accounting year, butbefore the income tax filing due date


Making Compulsory Medisave Contributions

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Making Compulsory Medisave Contributions

• You have to make Medisave contributions if youare:– A Self-employed; and– A Singapore citizen or Singapore permanent resident;

and– Earning a yearly net trade income > $6,000.

• Net trade income refers to your gross trade income less allallowable business expenses, capital allowances, and tradelosses as determined by IRAS

• IRAS will issue a Notice of Computation (NOC) toinform you of your Medisave contributions


Keeping Proper Records

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Failure to keep

proper Records

Revenue amount being incorrect

& under - declared

Expenses claimed

being disallowed

Penalties being

imposed


Hmmm… I wonder what

kind of business records do I need

to keep??

A record of receipts and payments, or income and

expenditure

Source documents substantiating entries in your records e.g. Vouchers, invoices, receipts

A record of the assets and liabilities of your business, including listings of your

business debtors, creditors and cash/bank account balances



Keeping Proper Records Manual Records

Recording of your business

transactions in a physical form

Such transactions to be supported by

source documents

Electronic Records

Through the use of a computer and/or

accounting software

Source documents must be kept to substantiate the

business transactions



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Good record keeping practice is an important part of your business

Better internal control of your business

An essential source of evidence to detect business losses, internal fraud & theft

Reduces cost & effort during collation of information

Under the Income Tax Act, you are required to keep the business records for at least 5 years with effect from 1 Jan 2007

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For professional fees received

You need to

issue serially printed receipts

However, you need not issue serially printed receipts if you

input all professional fees from services provided into an accounting software and

invoices generated for all income transactions and a

duplicate retained

For GST-registered business, to issue tax

invoices as required by GST legislation



Expenses

You should keep proper documentation and records on all your business expenses

You should obtain receipts or invoices when paying for

such expenses



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Source Documents Category of taxpayers for Record Keeping Requirements

Record Type Item No Documents Required GST-Registered Businesses Non-GST Registered Businesses

INCOME RECORDS (Records of each sales

transaction)

1 Serially numbered receipts issued or cash register tapes or invoices issued

2 Tax invoice/simplified tax invoice issued

3 Rental Agreement signed by both landlord and tenant

4 Books to record goods taken for private usage

5 Credit notes for returned goods

6 Documents relating to exports

7 Evidence that payment have been received (e.g. bank statement)

BUSINESS EXPENSE RECORDS

(Records of each business expense

transaction)

8 Invoice received or Receipt received

9 Payment made to individuals/companies for services rendered and the relevant contracts/agreements on the provision of services

10 Payment vouchers for staff remuneration

11 Employer’s CPF contributions

12 Payment evidence (e.g. bank statement)

PURCHASE RECORDS (Records of each

purchase transaction)

13 Tax invoices received, Invoices received or Receipt received

14 Documents relating to imports

15 Payment evidence (e.g. bank statement)

OTHER RECORDS (FOR GST PURPOSES)

16 Business goods which were put to non-business use

17 Disposals of business goods, whether or not for a consideration

18 Removal of goods from customs-licensed warehouse



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ACCOUNTING RECORDS AND SCHEDULES Category of taxpayers for Record Keeping Requirements

Record Type Item No Documents Required GST-Registered Businesses Non-GST Registered Businesses

ACCOUNTING RECORDS AND

SCHEDULES

1 Stock List

2 Sales Record Book/ Sales Listing

3 Purchase Record Book/ Purchase Listing

4 General Ledgers

5 Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss Statement

6 GST account summary of input and output tax, including GST refunded to tourists

BANK STATEMENT 7 Bank statements; with separate bank accounts for personal and business purposes (Recommended)

Record Type Item No Documents Recommended GST-Registered Businesses Non-GST Registered Businesses

ACCOUNTING RECORDS AND

SCHEDULES

1 Detailed schedules of Public Transport expenses

2 Detailed schedules of Travelling expenses

3 Detailed schedules of Entertainment expenses

4 Fixed asset Schedules

5 Records of Capital Allowances

Note: The “required records” are mandatory records that businesses must keep for tax purposes. The “recommended records” are records that the businesses are advised to keep as good practices, and these should be available, or able to reproduce upon request by the Comptroller of Income Tax or/ GST



Simplified Record Keeping (SRK) • Introduced on 1 Jan 2014• Assist small business to make record keeping

easier• Small business* that qualify only need to keep

business records (register, listing) and notsource documents.

*Terms & conditions apply.



Conditions for SRK at a glance: • Revenue < $100,000 for past 2 FY• Business assets < $100,000 @ end of

latest FY• Must not be investment holding or

property development business• Business is a sole-proprietorship or

partnership that is not GST-registered.



Set up good filing system for your paperwork from the start of your business

Make sure records can be understood by anyone

Obtain the necessary source documents at time of transaction

Enter transactions accurately & regularly to keep records up to date

Record business expenses separately from personal expenses


Keeping Proper Records • These information can be found in our

website

• Visit our website at www.iras.gov.sg

• Follow the link : Businesses >Self Employed/Sole Proprietorship/ Partners> Learning the basics > Keeping ProperRecords and Accounts


Avoiding Common Errors

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Avoiding Common Errors

Income Category Common error The right way

Gross consultation fees

Understatement of income

Maintain proper records of all fees received


Expense category

Common errors The right way

Entertainment Not keepingcomplete recordsof expenses Claiming

estimatedexpenses Claiming

personal andprivate expenses

Record all expenses Record the following details: Date and place of entertainment Name of the person(s)

entertained Purpose of entertainment Identity of person incurring it Amount incurred

Keep receipts Claim actual expenses incurred in the

production of income Exclude personal and private expenses

AVOIDING COMMON ERRORS


Expense category


Transport Claiming privatecar expenses Not keeping

sufficient orcomplete recordsto substantiateclaim for publictransport

Not to claim expenses on private carusage, as it is prohibited fromdeduction under the Income Tax Act,even if the expenses are incurred forbusiness purposes Record details like: Date of expense incurred and

destinationMode of transport Identity of the person incurring it Purpose of travel Amount incurred

Keep taxi receipts for verification



Expense category


Personal and private expenses

Claiming personal and privateexpenses as business expenses Examples are: Insurance premiums for

policies taken on thesole-proprietor/ partners’lives

Club subscriptions andentrance fees paid for thesole-proprietor/ partners’membership

Medical expensesincurred for the sole-proprietor/ partners

Income tax of sole-proprietor/ partners

Exclude personal andprivate expenses notincurred in theproduction of income

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Expense category Common errors The right way

Payments to related parties

Making unsubstantiated claimsto related parties (e.g. payingfamily members who are hired tohelp out with the business largeamounts of salary, instead ofreasonable amounts ascompared to the salaries of full-time employees)

Claim expenses incurredfor your business based on“market rate” instead ofdisproportionate amounts

Miscellaneous/ General expenses

Not keeping complete records ofexpenses Claiming estimated expenses

Record details like: Date incurred Name of the payee Purpose of payment Amount incurred

Keep receipts Claim actual expenses

incurred (not estimated)



Expense category

Common error The right way

Depreciation Charging depreciation to theProfit & Loss account

Depreciation is not anallowable businessexpense and must beadded back to the netprofit Capital allowances can

be claimed instead onplant & machinery usedin the business


Copyright @ IRAS 2017. All Rights Reserved 68

Expense category

Common error The right way

Partner’s expenses in Form B

Claiming the partnershipbusiness expenses as your ownexpenses Claiming personal expenses

incurred on the usage ofprivate vehicles (not allowableeven if trips are for businesspurposes) Claiming subscription/

entrance fees to private socialclubs

Not to claim expenses that arecharged to the partnership’s Profit& Loss Account (in Form P) as yourown expenses as a partner in FormB Not to claim personal and private

expensesMay claim: Interest expenses on monies

borrowed to invest inpartnership

Subscription to professionalbodies not reimbursed by thepartnership business

Public transport for businesspurposes (e.g. taxi fare) notreimbursed by thepartnership business



Penalties

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Penalties

• Penalties may be imposed for the followingoffences:– No proper record keeping– Failure to submit income tax return– Furnishing an incorrect return– Tax evasion

• Penalty varies from a fine to imprisonmentdepending on the nature and severity ofoffence.


Voluntary Disclosure of Past Mistakes

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Voluntary Disclosure of Past Mistakes The IRAS Voluntary Disclosure Program helps taxpayers to come forward to disclose errors or omissions made

Timely voluntary disclosures made within a grace period of 1 year

from statutory filing date

Waiver of penalty

Voluntary disclosures made after grace

period

Reduced penalty of 5% p.a. on the tax

undercharged



Qualifying Conditions

For cases already under IRAS's

query, audit or investigation,

taxpayers' disclosure must

NOT be under the scope of query,

audit or investigation

Cooperation received from taxpayers to

correct mistakes made

in the past returns

Disclosures must be made BEFORE

IRAS’s commencement

of audit / investigation or letter of query relating to his assessment



www.iras.gov.sg > About IRAS > Taxes in Singapore > Helping and Encouraging Compliance > IRAS’ Voluntary Disclosure Programme

Tel : 6351 3121 / 6351 3122

Email : [email protected]


Seeking Assistance

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Help Channels Self Help (Record keeping guide) www.iras.gov.sg > Businesses > Self-Employed/ Sole-Proprietors/

Partners > Learning the Basics > Keeping Proper Records and

Accounts > Guides on Record Keeping

Email myTax Mail (a secure email system)

https://mytax.iras.gov.sg

Income Tax Integrated Phone Service 1800 356 8300

Operating Hours: 8am to 5pm (Mon to Fri)

PIC Helpline for Self-employed/ Partnership (+65) 6351 3534

Goods & Services Tax Integrated Phone Service 1800 356 8633

Taxpayer Services Centre 1st Storey, Revenue House

55 Newton Road, Singapore 307987

(Located opposite Novena MRT Station)

Operating Hours:

8am to 5pm (Mon to Fri)

8am to 1pm (Sat)

http://www.iras.gov.sg/

https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/


IRAS Website


Thank you This information aims to provide a better general understanding of IRAS’ practices and is not intended to comprehensively address all possible tax issues that may arise.

This information is correct as at 30/09/2017. While every effort has been made to ensure that this information is consistent with existing law and practice, should there be any changes, IRAS reserves the right to vary our position accordingly.

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