One of the best ways for you to benefit from your daily expenses is through credit cards that reward you with miles every time you spend.
With income tax season right around the corner, miles credit cards would be the perfect way to earn big even when making your annual income tax payment.
The only problem, however, is that IRAS doesn’t allow you to pay your income tax with your credit card – so how can you still earn miles through your income tax payment? While IRAS restricts income tax payment methods to GIRO, internet banking, or payments made through their personalised tax portal, this doesn’t mean that credit cards are completely out of the question.
Related: 5 Best Ways to Reduce Income Tax in Singapore (2024)
There are still two main ways for credit card payments:
- Make a direct income tax payment through the CardUp platform
- Make an indirect tax payment through your bank’s tax facility. In this case, your payment amount will be credited to your bank account, after which it is your responsibility to arrange for payment directly to IRAS.
We will look at both of these methods in-depth below.
Table of Contents
- Income Tax Payments with CardUp
- How CardUp Works
- Best Miles Credit Cards for CardUp
- Calculate Your Rewards
- Income Tax Payments Through Your Bank’s Tax Facilities
- Conclusion
Income Tax Payments with CardUp
There are some payments – such as your rent, insurance, and tax payments – that traditionally cannot be paid with your credit card. CardUp is a highly secure payment platform that transforms your payment experience by allowing you to now make these big payments with your credit card.
For expenses as essential as your income tax payment, using CardUp is a clever and convenient way to earn huge miles with just a few clicks.
How CardUp Works
CardUp Payment Service
CardUp is an automatic bill payment service that lets you earn rewards from your transactions
Pros
- Allows you to earn credit card rewards on your recurring bills
- Good for people with high credit limits
Cons
- Charges a fee to use the service
In order to make your income tax payment through CardUp, you need to begin by signing up for an account.
You will then need to schedule your payment by selecting your payment type and the recipient, before inputting payment details such as your card information and payment amount. Customers are also required to upload an up-to-date copy of their Statement of Account that clearly shows their:
- Full name
- NRIC
- Outstanding balance
- Date of outstanding balance
With CardUp, you can choose to either split your tax payment into monthly instalments or pay them through a one time annual payment.
While other payment methods also allow you to split your payments into monthly instalments (like GIRO), they do not offer you rewards for your payment. The beauty of CardUp is that it lets you enjoy spreading out your income tax payments while at the same time enjoying the benefits that come with using your credit card.
CardUp Promotions: ValueChampion Exclusive Promo Codes
Credit card payments made through CardUp typically come with a standard processing fee of 2.6% (for cards issued in Singapore) or 3.3% (for cards issued outside of Singapore). If this sounds steep, fear not, as Valuechampion has scored some exclusive sign up deals for you!
ValueChampion has partnered with CardUp to offer an exclusive promotion this tax season. You can apply for a CardUp account with promo code VALUECHAMP. For Visa (Singapore-issued Visa) and China Unionpay credit card, you can access a special rate of 1.75% fee for income tax payment with the promo code VCTAX24. This promotion is available until 31 Aug 2024.
Best Miles Credit Cards for CardUp
While the miles rewards rates offered by each card is undoubtedly one of the main factors to consider when choosing your miles credit card, it is also important to think about other aspects such as the validity period and transferability of the earned miles or the other travel benefits that come with each card.
Considering these factors, here are some of the most beneficial and popular air miles credit cards to use with CardUp:
1. UOB PRVI Miles Card: Rapid Miles, Flexible Redemption
UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card
UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card is a great fit for high spenders and frequent travelers looking to rapidly accrue miles, with no min spend both at home, abroad and on travel bookings.
Pros
- Great for rapid miles accrual
- Awards high spend on airlines & hotels
- Complimentary travel insurance
Cons
- Doesn't fit infrequent travellers with mostly local budgets
- Lacks luxury perks & privileges
UOB’s PRVI Miles Card offers some of the highest travel rewards on the market, with 1.4 miles per S$1 local spend and 2.4 miles per S$1 overseas spend, including online shopping websites. For the Globetrotter, you can satisfy your wanderlust pursuits plus, enjoy up to 6 miles per S$1 spend on your hotel and airline bookings.
There is no minimum spend or cap imposed on the rewards, making the UOB PRVI Miles one of the most rewarding miles cards out there if you are looking to use it to accumulate miles through your tax payments. It’s simple reward structure means that you won’t be jumping through hoops just to get the rewards you want.
While cardholders can choose from Visa, Mastercard, or American Express for this card, it’s worth noting that the American Express version has the highest benefits, with up to additional 20,000 bonus miles and complimentary airport transfers offered to cardholders.
2. DBS Altitude Visa: Easy Annual Fee Waiver + Luxury Travel Perks
Pros
- Great for online travel bookings
Cons
- Those willing to pay an annual fee for more bonus miles
- Affluent travellers who are willing to pay a high fee for luxury travel perks
DBS Altitude Visa offers cardholders 1.3 miles per S$1 local spend and S$1 = 2.2 miles on overseas spend. Once again, this fuss free rewards structure makes it easy for you to earn miles on your income tax payments every month.
Cardholders are also offered additional perks such as 2 free lounge visits at over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide (within each 12-month period of your membership), complimentary airport transfer services and bonus miles when you spend on select hotels or airlines worldwide.
3. Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card: Best Sign-On Bonus for High Income
Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card
The Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card is perfect for those who love exploring the world. Earning you up to 3 miles per dollar for your spend and letting you accumulate rewards points that do not expire.
Pros
- Good rewards for transportation, food deliveries and online groceries
- 0% interest instalment plan available
- Two complimentary lounge passes and travel insurance
Cons
- Not so suitable for low spenders
Standard Chartered Journey Credit Card is perfect for those who love exploring the world. Besides earning you up to 3 miles per S$1 for your spend, it also allows you to accumulate rewards points that do not expire. You also get to enjoy 2 complimentary visits to Priority Pass lounges around the world each year and complimentary Travel Insurance when you charge your travel fare to your Card.
Calculate Your Rewards
You can also use the CardUp rewards calculator to find out the exact service fee and miles rewards that you will earn for your unique payment amount.
For instance, if you were to make a S$12,000 income tax payment with your UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card, you would incur a 1.75% CardUp fee worth S$210 and earn nearly 17,094 miles.
The CardUp rewards calculator also estimates the type of trips that you could redeem with your earned miles, making it easier for you to estimate your benefits.
Income Tax Payments Through Your Bank’s Tax Facilities
DBS, UOB, Standard Chartered, Citi and OCBC are the five banks in Singapore that offer income tax payment facilities. As a credit cardholder of one of these banks, you will be able to make income tax payments using the credit card via the tax payment facilities. However, do take note that in most cases, this payment method doesn’t allow you to make a direct tax payment to IRAS.
You will need to first complete your application process by submitting relevant documents such as your Notice of Assessment (NOA), following which your credit card account will be debited for your income tax payment amount. This amount will then be credited to your bank account.
It is important to note that it is then your responsibility to arrange for another payment with IRAS to ensure that your income tax payment reaches IRAS. This can make this method of paying your income taxes quite complicated.
You will be rewarded with air miles for the tax payment amount that has been charged to your credit card. However, do take note that all banks impose an administration fee on your transactions.
The current administration fees of banks with tax facilities are as follows:
| Bank | Admin Fee |
|---|---|
| UOB | 1.7% to 2.2% |
| DBS | 2.5%; |
| OCBC | 1.9% |
| Standard Chartered | 1.9% |
| Citibank | 2.2% |
Conclusion
Making your annual income tax payment can be a dreary task, but choosing the right payment method can be a great way to benefit from this humongous, mandatory payment.
Paying with the best air miles credit card through payment platforms like CardUp is an easy and straightforward way to earn huge amounts of miles through a payment that you have to make anyway.
Looking for a more detailed list of the best cashback or air miles credit cards to use for your tax payments? Check out our comprehensive below.
Compare the Best Credit Cards in SingaporeFind Out More
Read More:
- Best Cashback Credit Cards in Singapore 2024
- Best Air Miles Credit Cards in Singapore 2024
- Top 5 Tips for Using Credit Cards Overseas
- How To Maximise Credit Card Rewards And Beat Inflation
- 4 Key Questions To Ask Yourself Before Signing Up For A Credit Card
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