How to Pay Income Tax with Credit Card & Earn Cashback or Miles with CardUp

It’s Income Tax Season

Need to pay income tax in Singapore but want to use your credit card for rewards? While the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) doesn’t accept credit cards directly, there’s a solution: CardUp.

Use CardUp to Earn Rewards

CardUp, a third-party service, lets you pay income tax with credit card and earn rewards like cashback or miles. It simplifies online tax payments and even auto-fills your tax number to avoid errors.

Here’s the breakdown:

• CardUp charges your credit card for the tax amount + a fee.
• They handle the bank transfer to IRAS for you.

Maximize Your Rewards with Promo Codes!

Here are some promo codes to help you save even more on your tax payments with CardUp:

• New Users: Use code IJTLFREE for S$30 off your first payment to maximize your rewards before using the codes below.
• Existing Users:
  • Use code IJTLTAX24 for a 1.75% fee for Visa payments.
    • Applicable to new and existing users
    • Applicable to Visa and China UnionPay credit cards
    • One redemption per user (You can only pay for your own income tax)
    • End date: 31 August 2024
    • End due date: 25 March 2025
    • T&Cs here
  • Use code MCTAX24 for a 1.99% fee for Mastercard payments.

6. Key in your IC Number, enter promo code below and click “Continue”:

• For new users, use IJTLFREE for S$30 off your first payment to maximise your rewards before using the below codes.

• For existing users, use IJTLTAX24 for1.75% fee for Visa and MCTAX24 for 1.99% fee for Mastercard

7. Submit your documents

• Statement of Account showing your Name, NRIC, Outstanding balance and Date of outstanding balance

Step 1: Make a GIRO arrangement with IRAS first.

As you can see the deduction from your bank account will be on the 6th of the month, so you just need to arrange for Cardup to make payments before the deduction happens.

Step 2: Follow the steps above and schedule the monthly recurring payments BEFORE the deduction date (in my case, 6th of every month) using promo codes here:

For new users, use IJTLFREE for S$30 off your first payment to maximise your rewards before using the below codes.

For existing users, use IJTLTAX24 for1.75% fee for Visa and MCTAX24 for 1.99% fee for Mastercard

So Which Credit Card Am I Using For Income Tax via CardUp?

I’m using the Maybank Platinum Visa Card. This card offers cashback, but requires a minimum monthly spend of S$300 (or multiples of S$300) to qualify.

The Strategy:

I’ve decided to pay my income tax monthly, starting in April.

The Breakdown for Q2 (April – June), Q3 (July – Sep), Q4 (Oct – Dec):

Here’s how I’ll structure my monthly spending for each quarter to hit the S$300 minimum:

• Fixed Income Tax Amount
• Fixed Internet Bill (automatically paid through Starhub app)
• Fixed Monthly Donation/Insurance

The total amount will be a fixed number to the exact dollar of either S$300, S$1000, or S$2000 (depending on what works best for my budget). This ensures I always reach the required spend and get the cashback.

Lesson Learned:

I previously tried paying S$350 some months and S$1100 others. Unfortunately, I only received cashback on the S$300 portion. So, sticking to a pre-planned consistent, fixed amount is key! You can adjust the details to fit your specific credit card and spending habits.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Can I use Maybank Platinum Visa to pay for insurance?

For insurance that allows direct credit card payment on their website:

you should be able to use Maybank Platinum Visa on the website to make a direct payment, thus skipping the Cardup fee and still earn cashback.

For insurance that does not allow direct credit card payment on their website:

Yes, if it’s monthly payment, you can schedule it via Cardup using promo code below. Insurance payment on Maybank Platinum Visa can be accumulated as eligible spend for up to half of the monthly spend amount for each tier. Eg. If your monthly spend amount is $300, insurance payments can only be 1/2 of that amount, which is $150. The rest of the $150 must be other types of payments like your income tax.

For new users, use IJTLFREE for S$30 off your first payment to maximise your rewards before using the below codes.

For existing users, use RECURRING185 for 1.85% fee