Raffles Consulting Services
Corporate tax refunds are electronic from 2026, so companies should verify tax credits, bank details, authority and receipt before closing the file.
A corporate tax refund is not complete when a credit appears in myTax Portal. From 1 January 2026, IRAS no longer issues cheque refunds. A company expecting money back should confirm the credit, the approved electronic route, the bank account that will receive it and the actual receipt before closing the tax file.
This process is separate from paying an assessment. Do not offset an expected refund against another amount unless the live tax account and IRAS instructions support that treatment. Keep payment, credit and refund records as separate reconciliations.
Confirm that a tax credit exists
Start in myTax Portal and view the account summary. The IRAS refunds page directs taxpayers there to check tax credits and unclaimed monies. Record the tax type, amount, date the credit arose and the assessment, amendment or payment that created it.
A bank debit, revised computation or expected rebate does not by itself prove that the corporate tax account is in credit. Compare the portal entry with the company’s tax ledger and the relevant notice. Investigate any mismatch before forecasting the refund as available cash.
The Corporate and International Tax Consulting hub provides the wider tax context. This article addresses the electronic refund and evidence sequence only.
Identify the refund route
IRAS says tax credits may be refunded through GIRO, PayNow or telegraphic transfer, depending on the tax type and taxpayer circumstances. For faster refunds, the refunds page states that GIRO or PayNow linked to the relevant identifier can allow receipt within seven days from the date the credit arises.
Corporate Income Tax refunds require the company to use an eligible business route. Check the current IRAS corporate-refund guidance and the company’s arrangements rather than assuming an individual’s PayNow setting applies. Where GIRO is already used to pay tax, IRAS states that no additional step is normally required for that route.
Verify the bank account and authority
Confirm that the bank account is open, held in the correct name and able to receive the refund. Identify the company officer who owns the tax-account check and the finance person who owns the bank reconciliation. If an external tax agent can view the account, the company should still retain its own evidence and authority.
Where the company has recently changed banks, ceased operations or reorganised, recheck the refund route early. Failed credits may become unclaimed monies. IRAS asks taxpayers to contact it to claim amounts that could not be refunded, such as when the linked bank account has been closed.
Use a refund reconciliation
| Record | Evidence | Owner | Completion test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit balance | myTax Portal account summary | Tax owner | Amount and tax type agree with ledger |
| Credit cause | Assessment, amendment or payment trail | Tax preparer | Reason is documented |
| Refund route | GIRO, PayNow or telegraphic transfer instruction | Finance | Route is valid for the company |
| Receiving account | Current bank confirmation | Treasury | Account is active and correctly named |
| Cash receipt | Bank statement and remittance detail | Finance | Amount and date match expectation |
| Tax closure | Updated portal balance | Tax owner | Credit and refund are reconciled |
Do not stop at an automated expectation
IRAS generally makes automatic refunds and may pay interest where a credit is not refunded within 30 days, subject to stated exclusions. Treat those timings as a monitoring point, not a promise that every case will follow the shortest route. Record when the credit arose and when follow-up becomes appropriate.
If the company requested IRAS to retain a tax credit balance, or another exception applies, the cash movement may differ from the ordinary automatic process. Keep the request, reason and approval with the reconciliation. Do not label the amount overdue until the applicable rule has been checked.
Handle telegraphic transfer details carefully
Cross-border refunds may require telegraphic-transfer instructions and payee address information. IRAS notes that the banking industry’s ISO 20022 transition requires additional address fields. Verify the account, SWIFT information, beneficiary name and address against current bank records before submission.
Limit access to bank evidence. The working paper can record that the fields were verified without reproducing full account details in a widely shared file. Use the official secure channel for any instruction containing sensitive banking information.
Keep expected refunds separate from current liabilities
A company may have a credit for one period while another assessment or penalty remains payable. Read the tax account by item. The corporate-tax payment exception guide covers payments that have not yet appeared after the stated processing period. It should not be used to assume that a refund will clear a separate liability.
Likewise, the corporate tax Notice of Assessment review explains why an objection does not suspend the duty to pay by the due date. Finance should reconcile each event independently before netting anything in internal forecasts.
Escalate failed or delayed refunds with a clean record
When the monitoring date passes, prepare a short pack showing the account credit, refund route, bank readiness, prior correspondence and dates. This allows IRAS to investigate without the company sending repeated or inconsistent requests. Record the case reference and the person responsible for the next check.
Do not close the matter on an email acknowledgement alone. Verify the actual bank receipt and then return to myTax Portal to confirm the account balance. The Singapore transfer pricing compliance guide remains the tax pillar cornerstone, while this refund record should remain attached to the relevant assessment and cash ledger.
A corporate tax refund is complete only when the company’s books, bank statement and IRAS account agree. That final three-way readback prevents an expected credit from remaining indefinitely in a cash forecast or being counted twice.