These taxpayers, who are estimated to number around 332,000, may not need to file a tax return this year. Instead, they will have their incomes and claims for standard tax relief items auto-included in their returns.

They will receive their Notice of Assessment from IRAS directly and, if they are already paying their taxes via GIRO, no action will be required of them at all.

Under the No-Filing Service, incomes and claims are auto-included in the taxpayers' returns.

Taxpayers will need to file a return only if they have other sources of income during the year that have not been auto-included (for example, income from rentals and freelance work), or if they have to make changes to their tax relief claims (for example, with the birth of a child). They can e-File their tax returns using IRAS PIN or SingPass.

The NFS has been made possible by the numerous simplifications to the individual income tax structure over the years and the growing number of employers submitting information directly to IRAS
under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. The number of taxpayers who can potentially benefit from the NFS will grow as more employers join the Auto-Inclusion Scheme.

NFS was implemented on a pilot basis in 2007 with some 45,000 taxpayers. Based on positive feedback on the service, IRAS decided to extend the convenience of NFS to more taxpayers this year. This is in line with its corporate goals of providing excellent service and reducing compliance costs for taxpayers.

To encourage more taxpayers to e-File, IRAS will be stationing its tax officers at five e-Filing Service Centres (Bedok CC, Chong Pang CC, Changi Simei CC, Toa Payoh Central CC and Civil Service Club-Bukit Batok) till 18 April 2008, to provide assistance in e-Filing. This is up from the three centers available last year. The opening hours have also been extended to 8pm on weekdays and 4pm on Saturday. The due date for e-Filing is 18 April 2008, and 15 April 2008 for hardcopy returns. Taxpayers are encouraged to e-File early to avoid the last-minute rush. Those submitting paper returns can post their returns in any SingPost box by midnight of 15 April and will still meet the deadline. They need not submit their forms personally at Revenue House.

More details on the e-Filing Service Centres can be found on IRAS website at iras.gov.sg. Taxpayers can also access this website for tips and more information on e-Filing. Taxpayers who have enquiries on the NFS can call 1800-250 6217 (Mondays to Fridays, 8am to 5pm; Saturday, 8am to 1pm) or email IRAS at nofiling@iras.gov.sg.