422 Landlords Caught Not Reporting Rental Income. IRAS Isn't Playing.
If you’re a landlord in Singapore and you’ve been sloppy (or silent) about reporting your rental income, IRAS just sent a very loud message: they’re watching, and they’re getting better at it.
In its latest audit covering 2024-2025, IRAS probed 793 property owners and found that 422 of them had committed some form of wrongdoing. That’s a 50% jump from the 280 landlords penalised in the previous round in 2023.
The offences ranged from under-declaring rents to claiming unrelated expenses, to the most brazen move of all: not reporting rental income at all.
The result? IRAS recovered $4.8 million in additional taxes and penalties. That’s nearly 4x the $1.3 million recovered in the previous exercise. Clearly, the audits are getting more thorough and the penalties are adding up.
“But I already paid property tax”
Here’s one of the more common (and costly) misunderstandings: some landlords genuinely thought that paying property tax meant they didn’t need to report rental income separately.
Nope. Property tax and income tax are two completely different obligations. Property tax is levied on the property itself (and yes, it went up recently). Income tax on rental earnings is a separate filing that goes on your personal tax return.
Mixing these up doesn’t get you sympathy from IRAS. It gets you a penalty notice.
The penalties are no joke
For errors, omissions, or discrepancies in your tax return:
- Penalties of up to 200% of the undercharged tax amount
- Fines of up to $5,000
- Jail of up to 3 years
For deliberate sham arrangements to evade taxes:
- Penalties of up to 400% of the undercharged amount
- Fines of up to $50,000
- Jail of up to 5 years
Let that sink in. If you under-reported $10,000 in rental income and the tax on that was $2,000, a 200% penalty means you’re paying $6,000 (the original $2,000 plus $4,000 in penalties) on top of whatever fines IRAS decides to throw in.
April 18 is the deadline
Tax season closes in about two weeks. If you haven’t filed yet, here’s what you need to do:
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Log into the myTax portal and check if your rental income has been pre-filled. If it hasn’t, you must file a separate return for it.
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If your tax assessment has errors, use the “Amend Tax Bill” service within 30 days of your tax bill date.
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If you messed up in previous years, consider making a voluntary disclosure at the IRAS tax portal. IRAS has said penalties may be reduced if you come clean on your own. And there’s no statute of limitations on tax offences, so the clock doesn’t run out.
What landlords commonly get wrong
Most landlords aren’t trying to evade taxes. They’re just not keeping proper records. Here are the usual traps:
Not reporting short-term or partial-year rentals. If you rented out your place for even a few months, that income is taxable.
Claiming the wrong deductions. You can deduct property tax, mortgage interest, repairs and maintenance, insurance, and agent commissions. You cannot deduct renovation costs, mortgage principal, or personal expenses. The line between “repair” and “improvement” is where many landlords trip up.
Forgetting about rental income from overseas property. Singapore taxes residents on worldwide income. That Bangkok condo you’re renting out? IRAS wants to know.
The bigger picture
IRAS is clearly ramping up enforcement. The jump from 280 to 422 cases (and from $1.3M to $4.8M in recoveries) isn’t a blip. They’re using better data matching and cross-referencing, and the net is getting tighter.
For property investors, this is just the cost of doing business. Keep proper records, file accurately, and don’t assume no one’s checking. Because they are.
If you’re unsure about what to declare or deduct, spend an hour with a tax professional. It’ll cost you far less than a 200% penalty.
