COMMISSION agents and self-employed delivery drivers will be able to file taxes more simply, after the tax authority streamlined the process for them.

Commission agents – over 100,000 of them working in the insurance, real estate, financial and multi-level marketing sectors – will have their income information already pre-filled in their tax returns.

It was made possible with the income information obtained from some 650 commission-paying organisations, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) said on Wednesday (Mar 6).

Qualifying commission agents may benefit from the automatic computation of business expenses based on the Fixed Expense Deduction Ratio (FEDR) as well. Under this mode, Iras would allow the deduction of expenses based on a fixed proportion of the taxpayer’s annual gross income instead of going by the actual amount of allowable business expenses incurred.

Qualifying self-employed delivery workers now have the option to claim tax deductions on the FEDR as well.

Such taxpayers must be self-employed individuals earning a total annual gross income of S$50,000 or less from delivery services (including food and goods delivery), and the delivery is made on foot or using motorised personal mobility devices, power-assisted bicycles, motorcycles, or vans.

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The claimable expense ratio is dependent on the delivery mode used – 20 per cent for walking, 35 per cent for using motorised personal mobility devices, power-assisted bicycles, motorcycles, and 60 per cent for using a van.

Cabbies and private-hire vehicle drivers who make deliveries have been able to claim tax deductions on the FEDR.