IR21 not filed by my company, due to leave SG, issues?

[kindred]

Hi,

I've just been informed about a potential issue with leaving my company (and Singapore). They mentioned IR21 and on reading the IRAS portal it seems it is something the company is supposed to sort out when I gave them my notice, but I don't think they did.

My guess is that they did not do this on time and are only just getting around to it. My contract with the company has a one month notice period, and I gave them that notice a month ago so I'm about to reach my leaving date.

Now they drop this bombshell on me when I'm scheduled to leave Singapore in a few days. I'm worried what impact it will have on me given I've personally done nothing wrong and it seems the company is at fault. They didn't even tell me about my salary being withheld (after reading about IR21 I get why its done, and I'm fine with that - a heads up would have been good though!).

Reading posts on here I might even have trouble with immigration when I try and leave? As far I as knew I was just supposed to hand in my EP this week and get a STVP to allow me to exit legally, I had no idea about any other complications due to the company being at fault.

I've been planning my move for weeks - have plane tickets booked, deposits paid, relocation arranged etc. Now I fear it is all going to fall apart and cost me a fortune

Am I likely to be in trouble because the company hasn't done their job correctly? I pray there are legitimate options I can take, but with only a few days left it's looking bleak.

I'll be chasing my company HR again tomorrow and whilst I'm sure they'll try and help (it is their fault) I figured I'd see if anyone here has any advice, especially since my company doesn't seem to fully know what they need to do.

Thanks.

[Wd40]

I don't think you will have any trouble especially since they have withheld your salary. IRAS has the details of the amount of salary withheld and if it is good enough to cover your tax liability, then you shouldn't have any problem.

But just to be sure, call up IRAS and take their advice.

[zzm9980]

Your company notifies IRAS that you're leaving when they file the IR-21. IRAS will take the data on your IR-21 (money earned, and money being withheld) to calculate either A) what you still owe, or B) what your company should return to you out of your withholdings. If you A) owe, then you will be issued a notice to pay (O$P$!) the amount owed. The amount is due immediately, they will not take giro installments or any payment plans unless you own property in Singapore to leverage as collateral. If you do not pay within 10 days of the date on the statement they send you they will notify ICA to place an 'immigration freeze' on you and you will not be allowed to exit the country through any ICA controlled checkpoints.

I just did all of this a few months ago and had to call IRAS a couple of times to figure it out. All of the above is directly from those calls.

[kindred]

Your company notifies IRAS that you're leaving when they file the IR-21. IRAS will take the data on your IR-21 (money earned, and money being withheld) to calculate either A) what you still owe, or B) what your company should return to you out of your withholdings.

I understand the process they're *meant* to take now I've read about it - I don't understand what happens to *me* if they don't do that in a timely manner. I think they've literally filed it today with 3 days left before I'm meant to leave Singapore. Clearly they should have done it a month ago and this would have all been taken care of automatically, but they haven't and now I'm trying to understand the implications against me leaving in a few days.

I'll be calling IRAS tomorrow for clarification.

[zzm9980]

Leave on your own schedule, it's not an issue. No implications at all unless you owe money in which case you need to pay IRAS. Most Singapore bank accounts let you pay through their website (I did this with DBS). If your bank doesn't let you, then you'll have to pay in person. That's the only implication I can think of.

[kindred]

Just to update - rang IRAS and they said to pop in with whatever salary forms and details I had. The next day my company sent me a copy of the IR21 they 'just' filed, so I took that in too.

The IRAS employee was a very nice guy. He didn't seem impressed with the company, but understood the situation and the urgency needed since I was leaving in a few days. He did a rough calculation of the tax due and told me to come back the next day to pick up the finalised assessment, which I can then go and pay at the SingPost branch next door.

Just done that and everything is sorted now, and my company should release my salary today.

Big thanks to Hadi at IRAS.