Beware of your GIRO funds or withdrawal limit

GIRO deduction normally takes place on the 6th of each month, so before each deduction, make sure there is sufficient funds (to have some extra for bank charges) in your company’s bank account for the GIRO deduction. In some cases, if you have set a limit on the withdrawal amount on your GIRO bank account, you may want to adjust the limit so that the monthly GIRO deduction can go through successfully.

If the GIRO deduction on the 6th is not successful, IRAS will attempt the same deduction on the 20th of the same month.

If both deductions on the 6th and 20th are not successfully, the tax authority may cancel the Company’s existing GIRO plan and issue a letter stating that the GIRO plan has been cancelled and the company is required to settle the remaining outstanding tax payable (not only for that month’s instalment amount) in full.

Processing time

Another matter to take note regarding GIRO is that it takes about 14 days to be processed and approved. As such, if you want to take advantage of the instalment scheme rolled out by IRAS for your estimated tax filing, do apply early and well before the estimated tax filing deadline.