The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has clarified the procedures for obtaining Notices of Assessment (NOAs) and updated the payment arrangements for document search and copy fees.
Taxpayers may retrieve their current and historical individual income tax assessments through myTax Portal for up to four years from the date the assessment was issued. Where an assessment is no longer available through the portal, a copy may generally be requested separately from IRAS, subject to availability and applicable charges.
Key impacts
Greater reliance on electronic tax records
The availability of NOAs through myTax Portal provides taxpayers with a convenient source of official assessment records. These documents may be relevant when:
- reconciling taxes assessed against tax returns and tax computations;
- supporting personal tax and remuneration records;
- responding to tax queries or reviews;
- providing evidence of assessed income for banking, immigration or other administrative purposes; and
- maintaining supporting documentation where an individual’s tax affairs form part of an employer-assisted tax compliance process.
Taxpayers and advisers should nevertheless recognise that the online retrieval period is limited. An NOA that falls outside the four-year portal window may require a separate request to IRAS. IRAS currently states that copies of older assessments may be requested for up to seven back years, subject to availability, with search and document charges applying.
Updated payment arrangements for document requests
IRAS now provides for payment of applicable search and document fees through Internet Banking Fund Transfer. When making payment, individuals should identify their tax reference number together with “NOA Req” in the payment reference details. Businesses making such requests should similarly provide their organisation tax reference number and the same request identifier.
This reference information is operationally important because incomplete payment details may delay IRAS in matching the remittance to the document request.
No change to the underlying tax assessment
The update concerns the administrative process for accessing and paying for copies of tax assessments. It does not, by itself, change the basis on which individual income tax is calculated or assessed.
Practical issues
- Document retention: Taxpayers should not rely indefinitely on myTax Portal as their sole repository of historical NOAs. Important assessments should be downloaded and retained in accordance with the taxpayer’s documentation needs.
- Older assessments: Where an NOA is outside the four-year online access period, additional time should be allowed for requesting the document from IRAS.
- Search and copy charges: Requests for documents that are no longer available through myTax Portal may result in search and document fees. IRAS currently publishes separate charges for certified and uncertified copies.
- Payment identification: The correct tax reference number and the prescribed “NOA Req” wording should be included in the fund-transfer reference to reduce the risk of processing delays.
- Client record management: Accounting and tax firms that assist individuals with tax matters may wish to review their document-retention procedures so that relevant NOAs are obtained before they cease to be readily accessible through the portal.
- Authorisation and confidentiality: Firms obtaining assessments on behalf of clients should continue to observe appropriate authorisation, confidentiality and personal-data controls when accessing, receiving and storing tax information.
Action points
Taxpayers and tax advisers should consider incorporating the following into their tax administration procedures:
- Download and retain important NOAs rather than relying solely on long-term portal availability.
- Check the assessment date before assuming an historical NOA can still be retrieved directly from myTax Portal.
- For older documents, allow additional processing time and budget for applicable fees.
- When paying IRAS for a document request, use the correct taxpayer reference and “NOA Req” payment identifier.
- Maintain appropriate controls over the storage and transmission of NOAs, as these documents contain confidential taxpayer information.
The IRAS update is primarily procedural, but it highlights an important tax-administration issue: electronic access to historical assessments is not indefinite. Taxpayers and advisers should maintain their own orderly tax records and ensure that document requests and related payments contain sufficient identifying information to avoid unnecessary delays.
Source: IRAS, 6 August 2026