CardUp has launched a new promotion for Milelion readers, which allows them to pay income taxes with just a 1.75% admin fee. This is below the public 1.89/1.99% rate announced last week, and applies to both new and existing customers.
| 👍 If you already made or scheduled payments using the MLTAX20 or ML199TAX20 codes, CardUp will have reached out to you to adjust the admin fee, so you’ll be no worse off than those paying with the new 1.75% rate. |
Pay income tax with 1.75% admin fee
All CardUp customers, whether new or existing, will be able to enjoy a special rate of 1.75% on income tax payments with the promo code ML175TAX20.
This code is valid with all Singapore-issued Mastercard and Visa cards.
Payments must be scheduled by 26 October 2020, with due date latest by 29 October 2020. The full T&C for this code can be found here.
 💳 If you’re using an American Express card, you can instead use the code AMEXTAX24 to enjoy a discounted rate of 2.4% (versus the usual 2.6%). Payments must be scheduled by 23 July 2020, with the latest due date by 28 July 2020. The full T&C can be found here. |
What’s the cost per mile?
With the discounted admin fee, here’s how much buying miles will cost with the following credit cards, in terms of cents per mile (CPM).
| Card | MPD | CPM @ 1.75% |
 DBS Insignia | 1.6 | 1.07 |
 UOB Reserve | 1.6 | 1.07 |
 OCBC Premier & PB VOYAGE | 1.6 | 1.07 |
 SCB Visa Infinite | 1.41 | 1.23 |
 UOB PRVI Miles | 1.4 | 1.23 |
 UOB Visa Infinite Metal | 1.4 | 1.23 |
 Citi Prestige | 1.3 | 1.32 |
 OCBC VOYAGE | 1.3 | 1.32 |
 HSBC Visa Infinite | 1.252 | 1.38 |
 Citi PremierMiles | 1.2 | 1.43 |
 SCB X Card | 1.2 | 1.43 |
 DBS Altitude Visa | 1.2 | 1.43 |
 OCBC 90N | 1.2 | 1.43 |
 KrisFlyer UOB | 1.2 | 1.43 |
 BOC Elite Miles | 1.0 | 1.72 |
| 1. With minimum S$2K spend per statement month, otherwise 1.0 mpd 2. With minimum S$50K spend in previous membership year, otherwise 1.0 mpd. CardUp payments will be excluded from 1 July | ||
| A running list of all the cards which earn points with CardUp can be found here. Broadly speaking, any general spending card will earn points with CardUp. There are no 10X opportunities, however, so don’t use cards like the Citi Rewards or DBS Woman’s World Card. |
Most options here yield a cost of 1.5 cents per mile or less, which is a very good price to purchase miles.
How do I use the code?
After you’ve logged in to your CardUp account, click the “Schedule Payment” button and select “Taxes & Stamp Duty”). Select “Income Tax”, acknowledge the terms and conditions and click “Next”.
Enter the amount you wish to pay (this should match the amount reflected on your NOA)…
…and the date on which you wish to make payment. 
Here’s also where you upload your NOA and enter the relevant promo code.
Ensure the 1.75% fee reflects on the final screen, then submit your payment for approval.
Other things to note
This promo code can be used a maximum of once per user. In any case, you can only use CardUp to pay off your entire tax due amount, as IRAS doesn’t allow for installment payments via CardUp.
Also note that unlike the tax payment facilities offered by banks where funds are transferred to your account and you make the payment, CardUp makes payment directly to IRAS on your behalf.
CardUp transactions generally count towards sign-up bonus spending for most credit cards, but you’ll want to double check your T&Cs for specific exclusions. For example, the SCB X Card’s 100,000 miles sign-up bonus (since expired) excluded CardUp transactions.
| ❓ If you have doubts about whether CardUp spending will count towards any specific promotion, drop the team a line at hello@cardup.co, and they’ll reach out to check with the bank directly |
Conclusion
A 1.75% fee allows you to buy miles for some of the lowest prices in the market, so be sure to schedule your payments before 26 October 2020.
For more information on earning miles on income tax, be sure to have a read of The Milelion’s full guide here.
Thank you Aaron for having the arrangement such that people who used the previous code will be reached out and have the adjusted rate. Highly appreciative of this! 🙂
No problem. No reason why you should be worse off
Now, bury the hatchet / flow water under the bridge / let bygones be… and come up with a better promo with ipaymy! 🙂
Can this be combined with the Citibank Prestige buy miles promotion? If so, would this estimate the base miles?
I believe that Citibank cards are not able to participate in this promo.
GPMC can use cardup?
I just paid my individual income tax using GPMC. 🙂 No Grab reward points though.
Hello Milelion! Do you think that you can launch the promo with cardup slightly earlier this year? Since there isn’t the covid grace period to pay? Thanks!
That’s not up to me, but I’ll pass the sentiment along…
Thanks a lot, you’re the only one that makes tax season every year more bearable. 🙂