CardUp offering 1.75% fee for income tax payments with Visa, buy miles from 1.07 cents

Expired

Use MLTAX24 to pay income tax via CardUp and Visa with a 1.75% fee, valid for one-off or recurring payments scheduled by 31 August 2024.

CardUp has launched its income tax promotion for YA2024, which features a discounted 1.75% fee valid for Singapore-issued Visa cards (UnionPay is included too, but I doubt that’s relevant to most readers).

This offer is valid for payments scheduled by 31 August 2024, and can be used for both one-off or recurring payments. Depending on which card you hold, you could buy miles from 1.07 to 1.43 cents per mile. It’s a very competitive price already, but those who can afford to wait may wish to see what offer Citi PayAll has lined up for this year.

CardUp 1.75% offer for income tax

Code MLTAX24
Limit One redemption per user, no overall redemption cap
Admin Fee 1.75%
Min. Spend None
Cap None
Schedule By 31 August 2024, 6 p.m
Due Date By 25 March 2025
Validity Visa, UnionPay
MLTAX24 T&Cs

CardUp users paying income tax can use the promo code MLTAX24 to enjoy a 1.75% fee, for payments scheduled by 31 August 2024 (6 p.m) with due dates on or before 25 March 2025.

This code is valid for all locally-issued Visa and UnionPay cards. Unfortunately, it won’t work with AMEX or Mastercard. There’s a separate offer for Mastercard of 1.99% with the code MCTAX24, which I’ll cover in another post. 

The promo code can be redeemed once per customer, either for a one-off or recurring series of payments (for those who prefer to take advantage of the interest-free instalment scheme offered by IRAS).

Both new and existing CardUp users can use this promo code, but if you’re a new user, refer to the box below for a special offer. 

โ“ First-time user?

If this is your first time using CardUp, use the code MILELION to save S$30 off your first transaction with no minimum spend required. This allows you to earn free miles on a payment of up to S$1,154 (based on CardUp’s regular admin fee of 2.6%).

You can subsequently use the MLTAX24 code to pay the rest of your balance, since this code is valid for both new and existing customers.

What’s the cost per mile?

Here’s the cost per mile for various Visa cards in Singapore, given the earn rates and a 1.75% admin fee. 

Card Earn Rate Cost Per Mile
(1.75% fee)
DBS Insignia 1.6 mpd 1.07ยข
UOB Reserve 1.6 mpd 1.07ยข
OCBC VOYAGE
(Premier, PPC, BOS)
1.6 mpd 1.07ยข
Citi ULTIMA 1.6 mpd 1.07ยข
DBS Vantage 1.5 mpd 1.15ยข
SCB Visa Infinite
1.4 mpd* 1.23ยข
UOB PRVI Miles Visa 1.4 mpd 1.23ยข
UOB Visa Infinite Metal 1.4 mpd 1.23ยข
OCBC VOYAGE 1.3 mpd
1.32ยข
OCBC 90ยฐN Visa 1.3 mpd 1.32ยข
DBS Altitude Visa 1.3 mpd 1.32ยข
OCBC Premier Visa Infinite 1.28 mpd 1.34ยข
SCB Journey 1.2 mpd 1.43ยข
*1.4 mpd applies with minimum S$2K spend per statement month, otherwise 1.0 mpd (1.72 cpm). CardUp spending counts towards the minimum spend.
๐Ÿ’ณ OCBC customer?

OCBC cardholders can take advantage of a lower fee, provided they’re new to CardUp:

  • OCBC VOYAGE and OCBC Premier Visa Infinite: Use code OCBC15 for 1.5% fee, valid for first-time payments only
  • OCBC90ยฐN Visa/MC: Use code OCBC90N15 for 1.5% fee, valid for first-time payments only

Remember, both the tax payment amount and the CardUp fee are eligible to earn miles.

For example, someone who pays a S$1,000 tax bill via CardUp would pay S$1,017.50 after fees. If he uses a 1.4 mpd card, he will earn 1,425 miles (ignoring rounding), for which he has paid a fee of S$17.50. The cost per mile is therefore 1.23 cents each.

Depending on what card you use, the cost per mile can start from as low as 1.07 cents each, which is a very compelling price to pay. Assuming your tax bill is large enough, you could be buying a Business Class ticket to Japan or South Korea for just over S$1,110 plus taxes (Business Saver @ 104,000 miles @ 1.07 cents each). 

How to setup income tax payments

To schedule an income tax payment, login to your CardUp account and click on Create Payment > Taxes > IRAS-Income Tax

On the next screen, you’ll be prompted to enter the payment amount, choose a card (remember: Visa only), and a payment plan (the code is only valid for Standard payments).

Your payment reference number will be automatically filled based on the NRIC number registered to your CardUp account. This means you can’t use your CardUp account to pay someone else’s taxes, though someone else can use your credit card to pay taxes from their CardUp account. 

You’ll also be prompted to choose whether you want this to be a one-time payment, or recurring payment. 

One-time payment

Under this option, you can pay any amount up to the total tax due on your NOA

In other words, if your tax bill is S$10,000, you can pay any amount up to S$10,000.

Recurring payment

Under this option, you can use CardUp to pay your monthly instalment under a GIRO plan with IRAS. 

This can be set up via the following methods:

  • Instant
    • myTax portal (DBS/POSB and OCBC customers)
    • Internet banking (DBS/POSB, OCBC and UOB customers)
    • AXS stations (DBS/POSB customers)
  • 3 weeks processing

Once your GIRO arrangement has been approved, you can view the monthly instalment by logging to myTax Portal, selecting Account > View Payment Plan > View Plan.

The cycle normally starts in May and ends in April the following year, but if you join GIRO after May, the instalment deduction will commence in the month after the application is approved, and end in April the following year.

This is the figure you need to enter as the payment amount in the CardUp portal.

You’ll need to select the date of the first and last monthly payment. Do note that first and last few dates of every month will be blocked off. That’s because IRAS does their deductions on the 6th of every month, and CardUp payments need to arrive in advance of that to avoid double deductions. 

Regardless of whether you choose one-time or recurring, don’t forget to enter the promo code MLTAX24. Don’t worry that the total fee doesn’t reflect the discount yet. That will appear on the final screen.

On the next screen, you’ll be prompted to upload a copy of your NOA for verification. This is to ensure you aren’t using CardUp to overpay your tax bill, which is a big no-no from an IRAS point of view. 

Finally, you’ll be able to review the payment schedule before confirming it.

For one-time payments, it should look like this: 

For recurring payments, it should look like this: 

Check that every payment in the recurring series enjoys the 1.75% rate (remember, the last payment due date must be on or before 25 March 2025).

Income tax guide 2024

I’m putting the final touches on The MileLion’s Income Tax Guide 2024, which gives a rundown of options for earning miles when paying income tax with credit cards.

Look out for it in the next few days!

Conclusion

CardUp is now offering a 1.75% fee with the code MLTAX24 for income tax payments made with Visa or UnionPay cards, for payments set up by 31 August 2024. This allows the purchase of miles from as little as 1.07 cents each, depending on card.

It remains to be seen what other providers (especially Citi PayAll) come up with, but if your first instalment payment is due soon, it doesn’t hurt to use this code to cover it first.

Aaron Wong
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to help people travel better for less and impress chiobu. He was 50% successful.

Similar Articles

Comments

13 COMMENTS

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

13 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
komatineni

Waiting for PayAll

Goose

What about Citi Prestige?

Ray

Citi prestige is a Mastercardโ€ฆ

Leo

I think the best is to use this promo code to pay tax and at the same time fulfill credit card sign-up gift… any credit card sign-up gift excludes CardUp tax payment? I only recalled DBS/POSB excludes CardUp tax payment from sign-up gift.

Lady G

Huge thanks Aaron, this helps with early planning & scheduling! ๐Ÿ™‚

llee

the “mileion” promo code says it is fully redeemed.. any chance of renewal?

charlotte

Hi Aaron, so usually we have regular giro setup alrd for eg. insurance premium etc, can you share some tips of how to manage such recurring payments? Do you for instance cancel your giro payment in advance?

Jey

Hi Aaron,

Can i setup a cardup recurring payment with my HSBC revolution card and get the 4mpd (upto 1k) on this ?

IgIg

You will not get any miles. You can use the calculator below to see how many miles you will earn on what card.
https://www.cardup.co/personal/rewards-calculator
Otherwise, there is another milelion article that describes how much miles per cent you will earn with which card.

C C

If you try to set it up now, seems like the earliest date you can start is early May… and in twelve payments, it will bring you past 25 March 2025. Should you then set it up to be divided over eleven payments? Does that work?

Wong

Hi! Can I seek clarification on this part please. ‘If this is your first time using CardUp, use the code MILELION to save S$30 off your first transaction with no minimum spend required. This allows you to earn free miles on a payment of up to S$1,154 (based on CardUpโ€™s regular admin fee of 2.6%). You can subsequently use the MLTAX24 code to pay the rest of your balance, since this code is valid for both new and existing customers.’ Does this mean if my income tax is $2,000. I can pay $1,000 with the referral code to get the $30 off (with 2.6% admin fee) and then… Read more »

Emi

Following!