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

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. 

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	1.07¢
UOB Reserve	1.6 mpd	1.07¢
OCBC VOYAGE (Premier, PPC, BOS)	1.6 mpd	1.07¢
Citi ULTIMA	1.6 mpd	1.07¢
DBS Vantage	1.5 mpd	1.15¢
SCB Visa Infinite	1.4 mpd*	1.23¢
UOB PRVI Miles Visa	1.4 mpd	1.23¢
UOB Visa Infinite Metal	1.4 mpd	1.23¢
OCBC VOYAGE	1.3 mpd	1.32¢
OCBC 90°N Visa	1.3 mpd	1.32¢
DBS Altitude Visa	1.3 mpd	1.32¢
OCBC Premier Visa Infinite	1.28 mpd	1.34¢
SCB Journey	1.2 mpd	1.43¢
*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.

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
  • GIRO application form (all bank customers)

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.

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.