Guide: Standard Chartered Income Tax Payment Facility

Standard Chartered has long offered an Income Tax Payment Facility, which allows cardholders to earn credit card miles from their annual personal income tax bill. This feature, which used to be exclusive to the StanChart Visa Infinite, was recently extended to StanChart Beyond Card as well.

There’s often some confusion as to how the facility works, because despite its name, it doesn’t pay IRAS— it pays you.

But — provided you don’t forget to pay IRAS yourself — this mechanism is actually advantageous. Not only can you continue to enjoy the cashflow benefits of GIRO payments, you can also purchase additional miles through services like CardUp or Citi PayAll.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how the Standard Chartered Income Tax Payment Facility works, as well as some frequently asked questions.

How does the Income Tax Payment Facility work?

SC Income Tax Payment Facility

Customers with a StanChart Beyond Card or StanChart Visa Infinite can earn miles on their income tax bill via the Income Tax Payment Facility, which charges a 1.9% admin fee. 

Here’s an illustration of how it works, using the example of a StanChart Beyond Cardholder with a Priority Banking relationship and a S$10,000 tax bill.

1. The cardholder submits an online application and uploads their IRAS Notice of Assessment (NOA)
2. S$10,190 is charged to their StanChart Beyond Card (S$10,000 tax due + S$190 admin fee @ 1.9%)
3. The cardholder earns 20,000 miles (S$10,000 x 2 mpd; the admin fee does not earn miles)
4. S$10,000 is deposited to the bank account specified in the application (which can be any local account, not necessarily with StanChart)
5. The cardholder uses the funds to pay IRAS directly

It’s important to remember that unlike payment facilities such as CardUp or Citi PayAll, Standard Chartered does not pay IRAS on your behalf. You are still responsible for settling your tax bill, and can do so however you please— through GIRO, AXS, even CardUp or Citi PayAll. That’s a good thing, mind you, because you can still enjoy the cashflow benefits of GIRO, or earn additional miles through CardUp or Citi PayAll. 

In that sense, step (5) is optional. You don’t need to show Standard Chartered proof that you used those funds to pay IRAS, and what you do with it is your own business.

Is there any limit on how much I can pay?

There are two factors that limit how much you can pay—and therefore how many miles you can earn—through the Income Tax Payment Facility.

First, your credit limit: You must have enough available credit to cover both the tax amount and the admin fee. If you don’t, your application will be rejected. Partial payment of the amount stated on your NOA is not allowed. 

Second, the NOA amount: You cannot charge more than the amount specified on your NOA. If your tax bill says S$10,000, then S$10,000 is the maximum you can pay.

How long do applications take to process?

Applications should be processed within seven working days.

Upon approval, the funds will be deposited into your designated bank account. You will see two amounts charged to your card:

• Income tax payments (which earns points)
• Tax processing fee (which does not earn points)

What’s the cost per mile?

The StanChart Beyond Card and StanChart Visa Infinite earn miles on the Income Tax Payment Facility at their regular local spending rates. 

Here’s what the cost per mile looks like, given a 1.9% admin fee.

💳 Income Tax Payment Facility (1.9% Fee)
Card	Earn Rate	Cost Per Mile
StanChart Beyond Card (PB/PP)	2 mpd	0.95¢
StanChart Beyond Card (Regular)	1.5 mpd	1.27¢
StanChart Visa Infinite (Step Up Rate)*	1.4 mpd	1.36¢
StanChart Visa Infinite (Regular Rate)	1 mpd	1.9¢
*Requires a minimum spend of S$2,000 per statement month. Payments made to the Income Tax Payment Facility count towards the S$2,000 spend

How is this different from SC EasyBill?

Standard Chartered has another bill payment facility called SC EasyBill, which also allows cardholders to pay income taxes with a 1.9% admin fee.

Guide: Buying miles with Standard Chartered’s SC EasyBill service

The key difference between these two is that SC EasyBill makes payment to IRAS on your behalf, while the Income Tax Payment Facility does not.

Therefore, you would not be able to use SC EasyBill in conjunction with another platform like CardUp or Citi PayAll (or rather you could, but then your tax bill would be paid off faster than it needs to, which deprives you of the cashflow benefit offered by a GIRO payment plan).

Remember: you should not be overpaying your tax bill. Once the outstanding balance reaches zero, any additional payments will be refunded, and miles clawed back accordingly. IRAS has had issues over the years with people overpaying their tax bills to manufacture spend, and has instructed bill payment platforms to crack down on such behaviour.

With the tax payment facility, cash is deposited into your designated bank account, and what you do with that money is up to you.

YA 2025 income tax promotion

From 1 April to 30 June 2025, Standard Chartered will offer a 100% rebate of the processing fee for its Income Tax Payment Facility. 

This promotion is available to the first 50 applicants per calendar month, and you must designate a current or savings account under Standard Chartered Bank to receive the funds. This means you’ll need to pen a Standard Chartered bank account if you don’t already have one, though that should be simple enough for most people. 

The rebate is capped at S$300 per eligible cardholder for the entire promotion period, so based on a 1.9% processing fee, you would max out the rebate with a tax payment of ~S$15,790.

Cashback earned under this promotion will be credited by 31 August 2025.

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here. 

Frequently asked questions

If I have both the StanChart Beyond Card and StanChart Visa Infinite, can I apply for the Income Tax Payment Facility twice?

No. Only the first application submitted will be processed.

Can I overpay my tax bill?

No. You are limited to paying the amount shown on your NOA.

Can I pay someone else’s taxes?

No. You are only permitted to pay your own tax bill through this facility. However, supplementary cardholders can also use the tax payment facility to pay their own taxes.

Can I pay other kinds of taxes with this facility?

No. Only personal income tax payments will be accepted. 

Does the Income Tax Payment Facility count towards the S$2,000 minimum spend required for the StanChart Visa Infinite’s step-up earn rates?

Yes.

Is the StanChart Priority Visa Infinite eligible for the Income Tax Payment Facility?

No.

Does the Income Tax Payment Facility count towards the minimum spend for welcome bonuses?

Yes.

Conclusion

The Standard Chartered Income Tax Payment Facility allows StanChart Beyond Card and StanChart Visa Infinite Cardholders to earn miles on their annual personal income tax bill, with an admin fee of 1.9%. 

Depending on the card you have, and your status with Standard Chartered, the cost per mile could be as low as 0.95 cents, which is one of the best deals you’ll find on the market for earning miles on income tax. 

The only limitation here (apart from your credit limit) is the size of your tax bill. The bigger it is, the more miles you can earn— who said nation building wasn’t rewarding?