CardUp offering 1.73% fee for income tax payments; buy miles from 1.06 cents

CardUp has unveiled its income tax promotions for 2026, which offer a discounted 1.73-1.75% admin fee for payments made with a Visa or UnionPay card. This enables customers to buy miles from as low as 1.06 cents each, depending on the card they hold.

While this is a relatively attractive price — and indeed, lower than the 1.8% fee offered earlier this year — it’s worth noting that the recurring payments promotion will only cover two months’ worth of instalments. CardUp may launch another offer in June, so stay tuned for that.

CardUp has also launched a separate targeted offer that gives selected users a 1.7% admin fee on a one-time income tax payment. 

CardUp’s 2026 income tax offers

Recurring payments: 1.75% fee

Code	MLTAX26R
Limit	2x redemptions per user; no overall redemption cap
Admin Fee	1.75%
Min. Spend	None
Cap	None
Schedule By	12 June 2026, 6 p.m (SGT)
Due Date	7 May to 17 June 2026
Eligible Cards	Visa, UnionPay
Eligibility	New & Existing users
MLTAX26R T&Cs

New and existing CardUp customers can use the promo code MLTAX26R to enjoy a 1.75% fee for recurring income tax payments paid with a Visa card.

This code is valid for up to two redemptions per user, for payments that are:

• Scheduled by 12 June 2026, before 6 p.m
• With due dates between 7 May and 17 June 2026

I’ve confirmed with CardUp that the second bullet point isn’t a typo— while this is described as a promotion for recurring payments, it really covers only two payments: one in May (in respect of June 2026’s instalment), and one in June (in respect of July 2026’s instalment).

CardUp has told me they may roll out another offer after June for users who want to continue with recurring income tax payments, but for now this is what we’ve got. 

One-off payment: 1.73% fee

Code	173VTAXONE
Limit	1x redemption per user; no overall redemption cap
Admin Fee	1.73%
Min. Spend	None
Cap	None
Schedule By	12 June 2026, 6 p.m (SGT)
Due Date	17 June 2026
Eligible Cards	Visa, UnionPay
Eligibility	New and existing users
173VTAXONE T&Cs

New and existing CardUp customers can use the promo code 173VTAXONE to enjoy a 1.73% fee for a one-time income tax payment paid with a Visa card.

This code is valid for up to one redemption per user, for payments that are:

• Scheduled by 12 June 2026, before 6 p.m
• With due dates by 17 June 2026

There is no minimum or maximum payment that can be made, and you can use it in conjunction with the code for recurring tax payments if you wish (e.g. make a lump-sum payment upfront, then allow GIRO deductions to take place).

One-off payment: 1.7% fee (Targeted)

Code	170TAX2026
Limit	1x redemption per user; no overall redemption cap
Admin Fee	1.7%
Min. Spend	None
Cap	None
Schedule By	12 June 2026, 6 p.m (SGT)
Due Date	17 June 2026
Eligible Cards	Visa, UnionPay
Eligibility	Existing users
170TAX2026 T&Cs

Existing CardUp users who have made at least one tax payment via CardUp may have received a promotional email offering them a 1.7% admin fee on a one-off income tax payment with the code 170TAX2026.

This code can be used a maximum of once per user, for payments that are:

• Scheduled by 12 June 2026, before 6 p.m
• With due dates before 17 June 2026

Again, there is no minimum or maximum payment that can be made. However, CardUp’s rule that you cannot overpay your taxes still applies.

What’s the cost per mile?

Here’s the cost per mile for various Visa cards in Singapore, given their earn rates and a 1.7%, 1.73% and 1.75% admin fee.

Card	Earn Rate	Cost Per Mile 1.7% 1.73% 1.75%
DBS Insignia Card Apply	1.6 mpd	1.04¢ 1.06¢ 1.07¢
UOB Reserve Card Apply	1.6 mpd	1.04¢ 1.06¢ 1.07¢
OCBC VOYAGE Card (Premier, PPC, BOS) Apply	1.6 mpd	1.04¢ 1.06¢ 1.07¢
Citi ULTIMA Card Apply	1.6 mpd	1.04¢ 1.06¢ 1.07¢
DBS Vantage Card Apply	1.5 mpd	1.11¢ 1.13¢ 1.15¢
StanChart Visa Infinite Card Apply	1.4 mpd^	1.19¢ 1.21¢ 1.23¢
UOB PRVI Miles Visa Card Apply	1.4 mpd	1.19¢ 1.21¢ 1.23¢
UOB Visa Infinite Metal Card Apply	1.4 mpd	1.19¢ 1.21¢ 1.23¢
OCBC VOYAGE Card Apply	1.3 mpd	1.29¢ 1.31¢ 1.32¢
OCBC 90°N Visa Card Apply	1.3 mpd	1.29¢ 1.31¢ 1.32¢
DBS Altitude Visa Card Apply	1.3 mpd	1.29¢ 1.31¢ 1.32¢
OCBC Premier Visa Infinite Card Apply	1.28 mpd	1.31¢ 1.33¢ 1.34¢
Citi PremierMiles Visa Card	1.2 mpd	1.39¢ 1.42¢ 1.43¢
Maybank Visa Infinite Card Apply	1.2 mpd	1.39¢ 1.42¢ 1.43¢
StanChart Journey Card Apply	1.2 mpd	1.39¢ 1.42¢ 1.43¢
*Capped at S$1,000 per calendar month, after which 0.4 mpd ^With a minimum spend of S$2,000 per statement month, otherwise 1 mpd (1.72 cpm). CardUp spending counts towards the minimum spend

To illustrate how this works, suppose you have a S$1,000 tax bill and make a one-off payment with CardUp using a 1.73% code:

• S$1,017.30 will be charged to your credit card (S$1,000 bill + 1.73% fee)
• Assuming a 1.4 mpd card, you will earn 1,424 miles (S$1,017.30 x 1.4 mpd; ignoring rounding)
• Given a S$17.30 fee, the cost per mile is 1.21 cents each (S$17.30/1,424 miles)

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

How to set up income tax payments

To schedule an income tax payment, log in 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 personal CardUp account.

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

Setting up GIRO for income tax can be done instantly via myTax Portal for the following banks:

• Bank of China
• Citibank
• DBS/POSB
• HSBC
• ICBC
• Maribank
• Maybank
• OCBC
• Standard Chartered
• UOB

Otherwise, you’ll need to submit a request for a manual GIRO form, which will take up to three weeks to process.

Once your GIRO arrangement has been approved, you can view the monthly instalment by logging in 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 the 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 relevant promo code. 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.

Conclusion

CardUp has launched its offers for the 2026 income tax season, though the recurring payment promotion only covers a maximum of two payments due to its short validity period. We’ll need to wait and see what CardUp has in store for any instalments which come after June 2026. 

Selected customers may also have been targeted for a 1.7% admin fee for a one-off income tax payment, so check your inbox and see if you got lucky.

It remains to be seen what offer Citi PayAll has lined up for this year, but given their rather middling 2025 promotion, I wouldn’t hold my breath.