A company assessment year check should compare the Notice of Assessment with the relevant financial period and filed tax return before anyone reports a year error. Singapore corporate income tax is assessed on a preceding-year basis. The year printed on an assessment therefore need not match the year in which the company earned the income or received the notice.

Accounting records, calculator and glasses on a desk
Illustrative photograph by Cht Gsml.

Identify the notice precisely

Record the company, tax reference, year of assessment and notice date. Establish whether it is an original, estimated or revised assessment. Keep the whole notice, including payment and review instructions, rather than a cropped screenshot showing only the amount.

Use the authorised tax-account route if the message or attachment is unexpected. Do not disclose bank or login information in response to a supposed assessment email.

Map the relevant period

Ask the accountant to connect the financial year end, basis period and year of assessment. Compare the actual return and computation with the notice. A folder labelled accounts 2025 may not explain which tax filing it supports.

If the company has a first or changed financial period, give the adviser the complete dates. Do not force every case into one calendar-year assumption.

Example: notice arrives in a later year

The company receives an assessment after the financial statements were prepared and assumes it relates to current trading. Check the year of assessment and filed-return references first. Receipt date alone does not establish the income period being assessed.

Keep follow-up separate

Retain the reconciliation and ask the tax adviser about any genuine discrepancy, applicable objection process or payment obligation promptly. This checklist does not extend a notice deadline or imply that asking a question suspends payment. Record the actual outcome rather than changing the company’s internal year label to conceal uncertainty.

Related practical guidance

For the surrounding records and responsibilities, see bookkeeping basics, company records to keep, bookkeeping and accounting.

Official guidance: IRAS official guidance.

Help with your company records

For accounting, bookkeeping and related compliance support, contact Raffles Corporate Services at [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. Tell us which records or process need attention so we can discuss the relevant next steps.