This is NTUC chief, Mr Ng Chee Meng.
And yesterday, this man with the husky voice took to Facebook to answer FAQs about the Self-Employed Income Relief Scheme (Sirs).
What’s SIRS?
The Covid-19 pandemic has been taxing but one group of people that’s even more heavily impacted are the self-employed people like tour guides, emcees, etc.
Not only do they have lesser gigs, but they also do not have the luxury of a company supporting them through these hard times.
Which is why, Mr Ng reveals, the government is helping them for the first time.
Eligible self-employed individuals are able to get $9,000 in 3 payouts: end-May, July and October.
Who’s Eligible?
Here’s the list of requirements to be eligible for the scheme:
- Started work as a self-employed person on or before 25 March 2020
- Do not also earn income as an employee / earn less than $2,500 from employment work
- Earn a Net Trade Income of no more than $100,000
- Live in a property with an annual value of no more than $21,000
- For married couples, the spouse must have an assessable income that’s lesser than $70,000
- Do not own two or more properties (individual and (if married) together with the spouse)
If you’re aged 37 and above (as of 31 Dec 2020) and you’ve declared your Net Trade Income to IRAS or CPF Board for personal income tax for the Work Year 2018, you don’t have to apply.
You’re automatically qualified for the Sirs and will receive a notification via SMS or email from the CPF Board.
What if I missed any of the criteria by a bit?
You can send an application to NTUC for their consideration. They will review each application on a case-by-case basis.
How To Apply:
Here’s the website which you can go to submit your application for Sirs: https://sirsapp.ntuc.com.sg/sirsapplication
And here are the things you have to prepare before making your application:
- File your tax return for income earned from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2019: https://mytax.iras.gov.sg/
- Have a valid SingPass login: https://www.singpass.gov.sg/singpass/register/instructions
- Authorise MyInfo (for SingPass users) to display your Income and CPF information: bit.ly/myinfo_hp
Filing of income tax for the work year 2018 or 2019 is important and if you haven’t done so, to do it before applying.
Filing of income tax has been extended to end-May, Mr Ng added.
He also clarified on the video that the application takes up to 30 days to process, with payments being made progressively depending on when the application is received.
In other words, it’s not a magic solution like the Temporary Relief Fund where they take only 3 days to process.
Application for SIRS opens daily from 9am to 10pm.
