Employ foreign workers: passes, levy, and IR21 clearance
Record work-pass and levy classifications on the employee record, reconcile the monthly MOM levy, and file IR21 tax clearance before a foreign employee leaves.
Who can do this
HR operator with payroll access; Organization Admin approves clearance
Primary route
/hr/payroll
Last verified
5 August 2026
- Work-pass type, expiry, and levy tier recorded on each foreign employee
- MOM levy GIRO in place
- Corppass access to myTax Portal for IR21 submission
01
Record passes and levy tiers on the employee
The employee record carries the work-pass type and the Foreign Worker Levy or S Pass levy tier. Payroll derives employer costs — FWL and SDL — from these classifications, so they must be right before the first run.
- Set the pass type, number, and expiry on the employee record at onboarding.
- Select the levy tier that matches the MOM classification (sector, quota band, skill level).
- Update the tier when a worker’s skill certification or your quota position changes — the levy changes with it.
- Track pass expiries through HR; renewals are MOM transactions with their own lead times.
02
Reconcile the monthly levy
MOM bills the levy monthly, due by the 14th of the following month via GIRO. The platform computes the expected levy in payroll employer costs; the MOM bill is the authoritative charge.
- Compare the MOM levy bill against the payroll run’s computed FWL each month.
- Investigate differences: mid-month joins and exits are pro-rated daily, and tier changes take effect from MOM’s recorded date, not yours.
- Post the levy to the ledger through the payroll journal and reconcile the clearing account.
Levy arrears block new pass applications and renewals across the company — a missed GIRO deduction is an operational incident, not just a late fee.
03
File IR21 before a foreign employee leaves
When a non-citizen employee ceases employment or leaves Singapore, the employer must file IR21 at least one month before cessation and withhold all monies due until IRAS issues the tax clearance directive.
- Trigger the clearance as soon as resignation or transfer is known — the one-month clock is the employer’s obligation.
- Generate the IR21 tax clearance artifact from HR → Payroll → Payroll reporting for the employee and period.
- Withhold final salary and all other payments due from the notification date.
- File the IR21 in myTax Portal and wait for the Directive to Pay or clearance notification.
- Release the withheld monies per the directive: remit the directed tax to IRAS, pay the remainder to the employee, and record both against the run.
Expected result: Clearance filed on time, tax settled from withheld monies, and the employee paid the correct net — with the directive on file.
Troubleshooting
- Computed levy differs from the MOM bill: check pro-ration dates and the recorded tier against MOM’s classification.
- IR21 filed late: IRAS can recover the employee’s tax from the employer — treat the one-month lead as hard.
- Not sure IR21 applies: it covers non-citizen employees generally; short-service exemptions exist, so verify against IRAS’s current criteria rather than assuming.