How to earn miles on your YA2025 income tax bill

The YA 2025 income tax season has begun, and taxpayers should be in the process of receiving their tax bills, also known as the Notice of Assessment (NOA).

While receiving an NOA is not often a cause for celebration, the consolation is that tax season can be a great opportunity to earn some extra miles. Even though IRAS does not accept direct card payments, banks and bill payment platforms offer tax payment facilities, which allow cardholders to earn rewards on their taxes, in exchange for a small fee. 

In this article, we’ll look at the ongoing promotions for income tax payments, which help to reduce the cost per mile. 

What’s your value of a mile?

Because all these promotions essentially involve buying miles, the most important question we have to address is: how much do you value a mile? After all, it makes little sense to be buying miles for more than you value them!

The value of a mile will vary from person to person, based on their travel patterns and preferences. If you’re someone who frequently buys commercial Business Class tickets, for example, your mile valuation would be higher than someone whose alternative is to fly with a budget airline. If you’re someone who does not have much flexibility when it comes to travel dates, your mile valuation would be lower than someone who can fly whenever they please. 

Assuming we’re talking about KrisFlyer miles, then I’m of the opinion that 1.5-2 cents is a reasonable price to pay, though arguments can certainly be made for higher or lower valuations.

CardUp

CardUp is currently running two different income tax payment promotions: one for Mastercard and one for Visa.

Visa cardholders can use the code MLTAX25R to make recurring income tax payments with a 1.75% admin fee. There is no cap on the maximum amount that can be paid with this code, so long as payments are scheduled by 31 August 2025 with a due date by 25 March 2026.

Mastercard cardholders can use the code MCTAX25 to make recurring or one-off income tax payments with a 1.67% admin fee. However, there is a redemption cap of 1,500 customers, and each code can only be used for a payment of up to S$5,000. This is valid for payments scheduled by 31 August 2025 with a due date by 3 September 2025.

Therefore, you would ideally use the Mastercard offer first, before switching to the Visa offer if you still have taxes left to pay. 

CardUp transactions are considered a general spending category, with no applicable bonuses. Therefore, you should use the highest-earning general spending card you have. Some suggestions include:

• StanChart Beyond Card: 2 mpd (for Priority Banking and Priority Private), 1.5 mpd (for Regular customers)

• OCBC VOYAGE Card: 1.6 mpd (for Premier Banking, PPC and BOS), 1.3 mpd (for Regular customers)

• UOB PRVI Miles Card: 1.4 mpd

• Citi Prestige Card, DBS Altitude Card, OCBC 90N Card: 1.3 mpd

Citi PayAll

This year’s Citi PayAll promotion offers Citi cardholders:

• 1.8 mpd for tax payments, with a minimum spend of S$6,000 on non-tax payments

• 1.6 mpd for non-tax payments

If you have a Citi banking relationship, the minimum spend of S$6,000 on non-tax payments is waived. All payments must be set up during the promotional period, which runs from 18 April to 31 August 2025. 

This offer is valid for the Citi ULTIMA Card, Citi PremierMiles Card, Citi Prestige Card and Citi Rewards Card, and the earn rates are standard across all four cards. Based on a 2.6% admin fee, the cost per mile for tax payments is 1.44 cents each.

However, if you do not have a Citi banking relationship, the minimum spend of S$6,000 on non-tax payments required to earn 1.8 mpd on tax payments will increase your weighted average cost per mile. 

For example, if I were to make S$6,000 of non-tax payments (at 1.6 mpd) and S$6,000 of tax payments (at 1.8 mpd), my blended cost per mile would be approximately 1.53 cents. While this may still be an acceptable price for those who value miles more highly, my opinion is that those without Citi banking relationships might want to pass on this offer.

Do remember that Citi will only credit the base points at the time of the Citi PayAll payment, with the remainder coming 12 weeks after the end of the promotional period (i.e. by 23 November 2025). To illustrate, a Citi Prestige Cardholder would earn 1.3 mpd upfront, and the remaining 0.5 mpd later on. Take note if you’re planning a redemption for mid-year travel!

Standard Chartered EasyBill and Tax Payment facility

Standard Chartered is running two income tax payment promotions: one for its SC EasyBill platform, and another for its Tax Payment Facility. 

SC EasyBill is offering a 100% rebate of its usual 1.9% admin fee for income tax payments made between 1 April to 30 June 2025, capped at the first 50 applicants per month. There is a cap of S$200 per eligible cardholder, for the entire promotion period (which means you’d max out the offer with a total tax payment of ~S$10,525). 

If you have a StanChart Visa Infinite Card or StanChart Beyond Card, then you’ll need to make your payment through the Income Tax Payment Facility, which is offering a 100% rebate of its usual 1.9% admin fee for income tax payments made between 1 April to 30 June 2025, capped at the first 50 applicants per month.  There is a cap of S$300 per eligible cardholder, for the entire promotion period (which means you’d max out the offer with a total tax payment of ~S$15,790).

Assuming you’re able to be among the first 50 customers, it’s essentially a chance to earn free miles with Standard Chartered cards, including a very attractive 1.5-2 mpd with the StanChart Beyond Card, and 1.2 mpd with the StanChart Journey Card.

UOB One Account

While this isn’t a way of earning miles per se, I did want to give a special mention to the UOB One Account, which is offering a 6% cashback promotion for income tax season. 

From 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, customers who pay personal income tax or individual property tax via GIRO from a UOB One Account will earn a 6% rebate, subject to the following caps.

 

The higher the monthly average balance (MAB) in your UOB One account, the higher your rebate cap. Since the UOB One Account’s bonus interest rates are valid for the first S$150,000 in your account, this is the tier that customers should ideally be aiming for.  

To earn this rebate, account holders will need to:

1. Register their mobile number for PayNow on UOB TMRW

2. Activate Money Lock on UOB TMRW (with a minimum lock amount of S$1)

3. Apply for a GIRO monthly tax payment plan through the IRAS portal, selecting a UOB One Account for deduction

Rebates will be credited by the end of the 2nd calendar month following the payment. 

Conclusion

While no one looks forward to paying taxes, savvy individuals can at least extract some value from the process by turning their income tax bills into a source of miles or rebates. 

Whether you’re using CardUp, Citi PayAll, Standard Chartered’s facilities, or even going the rebates route with UOB One, there are several viable options depending on your card portfolio and mile valuation. 

As always, do the math carefully, consider your upcoming travel plans and pick the method that aligns best with your goals. If you’re going to part with your money, you might as well earn something back in return!