Around 16,000 private-hire car drivers in Singapore are set to see higher tax bills after incomplete income records were submitted to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, resulting in understated earnings in their tax assessments.
The issue affected about 28,000 Grab drivers who had opted into the tax authority’s pre-filling initiative for the 2026 Year of Assessment. The incomplete records meant some drivers’ reported income was lower than their actual earnings.
The tax authority said it was informed by Grab at the end of July about the data submission error. Grab has since provided corrected income records, and revised Notices of Assessment are now being issued to affected taxpayers.
For around 16,000 taxpayers, the corrected figures will result in an increase in tax payable. The majority will owe less than S$100 in additional tax, although the actual amount varies according to each person’s income, tax bracket and available reliefs.
Affected drivers do not need to contact the tax authority before receiving their revised assessments. Most revised Notices of Assessment are expected to be issued by the end of September.
Drivers who pay their taxes through GIRO instalment plans will have their instalments adjusted automatically. Those who do not use GIRO will need to make payment by the due date stated on their revised assessment.
The problem stemmed from the income information submitted for drivers participating in the pre-filling scheme. Under the system, platform operators can provide income information to the tax authority so that eligible drivers can have their earnings automatically populated in their tax returns.
The scheme is intended to reduce the administrative burden for private-hire drivers, but taxpayers remain responsible for checking that the pre-filled figures are accurate. The tax authority’s guidance says platform workers should verify their pre-filled income and amend the revenue figure if it differs from their own records.
Grab said it had informed the tax authority about the error and was working with officials to review the data submission process. The company apologised to affected driver-partners and said it had introduced additional safeguards to reduce the risk of similar errors happening again.
The company has also advised affected drivers to check that the total income shown on their revised tax assessment matches the earnings stated in their Grab annual partner statement.
The incident highlights the importance of accurate income reporting in Singapore’s platform economy, where thousands of private-hire drivers rely on automated systems to transfer earnings information into their tax records.
For the affected drivers, the immediate issue is the revised tax liability rather than a new tax rule. The higher bills reflect the correction of previously understated income records.
With corrected assessments now being processed, drivers will need to check their revised figures and follow the payment arrangements stated by the tax authority.
