Year, employees and authorised signatory
App8B(1/2027) covers the year ended 31 December 2026. Complete it with IR8A for employment-related gains from exercise, assignment or release of options, or grant/vesting of share ownership, including Singapore citizens and permanent residents who leave employment or are posted overseas. It may be signed by the company secretary/director, manager, club/association honorary secretary or treasurer, local representative of a non-resident company or another employer-authorised person.
AIS and non-AIS: 1 March 2027
Non-AIS employers give the form to employees by 1 March 2027 for their returns. For citizens or permanent residents who have ceased employment or are posted overseas with Singapore-taxable gains, send Appendix 8B and IR8A to IRAS. AIS employers electronically submit complete and correct information by that same date and need not issue Appendix 8B, although a separate employee statement may be provided. Tell employees not to duplicate employment income and deductions already included automatically.
When gains arise, and losses
ESOP gains generally arise on exercise, ESOW on grant or, if vesting is imposed, on vesting. With a selling moratorium, accrual is when the restriction is lifted. A loss transaction need not be reported in Appendix 8B and cannot offset gains on other plans. Do not use the same date for all grants without checking vesting and sale restrictions.
Plans granted during Singapore employment
For grants before 1 January 2003, gains are taxable if exercise/vesting occurs while the employee is physically present or employed in Singapore. For grants on or after that date, gains connected to Singapore employment are taxable regardless of the exercise/vesting location. The connection to employment matters beyond the employee’s present location.
Plans granted outside Singapore employment
Temporary absence incidental to Singapore employment does not count as outside employment for this rule. Otherwise, exercise/vesting before 1 January 2002 is taxable if the employee is physically present or employed in Singapore; from that date, gains are not taxable even if exercise/vesting occurs in Singapore or while employed here. The notes say not to report those non-taxable gains.
IR8A reconciliation and cash compensation
Total 2026 gross stock-option gains go into IR8A item d7. Cash compensation for release of rights to acquire shares in a qualifying company on resignation or misconduct termination belongs in IR8A item d1 Allowances, not Appendix 8B. That specific compensation instruction should not be expanded into a rule for all possible share-related payments.
Company identity, plan and event date
Complete granting-company registration number and name only where it differs from the declaring employer. Indicate ESOP or ESOW. Without moratorium, use ESOP exercise, ESOW vesting if imposed, or ESOW grant if no vesting. With moratorium, use the date it is lifted.
Open-market value
The value corresponds to the date reflected in Appendix 8B column (d). For shares listed on SGX, the source instructs use of the last done price on the listing date of the acquired shares. For shares not on SGX where open-market or arm’s-length value cannot be determined, use net asset value. Preserve that stated instruction rather than silently replacing it with a different valuation date.
Foreign-currency conversion: five cases
Convert share/option prices for columns (e) and (f), except (g), to Singapore dollars. ESOW without restrictions or vesting uses grant-date exchange rate; without restrictions but with vesting uses vesting-date rate; with restriction uses lifting-date rate. ESOP without restrictions uses exercise-date rate; with restriction uses lifting-date rate.
Permitted alternatives and consistency
If the actual rate on the relevant date is unavailable, IRAS accepts the company’s in-house rate, local banks, locally circulated newspapers or reputable news agencies. Use the same source for all employees and across all years, and communicate to employees the exchange-rate basis used to report gains. These are three simultaneous conditions, not a choice among them.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗