Dated test window and three audiences
The eleven-page 9 September 2026 guide covers payroll vendors seeking AIS listing, AIS employers with in-house software and payroll service providers submitting for clients. It describes validation, not employee-income eligibility. Follow the vendor eight-step route or employer/provider five-step route.
Vendor onboarding and four scenarios
Integrate directly with Submission of Employment Income Records 2.0, onboard APEX and subscribe to sandbox; wait for IRAS notification. Test scenario 1 is IR8A only, 2 adds A8A, 3 adds A8B, and 4 includes all three. Multiple products use the combination with most supported forms. Annual validation includes self-verification.
Set A: reproduce expected fictitious data
Generate submissionType O with the scenario values and compare generated JSON against expected output. Review legitimate differences such as softwareName; fix unexpected differences and regenerate. Scenario figures are fictitious, not CPF or tax calculation references; the final YA2027 forms are separate. Submit in sandbox and retain the acknowledgement. Public sandbox credentials are in the original PDF, not production credentials.
Set B: random records and authorisation path
Generate original fictitious data with valid identifier formats and varied employee categories: at least twenty IR8A records and five for each supported appendix. Submit as a directly client-authorised tax agent where supported, otherwise employer. The PDF supplies the matching sandbox entity/payload identifiers and test accounts; use the appropriate path rather than mixing identities.
Sets C and D: amendment versus revision
C is required only if amendments are supported: submissionType A across supported forms with both positive and negative adjustments, using the client-e-services-group agent authorisation or employer fallback. D is required only if revisions are supported: type R replaces Set A and includes its appendices. A adjusts, while R overwrites; keep each acknowledgement for verification.
Warnings and production behaviour
For basis-year-2026 sandbox records the specified advance-year warning may be bypassed with bypassWarning. Production must default this flag to false, offering true only after a user acknowledges returned warnings. This is not permission to suppress every error or warning automatically.
Self-verification and listing timetable
Submit the emailed self-verification form only when all required A–D acknowledgement fields are complete. IRAS randomly checks data, contacts within two weeks only for clarification, and otherwise notifies the next step. Production subscriptions open 1 October 2026; after accepted testing IRAS notifies within ten working days. Complete production onboarding by 30 November. Listing is within two weeks after that step, and can be withheld until successful validation.
Employer/provider five-step route
Onboard/subscribe sandbox, generate the same minimum random original records, optionally self-test amendments/revisions/agent paths, submit the self-verification form with required acknowledgement, then onboard production. Optional internal test results need not be reported. The source refers readers to vendor steps 4 and 6 for optional scenarios although amendment detail is step 5; use the relevant actual section. The same warning defaults and dated onboarding milestones apply. Support is data_mgmt@iras.gov.sg.
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 ↗