CardUp has launched its income tax payment offers for 2026, with a one-off payment fee of 1.73%, a small improvement on last year’s 1.75% rate, allowing you to buy miles from 1.06 cents each.
If you’ve already received your Notice of Assessment from IRAS, or expect to shortly, CardUp’s discounted fee codes are now live for both one-off and recurring income tax payments using a Singapore-issued Visa or China UnionPay card.
ipaymy already launched its 2026 tax payment promotion back in March, but CardUp has been a little later to the party again this year, but arriving with a slightly more competitive fee for one-off Visa payments.
Here’s what’s on offer, and how the cost per mile stacks up.
CardUp income tax offer (one-off)
Use promo code 173VTAXONE for a 1.73% fee (u.p. 2.6%) on a one-time income tax payment.
- Singapore-issued Visa or China UnionPay cards only
- One redemption per user
- Schedule by 12th June 2026 (before 6pm SGT)
- Payment due date must be on or before 17th June 2026
- Must schedule at least three business days before due date
Full terms and conditions for this promo code are available here.
CardUp income tax offer (recurring)
Use promo code 175VTAXR for a 1.75% fee (u.p. 2.6%) on recurring monthly income tax payments.
- Singapore-issued Visa or China UnionPay cards only
- Up to two redemptions per user
- Schedule by 12th June 2026 (before 6pm SGT)
- Payment due dates must fall between 7th May 2026 and 17th June 2026
- Must schedule at least three business days before due date
Full terms and conditions for this promo code are available here.
Important: Despite this being described as a recurring payment option, the narrow due date window of 7 May to 17 June means this code effectively covers only two monthly instalments — not your full annual GIRO schedule. CardUp may release further codes for subsequent months, but for now this is all that’s available.Targeted offer: 1.7% for existing users
If you’ve previously made a recurring income tax payment via CardUp, check your inbox. CardUp is also running a targeted 1.7% fee deal for one-off income tax payments using promo code 170TAX2026.
- One redemption per user
- Must have received the CardUp promotional email to be eligible
- Schedule by 12th June 2026 (before 6pm SGT)
- Payment due date must be on or before 17th June 2026
- Singapore-issued Visa or China UnionPay cards only
Full terms and conditions for this promo code are available here.
Note that this is a targeted offer. If you haven’t received the email, the code won’t work. If you didn’t receive the email, don’t bother trying – the code is validated during checkout.
Cost per mile
Here’s how the cost per mile looks for some popular Visa credit cards issued in Singapore, across the three available promo codes.
Cost per mile
170TAX2026
173VTAXONE
175VTAXR
| CardUp Cost Per Mile 2026 Income Tax  |
||||
| Card | Mpd | 1.70% | 1.73% | 1.75% |
 Citi ULTIMA Visa |
1.6 | 1.04¢ | 1.06¢ | 1.07¢ |
 DBS Insignia |
1.6 | 1.04¢ | 1.06¢ | 1.07¢ |
 UOB Reserve |
1.6 | 1.04¢ | 1.06¢ | 1.07¢ |
 DBS Vantage |
1.5 | 1.11¢ | 1.13¢ | 1.15¢ |
 UOB PM Visa |
1.4 | 1.19¢ | 1.21¢ | 1.23¢ |
 SCVI |
1.4* | 1.19¢ | 1.21¢ | 1.23¢ |
 UOB VI Metal |
1.4 | 1.19¢ | 1.21¢ | 1.23¢ |
 OCBC 90ºN Visa |
1.3 | 1.29¢ | 1.31¢ | 1.32¢ |
 DBS Alt Visa |
1.3 | 1.29¢ | 1.31¢ | 1.32¢ |
 Citi PM Visa |
1.2 | 1.39¢ | 1.42¢ | 1.43¢ |
 SC Journey |
1.2 | 1.39¢ | 1.42¢ | 1.43¢ |
* SC Visa Infinite earns 1.4 mpd subject to a minimum spend of S$2,000 in the same statement cycle, otherwise 1 mpd. CardUp payments count towards this minimum.
Even with one of the widely-held 1.2 mpd cards like the SC Journey Card, an effective cost per mile of 1.39-1.43 cents is competitive. For those with 1.6 mpd cards, the one-off code delivers an excellent 1.06 cents per mile, dropping to 1.04 cents if you’re targeted for the 1.7% deal.
You can check the latest full list of cards awarding points and miles for CardUp payments here.
Calculation
One common question we receive for CardUp and ipaymy payments is why the cost per mile isn’t simply the fee divided by the earn rate (e.g. 1.73% ÷ 1.4 mpd = 1.24 cents per mile).
The reason is that you earn miles on the fee as well as the tax amount. Your card is charged the total of both, so you earn slightly more miles than you might expect.
Here’s an example using the UOB PRVI Miles Visa for a one-off income tax payment under the 173VTAXONE code:
- S$10,000 tax payment
- 1.73% fee = S$173
- CardUp charges your card S$10,173
- UOB awards 14,242 miles (S$10,173 × 1.4 mpd)
- Cost per mile is S$173 ÷ 14,242 miles = 1.21 cents per mile
No Mastercard or Amex deals yet
CardUp isn’t currently offering any income tax payment deals for Mastercard or American Express cards. However, it’s worth noting that last year CardUp rolled out a Mastercard deal a week after its initial Visa promotion, with a very competitive 1.55% fee (albeit capped), so it’s possible something similar could follow again this year.
In the meantime, Mastercard holders can look at ipaymy’s 1.99% fee deal using promo code TAXMC2026, which is available now.
How to pay
The process is the same as previous years. Log in to your CardUp account, press ‘Create Payment’, and select the ‘Taxes’ icon, then ‘IRAS – Income Tax’.
Enter your payment amount as per your IRAS Statement of Account or Notice of Assessment, select (or add) the credit card you’d like to use, and choose your tax due date. Your payment reference is automatically pulled from the NRIC registered on your CardUp account.
When prompted, enter the relevant promo code: 173VTAXONE, 175VTAXR, or 170TAX2026, as applicable. The standard 2.6% fee will show initially, but the discount is reflected once you proceed to the payment review stage.
You’ll need to upload a copy of your NoA or GIRO Payment Plan showing your name, NRIC, outstanding balance and its date. You can pay the full outstanding amount or a monthly instalment, but you cannot overpay – IRAS is very particular about this.
Monthly instalments (GIRO)
If you have a GIRO arrangement with IRAS, you can use the 175VTAXR code to settle your monthly instalments via credit card.
Bear in mind the key limitation: the due date window of 7th May to 17th June 2026 means you can only use this code for a maximum of two instalments. CardUp may release further codes covering later months, but nothing has been announced yet.
CardUp provides full instructions on setting up recurring income tax payments here.
Summary
CardUp’s 2026 income tax promo codes are now live, with one-off payments getting a small fee reduction to 1.73% (down from 1.75% in 2025), while recurring payments hold at 1.75%, though the recurring code only covers two instalments due to its narrow May to June validity window.
Existing CardUp users who’ve previously made recurring tax payments should also check their inbox for a targeted 1.7% one-off deal, which drops the cost per mile even further.
All codes are limited to Singapore-issued Visa and China UnionPay cards, with no Mastercard or Amex options, matching last year’s initial restrictions. For Mastercard holders, ipaymy’s 1.99% deal remains the alternative, though CardUp may come up with another deal here too.
All codes expire by mid-June 2026, so there’s some time to plan, but don’t leave it until the last minute.
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(Cover Photo: IRAS)
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