2025 Guide: Earning Miles on your Taxes

Here’s a 2025 mass-market friendly guide on how to pay your taxes while earning miles, depending on the cards you already own. I have skipped over the ultra-premium options like DBS Insignia, UOB Reserve, and Citi ULTIMA Visa given these cards are not common.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: IRAS does not accept credit card payments directly, mainly due to high transaction costs. But don’t lose hope—this doesn’t mean you can’t use your credit card to earn miles. Thanks to bank tax facilities and bill payment platforms, you can turn your income tax bill into an opportunity to earn rewards, often at a small cost per mile (CPM).

🥇 StanChart Beyond Card + SC Tax Payment Facility

Fee: 1.9%
Earn Rate: 1.5 - 2.0 mpd
Cost per Mile: 0.95¢ -1.27¢

If you are StanChart's Priority Banking/Priority Private customer, this is probably the lowest cost per mile option for paying taxes in 2025. As a regular customer, 1.27¢ isnt too shabby too. Plus, it counts toward meeting your S$20,000 minimum spend requirement for the 100,000 miles welcome offer.

🥈 CardUp x OCBC VOYAGE

Fee: 1.8%
Earn Rate: 1.28mpd-1.6 mpd
Cost per Mile: 1.13¢ - 1.41¢

For recurring payments, the OCBC VOYAGE (Premier, PPC, BOS) offers the best value with a 1.6 mpd earn rate and a 1.13¢ CPM (using the code OCBC18 for the 1.8% fee). Next, the OCBC VOYAGE (Regular) earns 1.3 mpd with a 1.38¢ CPM. The OCBC Premier Visa Infinite provides 1.28 mpd, translating to a 1.41¢ CPM.

🥉 CardUp x DBS Vantage

Fee: 1.75%
Earn Rate: 1.5 mpd
Cost per Mile: 1.15¢

If you already have the DBS Vantage card, paying taxes via CardUp (with a 1.75% fee) offers good value, with a 1.5 mpd earn rate.

🎯 CardUp x UOB PRVI Miles Visa

Fee: 1.75%
Earn Rate: 1.4 mpd
Cost per Mile: 1.23¢

UOB's PRVI Miles Visa is a solid all-around choice for paying taxes through CardUp, with a 1.75% admin fee and a 1.4 mpd earn rate. It’s an accessible, no-frills option, especially since the annual fee is waivable.

⚠️ Special Mention: Citi PayAll

Fee: 2.6%
Earn Rate: 2 mpd, but only if you have a Citi banking relationship
Cost per Mile: As low as 1.3¢

To qualify for these promotional rates, you must meet a minimum spend of S$6,000 on non-tax payments if you don’t have a Citi banking relationship. The CPM can increase up to 1.63¢ when the mix of tax and non-tax payments shifts towards more non-tax spending.

If you have Citibanking, Citi Priority, Citi Plus, Citigold (with AUM ≥ S$250,000), or Citigold Private Client (with AUM ≥ S$1,500,000), you don’t need to meet the spend requirement.

However, for pure cost-effectiveness, the CardUp x UOB Priv Miles Visa remains cheaper, with a CPM of 1.23¢. I will only consider Citi PayAll option if you have a Citi banking relationship.

⚠️ Special Mention: UOB One Account

You can technically pay via GIRO and enjoy cashback on your UOB One Account, but the cashback amount depends heavily on your monthly average balance (MAB) and eligible spend. Not a miles play, but worth noting for cashback folks.

🔁 Can You Still Use GIRO?

Yes! These services don’t have to replace GIRO completely. You can split your tax payment between GIRO and card.

🧮 Example: Your tax bill is $1,000. You pay $800 via CardUp, and the remaining $200 continues via GIRO—no disruption to your original arrangement.

🏁 Final Thoughts

Will I be using CardUp for my income tax? I'm still undecided. The Chocolate Finance Visa’s 0.86 cents per mile rate is tempting, but I might prefer saving its precious S$1,000 limit for insurance premiums or utilities. Since I don’t have the DBS Vantage, my next best option is the UOB PRVI Miles Visa at 1.23 cents per mile.

As I’ve covered in a previous article on KrisFlyer mile valuation, my personal ceiling for buying miles is 1.1 cents per mile, reflecting a 25% discount from my average redemption value. However, I might break this rule as I’m planning an upcoming family trip and need all the miles I can get.

What about you? Are you taking advantage of any of these promo?

Enjoyed this article? Find more tips to accelerate your miles game! ✈️💳

📌 Beginner’s Guide: How should I start my miles journey?

📌 My 2025 Credit Card Strategy for Maximizing Miles

📌 2025 Beginner’s Guide: The Best 4-6 mpd Credit Cards in Singapore

📌 How much is a KrisFlyer mile worth in 2025?

📌 Fly to Bali for Free? The Stopover Trick That Gets You 2 Flights for the Price of 1!

If you’ve found my work helpful or valuable, I’d be incredibly grateful if you’d consider supporting me by buying me a coffee! ☕ Your support will keep me motivated and fuels more great content.