Singapore: Checking an adviser's credentials

IRAS describes the Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals (SCTP) as the accreditation body for tax professionals in Singapore. Professionals who have acquired the necessary training and practical experience may apply to SCTP for accreditation, and IRAS says that two of its programmes, the Assisted Compliance Assurance Programme and the Assisted Self-help Kit, can only be performed by SCTP accredited professionals.1Source 1IRAS, IRAS-Tax Agent relationship (28 January 2026). The IRAS page read for this page describes no registration or licensing of tax agents, so the question to ask is whether the people who will do your work are accredited, and to which body they belong.

SCTP keeps a directory of accredited tax professionals. Only accredited professionals who have consented to being listed appear in it, so a person who is accredited may still be absent from the directory.2Source 2Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals, Directory of accredited tax professionals: "only accredited tax professionals who have consented to having their information listed are included in this directory". Accredited professionals must adhere to SCTP's Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.3Source 3Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals, FAQs: accredited tax professionals "must adhere to" the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. Ask the adviser for the accreditation held by each named person and check the directory; where a name is not there, ask the adviser to show the accreditation another way.

A tax adviser may also be a chartered accountant. The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) has a complaints and disciplinary process for its members, which the complaints page describes.4Source 4Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, Lodging a complaint (7 July 2025). Ask whether each named person is an ISCA member, and check with the Institute.

The company makes the R&D claim in its own corporate income tax return, with the R&D claim form.5Source 5IRAS, Research & Development (R&D) Tax Measures (13 August 2026). Ask who will prepare the technical case and the figures, who will file the return, and whether the same people will deal with IRAS if questions come. The who is named on the claim? page covers the question in general.

An SCTP listing tells you that the person is accredited and bound by the SCTP code; an ISCA membership tells you that the person is bound by that body's rules and complaints process. Neither tells you whether the person has prepared R&D claims before, who will write your technical case, or whether help with an IRAS query is in the price. Those come from the twenty questions and the engagement letter. A person who is not accredited and belongs to no body is not for that reason doing anything wrong, since the IRAS page read describes accreditation as something a professional may apply for. It means that no body's code or complaints process stands behind the name.

• Is each named person SCTP accredited, and can we see it in the directory or otherwise?
• Is each named person a member of ISCA or another professional body?
• Who will write the technical case, and will they talk to the people who did the work? (Who will do the technical work?)
• Do you pay or receive referral fees for introductions, and will you tell us in writing? (Do you pay or receive referral fees?)

• What qualifications does the team have? and named people with qualifications you can check
• Your responsibility and complaints about an adviser in Singapore
• Reference check guide

Sources

1. IRAS, IRAS-Tax Agent relationship (28 January 2026).  Back
2. Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals, Directory of accredited tax professionals: "only accredited tax professionals who have consented to having their information listed are included in this directory".  Back
3. Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals, FAQs: accredited tax professionals "must adhere to" the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.  Back
4. Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, Lodging a complaint (7 July 2025).  Back
5. IRAS, Research & Development (R&D) Tax Measures (13 August 2026).  Back