2023 Tax Deadlines in Singapore You Need To Know About

What’s the Deadline for Filing My Corporate Tax?

The Singapore tax calendar can be found below:

Or, why not save yourself the hassle and download the key tax dates straight to your calendar?

Other key dates to bear in mind:

Who Needs To File Company Tax in Singapore?

Under the Income Tax Act, all companies will have to pay corporate taxes, regardless of their tax residency status. Any chargeable income acquired from Singapore, or foreign-sourced income that’s remitted to Singapore, will have corporate tax imposed.

Singapore tax resident companies benefit from some exemptions and incentives that are not offered to non-tax resident companies.

If you run an ecommerce business in Singapore, you are still required to pay taxes. Here's a guide to tax regulations for e-commerce businesses in Singapore. Additionally, freelancers and self-employed individuals will also have tax obligations.

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Our guide covers Singapore's tax rates, taxes related to employees, and the exemptions and reliefs that your business can benefit from.

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When Do I File Company Tax?

The income your company makes in a financial year (FY) will be assessed and taxed in the next year. This following year is also known as the Year of Assessment (YA). After the end of your company’s FY, you will have to prepare your company’s accounts and tax returns.

To determine your company's financial year, you can choose a financial year-end (FYE). In Singapore, the FYE can be any given date in the calendar year.

What Are Singapore’s Corporate Income Tax Rates & General Tax Exemptions?

Headline Corporate Tax Rate

To position Singapore as an attractive destination for investment, the income tax rates in Singapore have been declining consistently. The headline corporate tax rate in Singapore is currently at a flat 17%, a steep decrease from 26% in 1997 to 2000.

However, the headline corporate tax rate does not always accurately reflect its effective corporate tax rate. Due to tax incentives, tax exemptions, depreciation rules, and other factors, the effective corporate tax rate is usually lower than the headline corporate tax rate.

General Tax Incentives

Once tax exemptions are applied to small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) taxable income, the effective income tax rate becomes significantly reduced.

From YA 2022 onwards, newly incorporated companies enjoy the following tax exemptions for the first three consecutive YA:

75% exemption on the normal chargeable income's first S$100,000

Companies that are newly incorporated will be exempted from 75% of corporate income tax rate on the first S$100,000 taxable income for the first three tax filing years if they fulfill these conditions:

• They are a tax resident in Singapore.
• Company is incorporated in Singapore.
• The company has 20 or fewer shareholders, of which at least one shareholder is an individual shareholder with at least 10% of shares.

Additional 50% tax exemption on up to S$100,000 of taxable income

Companies that are newly incorporated can also enjoy an additional partial exemption – approximately 8.5% tax rate on taxable income up to S$100,000 a year. Taxable income above S$100,000 will incur the usual 17% headline corporate tax rate.

Effective Corporate Tax Rate

Singapore's general tax incentives means that SMEs get to enjoy attractive tax rates.

For instance, Stephanie's newly incorporated company in Singapore makes S$300,000 annual taxable income. Her tax exemption on the first S$300,000 of chargeable income will be as follows:

Which Type of Tax Return Do You Fall Into?

There are two types of tax returns for tax filing in Singapore, namely the Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) and Form C/C-S/C-S Lite.

1 Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

ECI is an estimate of your company's profits that will be taxed after deducting tax-allowable expenses.Your company will also have to state its revenue along with ECI.

Companies can be exempted from ECI filing if they fulfill these conditions:

• The FY’s revenue is no more than S$5,000,0000
• The ECI is nil in the YA

If your company meets the conditions, you do not have to inform IRAS that you will not be filing ECI.

2 Form C-S/C-S Lite/C

Form C-S/C-S Lite/C is a Corporate Income Tax Return for the declaration of your company's actual income. Compared to the ECI report, this form gives a more detailed breakdown of your company's financial health. After your company's FY ends, you will have 11 months to prepare and file the respective form with IRAS.

Other qualifying criteria

1. In the YA, the company is not claiming any of the following:

• Carry-back of current year losses or allowances
• Investment allowance
• Group relief
• Foreign tax credit and tax deduction at source

2. Taxable income is subject to the 17% corporate rate

Form C - Not applicable

How Do I File Tax Returns in Singapore?

To file corporate tax in Singapore, simply follow these steps:

1. Login to MyTax Portal along with your company’s Corppass. You can file the tax returns by yourself, or authorise your staff or third party in Corppass to grant them access to file taxes on your company's behalf. If you have yet to set up Corppass, here is the step-by-step guide to do so. You or any authorised person will then have to verify through SMS (or OneKey Token).
2. Follow the instructions given by IRAS, to file ECI or Form C-S/C.
3. Click on "Corporate Tax" on the menu bar, and select "File ECI" or "File Form C-S/C".
4. Follow the instructions provided by IRAS, and begin your filing process.

What Do I Do After Filing Tax Returns?

By 31 May the following year, IRAS will send you the Notice of Assessment (NOA) after reviewing your company's tax returns. This NOA provides a detailed statement of your company’s tax liabilities as well as an opportunity for your company to object to IRAS’ tax assessment if you wish to do so.

If there are no issues, you will have to pay the corporate tax within 30 days from the NOA's date. This can be done through interbank GIRO, cheque, telegraphic transfer, or internet banking.<br>

What Are the Penalties for Late or Non-Payment of Tax?

Late payment of corporate tax may lead to a 5% penalty, and further 1% penalties for every month that tax remains unpaid, up to a 12% penalty. Additionally, IRAS could take legal actions or further enforcement to recover the unpaid tax.

In the event of tax evasion, when someone deliberately gives IRAS inaccurate or incomplete information about company activities to reduce tax liability or get undue tax credits and refunds, an investigation will be launched.

Tax evasion is a serious criminal offence, and investigations may take 15 to 24 months. Investigations may involve surprise searches or visits to residences and company premises to dig up accounting records and relevant documents. Findings discovered during investigations will be discussed with the company in question, through meetings arranged by IRAS. Penalties may then be imposed accordingly, factoring the company's investigation cooperativeness and if there was the intention to evade taxes.

In situations where there was intention to evade taxes, penalties could include:

• Up to S$50,000 in fines
• Up to 400% of the tax undercharged in financial penalties
• Up to 5 years imprisonment for the relevant individual

How To Stay Compliant When Managing a Business

Running a business is a feat – there are so many things to take care of, from branding, marketing, to staying compliant with the law.

Put your mind at ease

You don’t have to do everything by yourself. Enter Osome, the answer to all your accounting woes. You will have a Chartered Accountant, who will be your advisor, your point of call, and the one in charge.

In a nutshell, Osome will track tax return deadlines, suggest tax exemptions, and highlight issues in the reports – so you have more time to focus on your core business at hand.

Book a call with us today!

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