Incorporating a Singapore company takes a day. Keeping it compliant takes a calendar.
Every private limited company in Singapore whether it's a bustling trading business or a dormant holding entity carries a recurring set of obligations to ACRA, IRAS, and the CPF Board. Miss them, and the consequences escalate quickly: composition fines, late-payment penalties, director disqualification risk, and ultimately striking-off from the register.
The good news is that annual compliance is entirely predictable. Once you know the six major filings and when they fall relative to your Financial Year End (FYE), the whole year becomes a checklist. This guide covers each obligation, the deadlines, the penalties, and the practices that keep companies out of trouble.
| Filing | Authority | Deadline | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual General Meeting (AGM) | ACRA | Within 6 months after FYE | All companies (exemptions available) |
| Annual Return (AR) | ACRA | Within 7 months after FYE | All companies, no exceptions |
| Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) | IRAS | Within 3 months after FYE | Most companies (waiver available) |
| Corporate Tax Return (Form C-S / C) | IRAS | 30 November each year | All companies |
| GST Returns | IRAS | One month after each accounting period | GST-registered businesses |
| CPF Contributions | CPF Board | By the 14th of the following month | All employers |
For a company with a 31 December FYE, the rhythm looks like this: ECI by end-March, AGM by end-June, Annual Return by end-July, and the corporate tax return by 30 November — with CPF running monthly and GST quarterly throughout.
The AGM is where shareholders receive the financial statements, approve dividends, and re-appoint directors and auditors. Private companies must hold it within six months after their financial year end.
Two useful exemptions exist:
Whichever route you take, the paper trail matters: notices, resolutions, and minutes must be properly recorded and kept in the company's registers.
Penalty for non-compliance: composition fines from ACRA, and persistent breaches put directors at risk of disqualification.
The Annual Return is ACRA's yearly snapshot of your company : directors, secretary, shareholders, share capital, principal activities, and confirmation of your registered office address. It must be filed via BizFile+ within seven months after FYE, with a filing fee of S$60 for private companies.
There are no exemptions. Dormant companies, holding companies, companies that haven't billed a single dollar all must file.
Penalties are tiered and add up fast: a S$300 late-filing penalty applies if the AR is filed within three months after the deadline, rising to S$600 beyond that. ACRA can also impose composition fines on the company and its directors, and companies that repeatedly fail to file risk being struck off the register with directors of struck-off companies potentially barred from running others.
One detail founders often overlook: ACRA's reminders, offence notices, and striking-off warnings are sent to your registered office address. If nobody is monitoring that address, you may not know you're in breach until the penalties have compounded. This is a core reason companies use a professionally managed registered address service every official letter is received, logged, and forwarded to you promptly.
ECI is your company's estimate of taxable income for the Year of Assessment, filed with IRAS within three months of your FYE. Filing early has a genuine cash-flow benefit: companies that file ECI on time can pay their assessed tax in interest-free instalments.
Waiver: you don't need to file ECI if your annual revenue is S$5 million or below and your ECI is nil. Many small and dormant companies fall within this waiver but check both conditions, not just one.
If you skip ECI without qualifying for the waiver, IRAS may issue its own estimated assessment often higher than your actual liability and you'll bear the burden of objecting to it.
This is the definitive tax filing based on your actual results, due 30 November each Year of Assessment:
Singapore's headline corporate tax rate remains 17%, softened considerably for smaller companies by the partial tax exemption on the first S$200,000 of chargeable income and by the Start-Up Tax Exemption for qualifying new companies in their first three Years of Assessment.
Penalties: late filing attracts composition fines that can reach S$5,000, a 5% penalty on unpaid tax, and for persistent defaulters summons to court.
GST registration is mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million; voluntary registration is available below that threshold if it suits your input-tax profile. The prevailing rate is 9%.
Registered businesses file returns (usually quarterly) within one month after each accounting period ends, and must pay the net GST due by the same date. Late submissions attract a S$200 penalty that grows monthly, plus a 5% penalty on unpaid tax.
Keep every tax invoice. Input tax claims without proper documentation are the most common issue in IRAS GST audits.
The moment you hire your first local employee, you become a CPF-paying employer. Contributions for each month are payable by the 14th of the following month, covering both the employer's share (17% for employees aged 55 and below) and the employee's share (20%) deducted from salary.
Penalties: late-payment interest accrues at 1.5% per month, and the CPF Board actively pursues recovery including legal action against directors personally in serious cases.
Dormancy reduces the workload but doesn't eliminate it. A dormant company must still:
If the company will remain inactive long-term, weigh the annual carrying cost against a formal strike-off application but until it's struck off, the obligations continue.
Anchor everything to your FYE. All the major deadlines cascade from your financial year end. Map them once and the whole year is visible.
Build in lead time. Financial statements need to be prepared before the AGM, which happens before the Annual Return. Starting your accounts close two weeks before the AR deadline is how companies end up paying S$600 penalties.
Watch your registered address. Statutory notices, IRAS letters, and ACRA warnings all land there. A monitored, professionally managed address means nothing slips through.
Keep records for five years. Accounting records, resolutions, registers, and supporting documents must be retained for at least five years and you'll want them if IRAS ever asks questions.
Don't confuse audit exemption with filing exemption. A "small company" (meeting two of three criteria: revenue ≤ S$10m, assets ≤ S$10m, ≤ 50 employees) is exempt from audit not from preparing financial statements, holding the AGM process, or filing anything.
When is my company's first AGM due? Within six months after your first financial year end. Timing your first FYE thoughtfully at incorporation can give you useful breathing room and preserve start-up tax exemption value.
Can I get an extension? ACRA may grant an extension of up to 60 days for the AGM and Annual Return, but you must apply before the deadline typically at least 14 days ahead. Extensions are a safety valve, not a strategy.
My company made no money. Do I still file? Yes. The Annual Return is unconditional, and a nil tax return is still a return. "Nothing happened" is a filing, not an excuse.
What actually happens if I ignore everything? Penalties stack, composition fines are issued to the company and directors, and ACRA can strike the company off. Directors of companies struck off for non-compliance face restrictions on acting as directors elsewhere. Recovery is always more expensive than compliance.
Every obligation in this guide touches your registered office address it's where ACRA writes to you, it's confirmed in every Annual Return, and it's where the warnings arrive when something is missed.
VCO Office provides ACRA-compliant registered address services at Paya Lebar Square as a registered Corporate Service Provider (CSP FA20170051), with reliable mail handling that ensures no statutory notice ever goes unseen. Pair that with a disciplined compliance calendar, and good standing stops being a worry and becomes the default.
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This guide is for general information as of 2026 and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Deadlines and thresholds may change — always verify current requirements with ACRA and IRAS or a qualified professional.
