Singapore
Singapore: 6 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Singapore
The 6 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Singapore is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stLogistics and freight Logistics Performance Index4.3 of 5 of 138 economies · 2022 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 12
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Massage and respiratory therapy apparatusMechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatusUS$2.1 bn · 11.4% of world exports of 184 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s2ndForeign investment Foreign direct investment received, a year on averageUS$140 bn of 182 economies · 2023–2025 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s3rdLogistics and freight Container port traffic37.6 million TEU of 118 economies · 2021 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Refined petroleum productsPetroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oilsUS$56.6 bn · 6.4% of world exports of 215 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Other food preparationsFood preparations not elsewhere specified or includedUS$5.5 bn · 8.6% of world exports of 221 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s4thKnowledge-intensive economy Economic Complexity Index1.52 of 142 economies · 2024 Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0) See the top 10
- World’s5thResearch and technology High-technology exportsUS$223.6 bn of 123 economies · 2024 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s8thDigital services ICT service exportsUS$33.6 bn of 133 economies · 2025 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s10thLogistics and freight Air freight carried7,604 million tonne-km of 137 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Singapore. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Singapore.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Singapore: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Singapore belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- ASEAN Free Trade Area (ATIGA)
- Free trade area · since 17 May 2010
Covers goods.
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ASEAN means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which comprises Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar,
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
- Free trade area · since 1 January 2022
Covers goods, services, investment.
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1 January 2022 Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Free trade area · since 30 December 2018
Covers goods, services, investment, public procurement.
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any State or separate customs territory may accede to this Agreement, subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed between the Parties and that State or separate customs territory.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 17%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- SGD 60
GST
The tax on what the company sells in Singapore, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 9%
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The current GST rate in Singapore is 9%. GST-registered businesses are required to charge and account for GST at 9% on all sales of goods and services in Singapore unless the sale can be zero-rated or exempted under the GST law.
- Other rates
- 0% Zero-rated supplies, such as exports of goods and international services
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When to charge 0% GST (Zero-rate) Exporting of Goods Learn when to zero-rate exported goods.
- Registration threshold
- SGD 1,000,000 · about €696,961
taxable turnover (retrospective: more than S$1 million in the calendar year; prospective: expected to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months); 12 months
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Under the retrospective view , more than $1 million at the end of the calendar year, or Under the prospective view , expected to be more than $1 million in the next 12 months
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A business not liable under either the retrospective or the prospective view may register voluntarily at any time if it fulfils the conditions.
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If you are not liable for registration under either basis but still wish to register, you may do so voluntarily.
- A foreign company
- The same threshold applies; needs a local tax representative
An overseas entity that registers for GST must appoint a local Section 33(1) agent. Under the overseas vendor registration regime an overseas business registers only if its annual global turnover exceeds S$1 million and its B2C supplies of remote services or low-value goods to Singapore exceed S$100,000 a year; such OVR pay-only vendors need not appoint a local agent.
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overseas businesses with an annual global turnover exceeding S$1 million and that make B2C supplies of remote services and/or low-value goods to customers in Singapore exceeding S$100,000 annually, will be required to register for GST in Singapore
- Returns filed
- Quarterly
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Any changes to your GST accounting period would have to align with your financial year-end and filing frequency requested: Month that the financial year ends in Filing frequency requested Standard GST accounting periods Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec Quarterly Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Singapore, tax year 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 30 November · each year
The YA 2026 return is due on 30 November 2026, filed at mytax.iras.gov.sg. The separate estimate of chargeable income (ECI) is due within three months of the financial year end where the company must file one.
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All companies must file their YA 2026 Corporate Income Tax Return by the deadline of 30 Nov 2026 at mytax.iras.gov.sg .
- Corporate tax, final payment
- Set each year by decree · each year
The due date is one month from the date printed on the Notice of Assessment, so no calendar date can be published in advance; rule_type is decree with no dates and a consumer reads the notice. IRAS's worked example: an NOA dated 2 June 2025 makes the tax payable on 2 July 2025.
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The payment due date is 1 month from the date of the Notice of Assessment (Tax Bill).
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Not required here
Singapore has no standing regime of advance or instalment payments of corporate income tax: the company files an estimate of chargeable income (ECI) within three months of its financial year end, is assessed, and pays one month from the Notice of Assessment. Payment by monthly GIRO instalments exists only where the company applies for it, and is a payment facility rather than an obligation with a published date.
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The payment due date is 1 month from the date of the Notice of Assessment (Tax Bill).
- Personal income-tax return
- 18 April · each year
The electronic filing deadline is 18 April each year; IRAS also states a paper return must reach it by 15 April. The rule records the electronic date, which is the one the Authority publishes for the current filing season.
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please proceed to e-File your Income Tax Returns by 18 Apr each year
- Personal income tax, final payment
- Set each year by decree · each year
IRAS states payment is due via GIRO or within 1 month of receiving the tax bill, so no calendar date can be published in advance; rule_type is decree with no dates and a consumer reads the notice. IRAS adds: "If you are not paying your taxes via GIRO, a late payment penalty will be imposed for taxes that are outstanding after 1 month." The page read is IRAS's guide to changing a tax bill after filing; the dedicated payment pages (getting-my-tax-assessment, late-payment-or-non-payment, how-to-pay) returned only a generic payment-modes listing on 22 and 25 Oct 2026.
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You must still pay the tax first, via GIRO or within 1 month of receiving your tax bill, even if you disagree with your tax assessment.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Not required here
Individuals file one annual return by 18 April and are billed afterwards; Singapore publishes no advance-payment or payment-on-account regime for personal income tax. Where tax is deducted it is deducted by the employer only on cessation of employment (tax clearance), not as a standing advance payment.
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please proceed to e-File your Income Tax Returns by 18 Apr each year
- VAT return
- 1 month after the end of the quarter · each quarter
GST (Singapore's VAT) is filed for the business's accounting period, which is normally a quarter: the return and payment are due one month after the period ends, and IRAS grants extensions only in listed circumstances. A special accounting period follows the same one-month rule from its own end date.
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Your GST return and payment are due 1 month after the end of your accounting period.
- Payroll withholding
- Not required here
Singapore has no monthly pay-as-you-earn remittance: the employee pays his own tax after assessment, and the employer's obligation is to report employees' employment income once a year through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme or on Form IR8A (due 1 March), which is a return of information, not a remittance of tax withheld. Employers must withhold only on the employee's cessation of employment or departure (tax clearance, Form IR21), which is not a periodic obligation.
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Under Section 68(2) of the Income Tax Act (PDF, 204KB), submission is mandatory for employers who:
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Singapore yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Singapore exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Singapore’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electronic integrated circuits HS 8542 | 20.5% | 17.7% | 22.0% | US$72.8 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 17.2% | 17.7% | 17.1% | US$56.6 bn |
| Machines and apparatus of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of semiconductor boules or wafers, semiconductor devices, electronic integrated circuits or flat panel displays; machines and apparatus specified in note 11(C) to this chapter; parts and accessories HS 8486 | 4.7% | 4.9% | 5.0% | US$16.6 bn |
| Gold (including gold plated with platinum), unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form HS 7108 | 4.4% | 3.1% | 3.3% | US$10.8 bn |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 2.1% | 2.6% | 2.8% | US$9.2 bn |
| Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included HS 8471 | 2.3% | 1.8% | 2.6% | US$8.6 bn |
| Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines HS 8411 | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.5% | US$8.4 bn |
| Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528 HS 8517 | 1.6% | 1.8% | 1.8% | US$6.1 bn |
| Semiconductor devices (for example, diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers); photosensitive semiconductor devices, including photovoltaic cells whether or not assembled in modules or made up into panels; light-emitting diodes (LED), whether or not assembled with other light-emitting diodes (LED); mounted piezo-electric crystals HS 8541 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.7% | US$5.6 bn |
| Food preparations not elsewhere specified or included HS 2106 | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1.7% | US$5.5 bn |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$330.6 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.