As a company, your primary tax filing obligations include the Corporate Income Tax and, if applicable, the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Corporate Income Tax Returns, including the Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) and Forms C-S, C-S (Lite), or C, must be filed annually. If you are GST-registered, all GST returns are due within one month after the end of each accounting period.
Errors in tax returns or missed deadlines can lead to penalties and enforcement actions. To ensure accurate and timely filings, it is crucial to have a solid understanding of your obligations.
To streamline this process, engage Datseasy for expert guidance in meeting your tax filing requirements efficiently and on time. For a brief overview of corporate tax and GST filing requirements, scroll down. Contact us to discuss how we can assist you with your tax filing needs!
Corporate Tax
Corporate Income Tax is assessed on a preceding year basis in Singapore. For example, income earned in the financial year 2024 will be taxed in 2025. In tax terms, 2025 is the Year of Assessment (YA), as it is the year in which your company’s income is assessed to tax.
Singapore’s Corporate Income Tax rate is 17%. Every year, there are 2 Corporate Income Tax Returns to file with IRAS:
Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
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Estimate of the company’s taxable profits (after deducting tax-allowable expenses) for a Year of Assessment (YA)
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Deadline is within 3 months from the end of the financial year
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Filing earlier entities you to greater number of instalments if you are a Singapore-registered company and on Giro
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Companies not required to file ECI
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Qualifications for ECI filing waiver
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Annual revenue is < $5 million; and
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ECI is nil for the YA
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Specific entities not required to file ECI
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Foreign ship owners or charterers whose local shipping agent has submitted/ will submit the Shipping Return
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Foreign universities
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Designated unit trusts and approved CPF unit trusts
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Real estate investment trusts
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Cases specifically granted the waiver to furnish ECI by IRAS
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The company needs to pay the tax payable amount within 1 month from the date of the Notice of Assessment, unless it qualifies to pay via instalments. The Notice of Assessment is an official Notice that states the amount of tax to be paid after IRAS has processed the ECI filing.
Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C
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Declaration of the company’s actual taxable income for a YA
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Deadline is 30 November each year
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Submission requirement:
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Form C-S
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Annual revenue of < $5 million
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Derives income taxable at the prevailing Corporate Income Tax rate of 17%
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Not making certain claims or allowances
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Form C-S (Lite)
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Annual revenue of < $200,000
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Derives income taxable at the prevailing Corporate Income Tax rate of 17%
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Not making certain claims or allowances
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Form C
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All other companies
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Also to submit financial statements and tax computations. No need to submit the financial statements if company has filed a full set of financial statements with ACRA in XBRL format.
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Difference in ECI amount declared and actual taxable income reported in Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C
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Chargeable income reported in Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C < ECI amount declared earlier: Excess tax paid earlier will be refunded automatically
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Chargeable income reported in Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C > ECI amount declared earlier: Additional tax must be paid within 1 month from the date of the Notice of Assessment
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Delay no more! Reach out to Datseasy now to work on your corporate tax filing!
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
Generally, your business must register for GST when the taxable turnover exceeds $1 million.
As a GST-registered business, you must ensure compliance to these responsibilities:
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Charge and account for GST on standard-rated supplies
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File accurate GST returns & pay tax due in a timely manner
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Keep proper business & accounting records
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Display prices with GST
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Issue tax invoices with GST registration number
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Notify IRAS of changes within 30 days after:
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Change in GST mailing address;
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Change in business constitution or ownership;
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Change in partner(s) or particulars of partner(s); and
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Set up of new partnership businesses with the same composition of partners.
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Account for GST at point of de-registration
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Comply with any conditions as may be imposed by IRAS for the protection of revenue
If your business taxable turnover does not exceed $1 million, you may still choose to voluntarily register for GST. If you choose to do so, your business must remain GST-registered for at least 2 years. Beside full compliance with the responsibilities of a GST-registered business, there are also additional conditions imposed on such voluntary registrants.
Let Datseasy help you figure out if you should register for GST.
GST Return Filing
GST return to IRAS must be filed within a month from the end of each prescribed accounting period. This is usually done on a quarterly basis. The GST return must include the output tax and input tax, and the difference between the output tax and input tax is the net GST that is payable to IRAS or refundable by IRAS.
The output tax refers to the GST charged to customers for your sale of goods and services. The input tax is the GST paid on your business purchases. To accurately derive the output and input taxes, you would also need to differentiate the taxable and non-taxable supplies. Most local sale of goods and local provision of services are standard-rated taxable supplies. The challenge is to identify correctly the zero-rated supplies, exempt supplies and out-of-scope supplies in order to ensure filing of the right GST return.
Leave the complexities to us! Let us help you file your GST returns accurately and on time! Contact us now!