Capital and organisational structure
- Minimum share capital: $1
- Shareholding: foreign ownership is allowed
- Director: min 1
At least 1 director residing in Singapore (citizen, permanent resident, EntrePass holder or employment pass holder) All directors must be 18 years old and of full legal capacity - Company secretary: min 1
Must be residing in Singapore - Auditor: unless qualify for audit exemption, a company must appoint an auditor within 3 months of incorporation
- Registered office: must be in Singapore, where all communications and notices to the company are addressed to and where the company’s register and records are kept Must be operational and accessible to the public during normal office hours
Reporting and accounting requirements
All companies must maintain financial records and prepare annual financial statements in accordance with SFRS(I), SFRS or SFRS for Small Entities.
The financial statements must be audited except for those qualify as small company. The financial statements must also be filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) together with the company’s annual return, unless it qualify as an exempt private company.
Companies are also required to filed annual tax returns (estimated chargeable income and form C/CS) with Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
Companies that are GST-registered must also file quarterly or monthly returns with IRAS.
IRAS adopts self-assessment approach, in which companies are to self-assess tax payable by preparing tax computation in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.
Income tax
Generally, only income derived in Singapore or received in Singapore is subject to income tax. Certain foreign sourced income is exempted from tax when remitted into Singapore.
The headline corporate tax rate in Singapore is 17%. Various tax incentives are available with tax rates as low as 5%.
Capital gains are generally not taxable and likewise, capital expenditure are not deductible.
Other non-taxable income/expenditure includes
- Dividends issued by Singapore companies
- Foreign sourced dividends, branch profits and service income, subject to qualifying conditions
- Singapore registered private vehicles
Goods and services tax
GST is a consumption tax charged by GST-registered entities on goods sold in Singapore and services consumed in Singapore. Most imported goods are also subject to import GST at the customs.
GST suffered by a GST-registered entity on its purchases are claimable unless otherwise restricted or disallowed.
The current standard GST rate is 7%. The government has announced that the GST rate will be increased by two percentage points, from 7% to 9%, sometime between 2021 to 2025.