A Complete Guide to Corporate Tax Filing Singapore in 2023
As a director of a Singapore company, you are responsible for complying with the IRAS’ corporate tax filing requirements. It is a complex task, and a provider of corporate tax services Singapore can assist you with it.
Complying with corporate income tax filing requirements means you have to file two types of tax returns with IRAS.
- Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
- Form C/C-S/C-S Lite
On the other hand, your company may need only to file a simplified tax return or may even be exempted from the filing requirement altogether.
Singapore Corporate Tax Filing Due Dates
If you are new to the Singapore market, here are a few corporate tax filing tips. Remember that the due dates for these 2 types of tax returns are different. Your provider of corporate tax services Singapore will assist you in the filing:
- ECI tax return within 3 months of the end of your company’s financial year
- Form C/C-S/C-S Lite before or on 30th November each year
As you can see, the ECI tax filing deadline can vary for companies depending on their chosen Financial Year End (FYE). From YA 2020, you must e-file corporate tax returns with IRAS.
Preceding Year Basis for Corporate Tax Filing
In Singapore, corporate income tax is assessed on a preceding-year basis. If 2022 is the year of assessment (YA), IRAS expects you to file tax returns to declare your company’s income earned in 2021.
For the majority of Singaporean companies, the financial year ends (FYE) on 31st December. Some choose the end of the quarter. Inform IRAS if your FYE is not 31st December.
If your financial year exceeds 12 months, inform IRAS. Let’s say you registered a Singapore company on 1st July 2019 and your FYE is on 31st December, and your first financial year will last till 31st December 2020.
So, you will be filing tax returns for more than 12 months from 1st July 2019 – 31st December 2020. So you must report:
- Your income for 1st July 2019 – 31st December 2019 in YA 2020
- Your income for FY 1st January 2020 – 31st December 2020 in YA 2021
Types of Company Tax Filing Report
Let us see the two types of corporate tax filing reports in detail.
Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
ECI is an estimate of your company’s taxable profits for a Year of Assessment (YA). The amount is arrived at after deducting tax-allowable expenses from its income.
ECI Filing Waiver
You do not need to file ECI if you fulfil the conditions:
- Your annual revenue is $5 million or below; and
- ECI is Nil for the year of assessment
You first self-assess if your company qualifies for ECI exemption. If it does, there is no need to file. There is no need to inform IRAS of the waiver.
File Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C
Form C/C-S/C-S Lite report is your corporate income tax return. It shows the company’s actual income in detail. Use your exact financial data to prepare this report.
Filing Form C-S
Form C-S simplifies corporate tax filing for small businesses in Singapore. It has only 50% of fields than Form C. File Form C-S if your company fulfils the conditions below:
- It is Singapore incorporated company
- Its revenue is 5 million or less
- Its income from all sources is taxable at 17% corporate tax
- It is not claiming:
- Carry-back of current-year capital allowances/ losses
- Group relief
- Investment allowance
- Foreign tax credit and tax deducted at the source
If the company earns concessionary tax rates for its income, it should not file Form C-S. Make sure to file an accurate return giving the true position of your company’s income.
Filing Form C-S means submitting the following:
- Declaration of the company’s eligibility
- Details of tax adjustments
- Details from the Financial Statements (FS)
You are not required to file the company’s FS and tax computation. However, prepare them. IRAS may ask for it.
Filing Form C-S Lite
Form C-S Lite, introduced in 2020, is the easiest form for filing Singapore tax returns. You need to fill in only 6 main fields.
File Form C-S Lite, if your company:
- Fulfils all the criteria for Form C-S; and
- Earns $200,000 or less annually
Filing Form C
File Form C for your Singapore company’s tax return if you cannot file either Form C-S or Form C-S Lite. Also, submit audited or unaudited FS, tax computation, and other documents.
Note: File Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C even when the company is not earning or is at a loss.
Steps for Singapore Corporate Tax Filing
Your provider of corporate tax services in Singapore can e-file tax returns on your behalf. They will need your company’s CorpPass to log in to the MyTax website.
Step 1#
Use CorpPass and log in to the MyTax website. It may ask you to verify via SMS (or OneKey Token).
Step 2#
Click on ‘Corporate Tax’ on the menu bar. Depending on your need, click on ‘File ECI’ or ‘File Form C-S/C.’
Step 3#
Follow the IRAS’ instructions for filing your corporate tax.
Step 4#
You can also do it on your own. IRAS has instructions on filing ECI or filing Form C-S/C.
What to Do After Corporate Income Tax Filing
IRAS reviews your tax returns and sends a Notice of Assessment (NOA) to you by 31 May next year. The notice shows your corporate tax amount. Pay it within a month.
There is no guarantee that the estimated taxable income reported in ECI will match precisely with the income reported in Form C-S/C. However, if the difference is too big, IRAS will want to know why it is so. It may ask you to explain it.
Do not be late in filing corporate tax; IRAS may penalise/fine your company or summon its directors for tax liabilities.
Every Singapore company needs to file its ECI and Form C/C-S/C-S (Lite) with IRAS. It is part of complying with the corporate tax filing requirements. File ECI within 3 months of your company’s FYE. The deadline for filing Form C/C-S/C-S (Lite) is 30th November.
Your provider of corporate tax services Singapore can e-file both the corporate tax filing reports by logging in to the MyTax website. After reviewing the reports, IRAS will send you NOA showing your company tax amount. Pay it within one month.
Email us at info@sbsgroup.com.sg or call us at +65-6536 0036 to get answers to your queries related to Singapore tax.
