How To Decide And Change The Financial Year End Of Singapore Company
What is the Financial Year End (FYE)?
The Financial Year End (FYE) indicates the end of the accounting period of the company. A company choose any FYE as per its business needs. However, the usually accepted FYEs are 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, and 31 December.
After a company’s FYE date has passed, it has to prepare the financial statements as part of its statutory compliance. These documents come handy for the filing of its the Annual Returns to ACRA and for submitting its tax returns with IRAS.
How to Determine Your company’s FYE?
You can determine your company’s FYE in two ways:
If your company is registered on or after 31 August 2018:
- Your first FYE starts on the registration date and ends on the date you notified to ACRA.
- The following FYE is taken to be the anniversary of the notified FYE date.
If your company is registered before 31 August 2018:
- Your company’s FYE is derived from the Annual Returns or from the notification you filed with ACRA. If you have not filed an Annual Return or notified ARCA, your financial year end is taken to be the anniversary of the registration date.
- The following FYE depends on the anniversary of the FYE date determined as above.
Which Factors are Considered for Determining the FYE?
FYE depends on the following factors:
Eligibility for Startup Tax Exemptions
The fact that whether a company qualify for the Startup Tax exemption or not plays an important role in the determination of its FYE. You can maximize tax benefits under this scheme by fixing your financial year end on the last day of 11th month.
Have You Formed a Subsidiary Company?
If you have set up a subsidiary company, then align its FYE to that of its parent company. It will simplify the compliance for both companies. You will be able to process financial statements and tax filing for both simultaneously.
How to Change Your Company’s FYE?
If you want to change your company’s financial year end, you need to notify ACRA, using BizFile+ portal. As per the law, you are only allowed to alter FYE for the running or immediately previous financial year. You cannot change your FYE if the due dates for AGM and Annual Return filing or submission of financial statements have passed.
You need ACRA’s approval to change your FYE, if:
- Doing so will saddle you with a financial year longer than 18 months.
- You have changed your financial year end within the last 5 years.
Can a Company Have a Financial Year Which is Not Exactly 12 Months Long?
Yes! Your company can have a 52 week long financial year period. You need to notify ACRA.
SBS Consulting is a registered filing agent in Singapore. If you have any queries, contact us on +65-6536 0036 or email us at info@sbsgroup.com.sg for assistance.
