Singapore Company Compliance Calendar: Every Filing Deadline You Need

Running a Singapore company means juggling deadlines from at least three regulators — ACRA, IRAS, and (if you employ staff) the CPF Board and MOM. Miss one and the penalties arrive quickly: late lodgement fees, composition fines, blocked access to BizFile+ for new filings, and in serious cases, prosecution. None of these are recoverable through “we forgot.” This calendar lays out every annual filing a Singapore private limited company must hit, with the relevant statutory references and practical timing.

This guide assumes a private limited company that is not a small exempt private company filing simplified accounts. Where the rules differ for solvent EPCs, dormant companies, or listed companies, we have flagged the variation. For the underlying compliance touchpoints beyond filings, see our compliance requirements article.

If you would prefer the entire compliance cycle managed for you — secretarial filings, accounting, tax, payroll — our affiliated firm Raffles Corporate Services runs full-service compliance for Singapore companies.

The compliance calendar at a glance

The four most commonly missed filings are the AR, ECI, IR8A, and GST F5. We unpack each below.

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Section 175 of the Companies Act 1967 requires private companies to hold an AGM within 6 months after their financial year end (FYE), at which the audited financial statements are presented to shareholders. Listed companies must hold the AGM within 4 months of FYE.

An AGM can be dispensed with entirely under Section 175A if all members agree by written resolution to receive financial statements without holding a meeting. Most private companies adopt this route — it removes the meeting itself but does not remove the obligation to circulate the FS within the 6-month window. For our deeper article on the AR process, see filing annual returns and the step-by-step AR guide.

Annual Return (AR)

The AR is filed via ACRA’s BizFile+ portal within 7 months after FYE for private companies. It contains key company information — directors, secretary, shareholders, registered office — together with financial statements (or a simplified summary for solvent EPCs).

Late filing penalties under the ACRA penalty framework start at S$300 if filed within 3 months after the due date and S$600 thereafter. For our broader article on consequences of late filings to IRAS specifically, see Singapore tax penalties.

What you actually file

• Updated company information (post any changes since the previous AR).
• Date of AGM (or written resolution date if dispensed).
• Financial statements signed and dated.
• XBRL submission of financial data (subject to exemptions — see below).

Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

Within 3 months of FYE, companies submit ECI to IRAS — an estimate of the chargeable income for the relevant Year of Assessment (YA). Filing is via the myTax Portal. ECI is required even if the estimate is nil, unless the company qualifies for the ECI waiver (annual revenue ≤ S$5 million AND ECI is nil).

Crucially, paying tax based on the ECI in instalments preserves cashflow and avoids interest. Skipping the ECI doesn’t reduce the eventual tax — it just bunches it.

Corporate income tax: Form C-S / C-S (Lite) / C

The full corporate tax return is due by 30 November of the YA. Three forms are available:

• Form C-S (Lite): Companies with revenue ≤ S$200,000 and meeting other simplified-form criteria.
• Form C-S: Companies with revenue ≤ S$5 million and meeting Form C-S eligibility.
• Form C: All other companies.

For the corporate tax basics including chargeable income calculation, see our broader corporate tax content. Note the YA convention — YA 2026 corresponds to income earned in financial year 2025 (or non-calendar FYE ending in 2025).

GST returns (if registered)

If the company is GST-registered (mandatory at S$1 million annual taxable turnover, or voluntarily registered earlier), GST F5 returns are typically filed quarterly, with payment due one month after the end of the accounting period. Some companies opt for monthly returns. Late filing attracts a 5% penalty plus 2% per month on unpaid amounts under the GST Act 1993.

For voluntary registration considerations, including the import GST refund advantage, the GST framework is administered by IRAS. Companies should also model the impact of the GST rate (currently 9% from 1 January 2024).

IR8A and employer obligations

Every employer must submit IR8A and any applicable Appendix 8A/8B (benefits-in-kind, share options) for each employee by 1 March each year. For employees who left during the year, the IR8A must be submitted within 21 days of the employee’s last working day if requested. For the full breakdown, see our IR8A explainer.

The Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) is mandatory for employers with 5 or more employees — IRAS pulls the IR8A data directly into the employee’s tax assessment, removing the need for the employee to declare it manually.

CPF and SDL: monthly cadence

CPF contributions for Singapore Citizen and Permanent Resident employees are due by the 14th of the following month under the Central Provident Fund Act 1953. The Skills Development Levy is computed on all employees (including foreign work pass holders) and paid alongside CPF.

Late CPF payments attract late payment interest at 1.5% per month (subject to a minimum), plus enforcement action by the CPF Board. Late SDL attracts a 10% annual penalty.

XBRL filing

Most companies must file financial statements in XBRL format alongside the AR. Solvent exempt private companies can opt out of XBRL. Companies limited by guarantee, banks, and insurers have specific filing templates. Our FYE significance article outlines how the choice of FYE affects all downstream deadlines.

Statutory registers and ad-hoc filings

Beyond the annual cycle, several events trigger 14-day filing obligations to ACRA:

• Change in directors, company secretary, or auditor.
• Change in registered office address (Section 142).
• Allotment of shares or transfer (and updating the Register of Members).
• Updates to the Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC) under Section 386AF.
• Constitution amendments.

For changes affecting share capital, see our dividends guide for related distribution mechanics.

Worked example: a 31 December FYE company in 2026

Mapping the year against the company’s FYE makes deadline planning concrete. Companies with non-31-December FYEs simply shift the dates.

Penalties for missing deadlines

• AR late lodgement: S$300 (within 3 months) or S$600 (after 3 months) per ACRA’s penalty framework.
• AGM not held / no s175A resolution: Composition fine up to S$5,000 per offence.
• Form C-S/C late: Fine up to S$1,000; failure to comply with notice can lead to estimated assessment.
• ECI late: No direct fine, but loses the option of paying in instalments; interest may accrue on unpaid tax.
• CPF late: Interest at 1.5% per month plus enforcement.
• GST late filing: 5% penalty plus 2% per month on unpaid amounts.

The cumulative effect can be material — a small company that misses three deadlines in one cycle can find itself paying S$2,000+ in penalties on top of the original tax.

Practical setup tips

• Choose an FYE that smooths cashflow — many local SMEs pick 31 March to spread Q1 cash demands.
• Calendar all deadlines as soon as the FYE is set; don’t rely on memory.
• If your secretary doesn’t proactively chase the AGM and AR — find a new secretary. Both are core deliverables.
• Reconcile GST workings monthly even if you file quarterly — quarter-end surprises are painful.
• Keep the statutory registers in BizFile+ (or in your company secretary’s system) updated within 14 days of any change.

Conclusion

Singapore’s compliance regime is methodical, predictable, and unforgiving of inattention. The good news is that almost every deadline is calendar-based and stable from year to year — once a company has its first cycle running cleanly, subsequent years rarely surprise. The bad news is that small lapses (a missed CPF payment, a forgotten ECI) can trigger penalties that exceed the underlying amount.

If you would like an end-to-end compliance solution that covers ACRA secretarial, IRAS tax, CPF payroll, and statutory register maintenance, Raffles Corporate Services manages full annual compliance for clients across industries.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services