Running a Singapore company involves a calendar of recurring obligations to ACRA, IRAS, MOM, and CPF. Miss a deadline and the consequences range from late filing penalties of S$300–S$600 with ACRA, to compounded GST penalties with IRAS, to disqualification of directors in serious cases. The good news: every deadline is predictable once you know your Financial Year End (FYE) and your incorporation date.

This compliance calendar consolidates every major filing a Singapore private limited company faces in a single year. Use it as a reference for your in-house team, your accountant, or your corporate secretary. Where deadlines are FYE-driven, we explain the offset so you can map them onto your own dates.

Note: this calendar covers the most common SME profile (Pte Ltd, audit-exempt or audited, GST-registered or not). Companies with VCC structures, listed entities, financial institutions, and regulated firms have additional MAS, SGX, or sector-specific deadlines.

Foundational Concept: Your FYE Drives Most Deadlines

Most ACRA and IRAS deadlines are calculated as offsets from your company’s Financial Year End (FYE). Many SMEs default to 31 December, but you can choose any month-end. Your FYE determines when your AGM falls, when your annual return is due, and when ECI must be filed. Read more about choosing a FYE in our guide on company fiscal years.

ACRA Deadlines (Companies Act 1967)

1. Annual General Meeting (AGM) — Section 175

Private companies must hold an AGM within 6 months after FYE (section 175 of the Companies Act 1967), unless they qualify to dispense with the AGM under section 175A. Listed companies have a 4-month window. The AGM is where directors present financial statements and members consider the accounts. Companies with a 31 December FYE must hold their AGM by 30 June of the following year.

2. Annual Return (AR) — Section 197

Filing of the Annual Return is due within 7 months after FYE for private companies (5 months for listed companies). The AR is filed via ACRA’s BizFile+ portal. For a 31 December FYE, the deadline is 31 July of the following year. Late filing penalties under section 197(8) are S$300 if filed within 3 months after the due date and S$600 thereafter. See our walkthrough on filing annual returns.

4. Filing of Financial Statements (XBRL)

Companies that are not exempt from filing financial statements must lodge them in XBRL format with the Annual Return. Audit-exempt small companies still file unaudited financial statements but in simplified XBRL format. Solvent EPCs that meet the small company criteria are fully exempt from filing.

5. Changes in Company Officers — Section 173

Any change in directors, secretaries, or auditors must be notified to ACRA within 14 days for local companies, and within 30 days for foreign companies’ authorised representatives. See our guide on filing officer changes.

6. Changes in Registered Office, Share Capital, Constitution

Changes to the registered office must be lodged within 14 days. Allotment of new shares (Form 24) within 14 days. Resolutions altering the constitution within 14 days. Most ACRA event-based filings follow a 14-day rule, with limited exceptions.

IRAS Deadlines (Income Tax Act 1947 and GST Act 1993)

7. Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

Companies must file ECI within 3 months after FYE. Companies with annual revenue of S$5 million or less and nil ECI are exempt. ECI gives IRAS an early estimate of your taxable income and triggers the first tax instalment payments under the GIRO scheme.

8. Corporate Income Tax (Form C-S / C-S Lite / C)

Annual corporate tax returns must be e-filed by 30 November of the year following the Year of Assessment (YA). Most SMEs file Form C-S (revenue ≤ S$5 million) or C-S Lite (revenue ≤ S$200,000), while larger companies file Form C. The 30 November deadline applies to all FYEs falling within the relevant YA. For example, all companies with FYE in calendar 2025 must file their YA 2026 return by 30 November 2026.

9. GST Returns (Form F5)

GST-registered companies file quarterly returns within 1 month after the end of the quarter. The default quarters are end-March, end-June, end-September, and end-December, with returns due on 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, and 31 January respectively. Some companies are placed on monthly cycles by IRAS — check your assigned filing frequency in mytax.iras.gov.sg.

10. Withholding Tax (Form IR37 / IR37A / IR37B)

Withholding tax is payable to IRAS by the 15th of the second month after the date of payment to the non-resident. For example, a payment to an overseas service provider on 5 April requires withholding tax filing and payment by 15 June.

11. IR8A (Annual Employee Earnings Reporting)

Employers must submit IR8A forms (and Appendix 8A/8B/IR8S where applicable) for every employee by 1 March each year. Employers participating in the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) — mandatory for employers with 5 or more employees — must e-file directly with IRAS by the same deadline.

12. IR21 (Tax Clearance for Departing Foreign Employees)

Form IR21 must be filed at least 1 month before a non-Singapore-citizen employee ceases employment, leaves Singapore for more than 3 months, or is posted overseas. Employers must withhold the employee’s final salary pending IRAS clearance.

Master Calendar Table (Common 31 December FYE)

Deadline Filing Authority Statutory Basis
14th of every month CPF contributions for prior month CPF Board CPF Act 1953
31 January GST Q4 return (Oct–Dec) IRAS GST Act 1993
1 March IR8A annual employee earnings IRAS Income Tax Act s.68
31 March ECI for FYE 31 December IRAS Income Tax Act s.63
30 April GST Q1 return (Jan–Mar) IRAS GST Act 1993
30 June AGM (FYE 31 December) ACRA Companies Act s.175
31 July Annual Return + XBRL (FYE 31 December) ACRA Companies Act s.197
31 July GST Q2 return (Apr–Jun) IRAS GST Act 1993
31 October GST Q3 return (Jul–Sep) IRAS GST Act 1993
30 November Form C-S / C-S Lite / C (Corporate Tax) IRAS Income Tax Act s.62

MOM and CPF Deadlines

13. CPF Contributions

Employers must pay CPF contributions for employees by the 14th of the following month. Late payment attracts interest of 1.5% per month (minimum S$5) under the CPF Act 1953. CPF must be contributed for Singapore citizens and permanent residents earning more than S$50 per month.

14. Skills Development Levy (SDL)

Employers pay SDL on behalf of all employees (including foreigners and part-timers) at 0.25% of monthly wages, with a minimum of S$2 and a maximum of S$11.25. SDL is collected by CPF Board together with CPF contributions and is due by the 14th of the following month.

15. Foreign Worker Levy (FWL)

Employers of S Pass and Work Permit holders must pay FWL by GIRO on the 17th of every month (or the next working day). Failure to pay results in suspension of the work pass.

16. Work Pass Renewals

Employment Pass, S Pass, and Work Permit renewals must be submitted at least 1–4 weeks before expiry via the MOM EP Online or WP Online portal. Letting a pass lapse can result in the employee being treated as overstaying.

Other Important Deadlines

17. Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)

Companies must maintain an internal RORC under section 386AF of the Companies Act 1967. Updates to the register must be made within 2 business days of becoming aware of a change. Annual confirmation is also required, typically alongside the AR.

18. Register of Nominee Directors (RoND)

Where a director is a nominee, the company must lodge particulars with ACRA within 30 days of appointment under section 386AL.

19. Statutory Books and Registers

Registers of members, directors, secretaries, charges, and substantial shareholders must be kept current at all times under Part 5 of the Companies Act 1967. There is no fixed filing deadline, but failure to maintain registers is an offence under section 191.

What Happens If You Miss a Deadline?

ACRA late lodgement penalties for the Annual Return are tiered: S$300 if filed within 3 months after the due date, and S$600 if filed more than 3 months late. Repeated breaches can result in summons to the State Courts and director disqualification under section 155 of the Companies Act 1967.

IRAS penalties are sharper. Late filing of corporate tax returns triggers a composition fee of up to S$1,000 plus estimated assessment under section 65B. GST late filing attracts a S$200 penalty per outstanding return, escalating up to S$10,000. Late payment of GST attracts a 5% penalty plus 2% per month additional penalty under section 53 of the GST Act 1993.

CPF late payment incurs interest of 1.5% per month plus a S$5 minimum penalty per employee per month. MOM penalties for unpaid foreign worker levies result in immediate work pass suspension.

Building Your Internal Compliance System

Three best practices reduce miss risk to near zero. First, set calendar reminders 3 weeks before every deadline, not on the day. Second, designate a single owner for each filing — typically the corporate secretary for ACRA, the accountant for IRAS, and HR for MOM/CPF. Third, run a quarterly compliance review with your service provider to catch event-based filings (officer changes, share allotments) that can otherwise slip through.

Many SMEs find that bundling secretarial, accounting, tax, and payroll under one provider reduces handoff errors. Whether you handle compliance in-house or outsource it, the calendar above should sit on the wall of whoever owns the function.

Conclusion

Singapore’s regulatory framework is rigorous but predictable. A company that maps its FYE to the calendar above, assigns clear owners, and reviews compliance quarterly should never miss a deadline. The penalties for slipping are real — financial, reputational, and personal to directors — but every deadline is signposted weeks or months in advance.

If you would like a tailored compliance calendar specific to your company’s FYE and circumstances, our team at Raffles Corporate Services prepares one for every client we onboard. We integrate ACRA, IRAS, MOM, and CPF deadlines into a single dashboard with automated reminders, and we handle the filings end-to-end where you prefer to outsource.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services