Singapore Annual Filing Calendar 2026: Every Deadline Your Private Limited Company Needs to Know

Every director and company secretary of a Singapore private limited company faces the same annual challenge: keeping track of the statutory deadlines that govern corporate filings with ACRA, IRAS, and MOM. Miss a deadline and the company — and its officers — face late filing penalties, composition fines, or in serious cases, prosecution under the Companies Act. This guide sets out the complete annual filing calendar for a typical Singapore private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, updated for 2026 and reflecting the changes introduced by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 (CALA 2024) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025).

Overview: Three Key Statutory Timelines

Singapore private limited companies are subject to three overlapping sets of annual filing obligations. Understanding how they interact is essential for planning your corporate calendar:

ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) regulates corporate secretarial filings, including the Annual General Meeting (AGM), annual return, and changes to company particulars. ACRA administers the Companies Act and the BizFile+ portal.

IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) administers corporate tax, requiring companies to file their Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within three months of their financial year end, and their corporate income tax return (Form C-S or Form C) by 30 November each year (for paper filing) or by 15 December (for e-filing).

MOM (Ministry of Manpower) administers employment-related obligations. Companies with employees must file Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions monthly and submit IR8A forms (income tax forms for employees) to IRAS by 1 March each year.

Financial Year End: The Anchor of Your Annual Calendar

Unlike the United Kingdom and Australia, Singapore does not require companies to adopt a calendar year financial year. A Singapore private limited company may choose any financial year end date when it is incorporated, and may subsequently change it (subject to ACRA approval and limits on year length). The most common financial year end dates in Singapore are 31 December, 31 March, 30 June, and 30 September.

Your financial year end determines the deadlines for most of your annual filings. The examples below use a 31 December financial year end, which is the most common in Singapore.

ACRA Filing Obligations

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Under Section 175 of the Companies Act, a private company is required to hold an AGM unless it has passed a resolution dispensing with AGMs under Section 175A. Where no AGM dispensation resolution is in place, the AGM must be held within six months of the financial year end.

For a company with a 31 December financial year end, the AGM must therefore be held by 30 June of the following year. At the AGM, the directors must lay before members the company’s audited (or unaudited, for exempt private companies) financial statements and directors’ report.

Many Singapore private limited companies — particularly those wholly owned by a single director-shareholder — pass the AGM dispensation resolution, which removes the obligation to hold a physical AGM. However, the company must still circulate the financial statements to members and file its annual return with ACRA.

Annual Return

The annual return must be filed with ACRA within five months of the financial year end for companies that are not required to hold an AGM (or have dispensed with it), or within one month of the AGM for companies that hold one. For a 31 December financial year end with AGM dispensation, the annual return deadline is 31 May of the following year.

The annual return is filed via BizFile+ and must include a declaration as to whether the company is a small company (exempt from audit) or a non-small company (required to have its accounts audited). It also includes updated particulars of directors, shareholders, and the registered office address.

A key change introduced by CALA 2024 (effective 2025) is the enhanced requirement to report the company’s register of controllers (beneficial owners) via BizFile+ at the time of the annual return. Companies must ensure their internal register of registrable controllers is up to date before filing. For a detailed overview of these requirements, see our guide to corporate secretarial compliance in Singapore.

Striking Off Risk for Non-Filing

ACRA has the power to strike off a company that fails to file its annual return for two or more consecutive years. Striking off results in the company being dissolved and ceasing to exist as a legal entity — with significant consequences for directors and shareholders who may not have intended to wind up the company. Directors of dormant companies that are no longer actively trading should consider whether to formally wind up the company rather than allow it to lapse into non-compliance. For guidance, see our article on winding up a Singapore company in 2026.

IRAS Corporate Tax Filing Obligations

Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

The ECI is a preliminary estimate of the company’s taxable income for the year, filed with IRAS within three months of the financial year end. For a 31 December financial year end, the ECI must be filed by 31 March. The ECI is filed online via myTax Portal.

Certain companies are exempt from filing ECI: companies with annual revenue not exceeding S$5 million and whose ECI is nil. However, even if the company qualifies for the exemption, it remains good practice to file a nil ECI to maintain a clear compliance record with IRAS.

Corporate Income Tax Return (Form C-S or Form C)

The corporate income tax return is due on 30 November each year for paper filing or 15 December for e-filing via myTax Portal. Importantly, this deadline is fixed regardless of financial year end — all Singapore companies file their tax return in the same November/December window each year, based on income earned in the preceding financial year.

For a company with a 31 December 2025 financial year end, the Form C-S (for smaller companies with revenue up to S$5 million) or Form C (for larger companies) covering Year of Assessment (YA) 2026 must be filed by 15 December 2026 via e-filing.

The three tiers of corporate tax return are: Form C-S Lite (for companies with straightforward tax positions and revenue below S$5 million), Form C-S (for companies with revenue below S$5 million), and Form C (for all other companies).

GST Returns

Companies registered for Goods and Services Tax must file GST returns quarterly (or monthly, if elected). The GST return and payment are due one month after the end of each accounting period. For a company on a calendar quarter GST basis, the returns for Q1 (Jan–Mar), Q2 (Apr–Jun), Q3 (Jul–Sep), and Q4 (Oct–Dec) are due on 30 April, 31 July, 31 October, and 31 January respectively.

The current GST rate as at 2026 is 9%, following the two-phase increase from 7% that was completed on 1 January 2024.

Employment and Payroll Obligations

CPF Contributions

Employers must pay CPF contributions for Singapore citizen and permanent resident employees by the 14th of the following month (or by the last day of the month for employees paid in arrears). CPF contributions are submitted via the CPF Board’s e-Submission portal. Late payment attracts late payment interest at 18% per annum.

IR8A / Auto-Inclusion Scheme

Employers with five or more employees must participate in IRAS’s Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS), which requires the submission of employee income information (Form IR8A) directly to IRAS by 1 March each year. This data is automatically included in each employee’s personal tax return. Employers with fewer than five employees may still participate voluntarily, or may instead provide employees with printed IR8A forms for self-filing.

Summary Annual Filing Calendar (31 December Financial Year End)

Changes for 2026: What’s New Under CALA 2024 and CALA 2025

The Companies (Amendment) Acts of 2024 and 2025 introduced several significant changes affecting the annual compliance calendar for Singapore companies:

Enhanced register of controllers reporting: Companies must now report their register of registrable controllers via BizFile+ at the time of annual return filing, rather than merely maintaining the register internally. This change applies from FY2025 onwards.

Updated lodgement requirements for winding up: CALA 2025 introduced revised timelines and documentation requirements for companies undergoing members’ voluntary winding up, affecting the lodgement of resolutions and liquidator’s accounts with ACRA.

Revised small company audit exemption thresholds: The audit exemption thresholds for small companies were reviewed as part of CALA 2024, with updated guidance on how the thresholds apply to group companies. Directors should confirm with their corporate secretarial advisers whether their company qualifies as a small company for the coming financial year.

Digital-first filings: ACRA has accelerated its push toward mandatory e-filing for all company filings via BizFile+. Paper filings for most routine corporate transactions are no longer accepted as of 1 January 2026.

How a Corporate Secretary Can Help

Managing the annual filing calendar for a Singapore private limited company requires co-ordination across ACRA, IRAS, CPF, and MOM deadlines. An experienced corporate secretary will maintain a compliance calendar for the company, issue advance reminders of approaching deadlines, prepare and file the annual return, co-ordinate with the company’s accountants on financial statements and tax filings, and advise on any changes in regulatory requirements.

For companies that do not have an in-house corporate secretary, engaging a professional corporate secretarial firm is both a legal requirement (under the Companies Act, every Singapore company must appoint a qualified company secretary within six months of incorporation) and a practical necessity for maintaining good standing with ACRA and IRAS. For more on what a corporate secretary does and how to appoint one, see our guide to corporate secretary services in Singapore.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services