IRAS Digital-Only Submission for Strike-Off and Cessation Financial Statements

When a Singapore company applies to strike off under section 344 of the Companies Act 1967, or simply stops trading ahead of a formal strike-off application, it must first settle its affairs with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). That has always meant filing every outstanding Corporate Income Tax Return up to the date of cessation, and where the company files Form C, submitting the underlying financial statements and tax computation for the relevant Year of Assessment (YA). From 1 August 2026, IRAS is closing off the channels some companies and their agents have relied on to get these documents in, and moving to digital-only submission through myTax Portal.

This is a narrow but practical change. It does not alter who has to settle tax affairs before strike off, or what has to be filed. What changes is how the financial statements and tax computation reach IRAS: from that date, submission through modes other than the digital services at mytax.iras.gov.sg will no longer be accepted.

For directors, company secretaries and accountants managing a strike-off or cessation-of-business case, this means the digital filing step can no longer be treated as a fallback that a caseworker will accept some other way if the portal is inconvenient. This article sets out what is changing, who it affects, and how it fits into the broader striking-off process.

What Is Changing From 1 August 2026

IRAS’s published guidance for companies applying for strike off or ceasing business confirms that all outstanding Corporate Income Tax Returns, whether Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C, must be filed up to the date of business cessation. Where the company is filing Form C, both the financial statements or certified accounts and the tax computation for the relevant YA must also be submitted. IRAS states plainly that from 1 August 2026, it no longer accepts submission of the financial statements and tax computation through other modes.

In practice, this means these documents must go in through the digital services at mytax.iras.gov.sg: either the standard File Form C-S/Form C-S (Lite)/Form C digital service, or, where the return for the relevant YA is not yet available on the portal (what IRAS calls an “advance YA”), the Apply for Waiver/File Last Form C-S/C (Dormant/Striking Off) digital service. Companies filing Form C-S or Form C-S (Lite) are generally not required to submit financial statements and tax computations together with the return in the first place, so the practical effect of the 1 August 2026 change falls mainly on companies filing Form C in a strike-off or cessation scenario.

Who Is Affected

The change touches three groups in particular:

  • Companies applying to strike off under section 344 of the Companies Act 1967, which must clear all outstanding tax matters with IRAS before ACRA will process the application.
  • Companies that have ceased carrying on business but have not yet applied to ACRA for strike off, and still need to file Corporate Income Tax Returns up to the cessation date.
  • Singapore branches of foreign companies going through de-registration, which face the same requirement to settle outstanding taxes and file up to the date of de-registration.

Dormant companies that were previously granted a waiver to file, and that have remained dormant, are generally not required to submit a final set of financial statements and tax computation before strike off. Where a dormant company receives one-off income before strike off, however, it should write in to IRAS explaining the income and attach the financial statements and tax computation for that YA, using the same digital channels.

How This Fits Into the Striking-Off Process

Before ACRA will approve a strike off or members’ voluntary winding up application, IRAS needs to be satisfied that the company has no outstanding tax liabilities or obligations. If tax matters remain unresolved, IRAS will lodge an objection against the ACRA strike off application. The company then has two months from the date of that objection to resolve the outstanding matter. If the objection is not cleared within that window, the strike off application lapses and the company has to apply to ACRA all over again once the objection is resolved.

This is precisely where the digital-only requirement bites. A company that leaves its financial statements or tax computation half-submitted, or tries to send them to IRAS by email or in hard copy after 1 August 2026, risks the very delay this rule is meant to prevent: an unresolved tax matter that triggers an IRAS objection, and a lapsed strike off application that has to be refiled with ACRA.

Advance YA Versus Current YA Filings

Because IRAS typically only opens each YA’s Corporate Income Tax Return on the portal from around May each year, a company that ceases business partway through a year may find that the YA covering its final trading period is not yet available to file directly. In that situation, the company uses the Apply for Waiver/File Last Form C-S/C (Dormant/Striking Off) digital service to access that advance YA, and then has 21 days from the date of the waiver application to file the actual return, financial statements and tax computation. Where the cessation date falls within a YA whose filing service is already open, the company simply files that YA in the usual way and does not need the waiver service at all. Getting this sequencing right, and doing it digitally from the outset, avoids the scramble of trying to file at the last minute through a channel that IRAS no longer accepts.

Practical Steps and Timeline Implications

Companies planning a strike off or cessation of business from 1 August 2026 onward should build the following into their timeline:

  • Confirm all Corporate Income Tax Returns are filed up to the intended cessation date, and identify whether any YA falls into the “advance YA” category.
  • Where Form C applies, prepare the financial statements or certified accounts and the tax computation early, so they are ready to submit digitally rather than assembled under time pressure.
  • File through mytax.iras.gov.sg using the correct digital service for the YA in question, and keep the acknowledgement for each submission.
  • Check for outstanding tax liabilities using the View Corporate Tax Filing Status, View Account Summary and View Corporate Tax Notices/Letters digital services before applying to ACRA.
  • Cancel GST registration and resolve any outstanding GST matters, since this is checked separately from Corporate Income Tax.
  • Keep the company’s bank account open until every outstanding matter is settled. Once the account is closed and there is a tax credit owing, IRAS can only pay it to the Insolvency Office, and shareholders will need to make a separate, chargeable claim to recover it.
  • Retain the company’s books and papers for at least five years from the date of dissolution, a duty that also falls on anyone who was an officer of the company immediately before it was dissolved.

None of this is new in substance. What is new is that the financial statements and tax computation step has a hard digital-only cut-off from 1 August 2026, so companies and their advisers should not plan on IRAS accepting supporting documents by any other route once that date passes.

Getting the Sequencing Right Before You Apply to ACRA

Because a lapsed strike off application means starting the ACRA process again, it is worth confirming the tax position well before submission, not after ACRA has already accepted the application. Companies still working through their statutory accounts should also check whether their XBRL filing obligations and the underlying Form C, C-S or C-S (Lite) filing are aligned with the cessation date, and that the company’s usual annual return filing deadlines with ACRA are not overlooked while the strike off application is being prepared. For a fuller walkthrough of the ACRA side of the process, Raffles Corporate Services has published a complete guide to striking off a Singapore company.

Getting the digital filing sequence right the first time is simply part of sound financial management as a company winds down, and it avoids the cost and delay of a lapsed application. For the latest Singapore business news and regulatory updates, there are useful resources for directors and business owners tracking changes like this one.

Conclusion

The move to digital-only submission of financial statements and tax computation from 1 August 2026 is a tightening of process, not a change to who owes what. But for a company mid-way through strike off or cessation, a missed or misdirected filing can mean an IRAS objection, a lapsed ACRA application, and months of delay. Building the digital filing step into the plan from day one, rather than treating it as an afterthought, is the simplest way to keep a strike off application on track.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services