Corporate tax
Corporate tax filing in Singapore for SMEs
Get professional support with corporate income tax computation, Form C-S or Form C filing, and the supporting schedules required for your company’s tax return. Octo helps you prepare your accounts for filing and understand the compliance steps ahead.
What you receive
| Deliverable | When | In this engagement |
|---|---|---|
| Tax computation from the closed accounts | Once the year is closed | Included |
| Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C, whichever the company qualifies to file | By 30 November of the year of assessment | Included. The company does not pick a shorter form to skip the IRAS conditions. |
| Schedules the return needs, kept ready if IRAS asks | With the computation | Included. Form C is filed with the financial statements and the computation. Form C-S and Form C-S (Lite) are not, unless IRAS requests them. |
| Estimated Chargeable Income, when a filing is required | Within three months of the financial year end | Included for that year of assessment. A company does not file when annual revenue is $5 million or below and the ECI is nil, before any partial tax exemption or start-up exemption. |
| Your review of the computation before filing | Before submission | Included. The return is filed after you approve it. |
| GST returns | On the GST cycle | Separate. Quoted only when GST is in the scope. |
| Bookkeeping for a year that is still open | Before the computation | Separate. See accounting. |
| XBRL financial statements for ACRA | With the annual return | Separate. This is not part of the IRAS return. |
| IRAS questions after the return is filed | If IRAS writes | Separate. Quoted before that work starts. |
The filing is quoted on its own, for one year of assessment, and the fee is confirmed before work starts. GST, open books, XBRL and later IRAS correspondence are added only when you want them in the same scope. Octo does not publish one yearly price that bundles those pieces, because they are not the same job.
Which return applies
IRAS decides the form from the company’s facts. A company cannot choose Form C-S or Form C-S (Lite) unless it meets the conditions. The official test is on the IRAS overview of Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) and Form C.
| Return | When IRAS allows it |
|---|---|
| Form C-S | The company is incorporated in Singapore, annual revenue is $5 million or below, income is taxable at the 17% corporate rate, and the year does not include a claim for carry-back of current-year capital allowances or losses, group relief, an investment allowance, or foreign tax credit and tax deducted at source. |
| Form C-S (Lite) | The company already qualifies for Form C-S and annual revenue is $200,000 or below. It is a shorter Form C-S. The company may still file Form C-S or Form C. |
| Form C | The company does not qualify for Form C-S. That includes companies incorporated outside Singapore. Financial statements, the tax computation and supporting schedules are filed with the form. |
A company still files for a year of assessment when it made a loss or received no income, unless IRAS has granted a waiver. A dormant company may have a waiver or a different form. Check the status in myTax Portal before assuming Form C-S is the right return.
Deadlines Octo tracks
For a year of assessment in this engagement, two IRAS dates matter. Estimated Chargeable Income is due within three months of the financial year end, unless the waiver above applies. The corporate income tax return, Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C, is due on 30 November of that year of assessment. IRAS states the current dates in its basic guide for companies. The same dates are explained, without the engagement scope, in the corporate tax deadlines and Form C-S guide.
Reminders cover the ECI and the return Octo is engaged to file. They do not cover GST, or the ACRA annual return, unless that work is in the same scope. The company record sits with corporate secretarial support.
The computation, and the conversation around it
You receive a tax computation: the profit in the accounts, the adjustments, and the chargeable income before the exemptions IRAS applies. With that computation, Octo walks through the adjustments and any deduction or relief the company’s facts support. That review does not promise a lower tax bill.
How a filing runs
- 1
Document review
We start from the closed financial statements, the accounting file or trial balance, and the previous computation if one exists. Open months are quoted as bookkeeping before a computation is drafted.
- 2
Computation and approval
The computation shows the adjustments. You review it and approve the figures before anything is submitted.
- 3
Submission and confirmation
The return is filed after that approval. You keep the computation and the filing acknowledgement.
Questions owners ask
Which return does my company file?
The company does not choose freely. Form C-S is for a Singapore-incorporated company with annual revenue of $5 million or below, income taxable at 17%, and no claim that year for carry-back of current-year capital allowances or losses, group relief, an investment allowance, or foreign tax credit and tax deducted at source. Form C-S (Lite) is available only when the company already qualifies for Form C-S and revenue is $200,000 or below. Otherwise the return is Form C.
Is Estimated Chargeable Income included?
Yes, when the engagement covers that year of assessment and the company has to file one. No ECI filing is required when annual revenue is $5 million or below and the ECI is nil, before the partial tax exemption or the start-up exemption. ECI is due within three months of the financial year end. The tax return is due on 30 November of the year of assessment.
What documents do you need?
Closed financial statements, the accounting file or a trial balance, the previous computation and capital allowance schedule if they exist, and a note of any group relief, carry-back, investment allowance or foreign tax credit the company intends to claim.
What does the fee cover?
The quote is for one year of assessment and is confirmed before work starts. It covers the computation and the return the company qualifies to file, from accounts that are already closed, including ECI when one is required. GST returns, open bookkeeping, XBRL financial statements and IRAS questions after filing are quoted separately.
What do I receive besides the form?
The tax computation, the return, and a discussion of the adjustments in that computation, including deductions and reliefs the company’s facts support. The discussion does not promise a lower tax bill.
What happens before the return is submitted?
You review the computation and approve it. The return is filed after that approval. You keep the computation and the acknowledgement.
Next step
Discuss your corporate tax filing.
Bring the last set of accounts. We will say whether the next piece of work is the computation, the bookkeeping, or both, and confirm the fee before it starts.