Your Singapore company's compliance timeline starts from incorporation, not from its first financial year end. Some annual filings only fall due after the first FYE, but other responsibilities begin immediately or within the first few months.
For a private company, the early milestones include setting up and maintaining company registers, establishing Corppass access, appointing an auditor within three months unless exempt, appointing a company secretary within six months, keeping proper accounting records from the start, and preparing for tax and annual filing deadlines based on the company's FYE.
Singapore company compliance timeline at a glance
The table below is a practical starting point for a newly incorporated private company. Some requirements depend on your activities, ownership structure, employees and whether your company qualifies for an exemption.
| When | What to deal with | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| From incorporation | Company registers and core records | Maintain the required company registers, including the Register of Registrable Controllers unless exempt. Start keeping business and accounting records from day one. |
| From 1 day after receiving the UEN | Corppass | Set up Corppass so authorised users can transact with government agencies online, including through Bizfile and myTax Portal. |
| Before starting regulated activities | Licences and permits | Check whether your business activity needs a sector licence, permit, Customs account or other approval before operations begin. |
| Within 3 months | Auditor, unless exempt | Appoint an auditor if your company is required to have one. A company that meets the audit-exemption criteria does not need to appoint an auditor, but the exemption should be checked rather than assumed. |
| Within 6 months | Company secretary | Appoint a company secretary who meets Singapore's eligibility requirements. In practice, appointing one earlier helps keep the company's registers and filing calendar organised. |
| Throughout the financial year | Bookkeeping, company updates and conditional obligations | Keep transactions and supporting documents organised, update ACRA when company particulars change, and deal with GST, payroll, CPF and data-protection obligations where applicable. |
| Within 3 months after FYE | Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) | File ECI with IRAS unless your company qualifies for the filing waiver or is specifically excluded. |
| Within 5 to 6 months after FYE | Financial statements and AGM position | A private company can skip the AGM if it meets an exemption or has dispensed with AGMs. If an AGM is required, a non-listed company must hold it within six months after FYE. One common exemption applies when financial statements are sent to all members within five months after FYE. |
| Within 7 months after FYE | Annual Return | A non-listed company must file its Annual Return with ACRA within seven months after FYE. A non-listed company with share capital and an overseas branch register has eight months after FYE. |
| By 30 November of the relevant YA | Corporate Income Tax Return | File the applicable Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C for the relevant Year of Assessment. For a new company, the first YA is determined by when its first set of accounts closes and whether it commenced business or received income. |
Immediately after incorporation: get the company ready to operate
1. Keep the registration records and set up government access
Your company is already incorporated with a registered office, at least one resident director and a declared FYE. After registration, keep your incorporation documents, company constitution and Business Profile somewhere accessible. ACRA's free Business Profile should be downloaded within 60 days of registration.
You can apply for Corppass one day after receiving the company's UEN. Corppass becomes important quickly because authorised users need it for government-to-business transactions such as Bizfile and myTax Portal.
If Corppass is new to you, see our guide to Corppass.
2. Maintain the required company registers
New companies should not treat registers as something to create at the first Annual Return. ACRA requires the relevant registers to be maintained from incorporation. For companies incorporated from 16 June 2025, registrable-controller information is also collected during registration, and the private Register of Registrable Controllers must be set up on the incorporation date unless the company is exempt.
Our Register of Registrable Controllers guide covers the RORC in more detail.
3. Check licences before you start regulated activities
A Singapore company does not automatically receive every approval it may need simply because ACRA has incorporated it. Depending on the activity, you may need a sector licence, permit, Customs account or other regulatory approval before you begin operations.
The first six months: key appointments
Auditor: within three months unless your company is exempt
A company that is required to have an auditor must appoint one within three months after incorporation. A company that meets the audit-exemption criteria does not need to appoint an auditor. Audit exemption and the separate question of whether financial statements need to be filed in XBRL are different tests.
For the detailed audit and financial-statement filing rules, see our Audit and XBRL guide.
Company secretary: within six months
Every Singapore company must appoint a company secretary within six months after registration. The secretary must meet the applicable local-residency and eligibility requirements, and the sole director cannot also act as the company secretary.
The six-month period is the legal outer deadline, not a reason to leave the role vacant until the last moment. The secretary helps maintain corporate records, document resolutions and keep track of ACRA obligations. Our company secretary guide explains the role and appointment rules.
During the first financial year: maintain, record and update
The first financial year is not a filing-free grace period. Even before ECI, the AGM or the Annual Return becomes due, the company is already operating inside ongoing compliance rules.
Keep accounting records as transactions happen
Do not wait until year end to reconstruct the accounts from bank statements. Keep invoices, receipts, bank statements, contracts, expense documents and accounting records as the business operates. IRAS requires companies to retain relevant records for at least five years from the relevant Year of Assessment.
Good bookkeeping also makes the first ECI, financial statements and corporate tax return much easier to prepare.
Report company changes when they happen
Changes to company information, officers, shares and shareholders can trigger ACRA filing requirements. Appointments and withdrawals of directors, secretaries and other position holders must be filed with ACRA within 14 days. Other company changes have their own filing requirements, so deal with them when they occur rather than waiting for the Annual Return.
The Annual Return is not a catch-up filing for changes that should already have been reported.
Deal with obligations that depend on what the company actually does
| If your company... | Check this early |
|---|---|
| Hires employees | Apply for a CPF Submission Number before contributions are due and set up a monthly payroll and CPF process. CPF contributions are due at the end of each calendar month, with enforcement action if payment is not made by the 14th of the following month. |
| Meets a GST registration condition or chooses voluntary registration | Assess the GST registration rules and the accounting/invoicing changes that follow. See our GST registration guide. |
| Collects, uses or discloses personal data | Put PDPA accountability measures in place, including designating at least one Data Protection Officer and making the DPO's business contact information public. See our DPO guide. |
| Operates in a regulated sector or imports/exports goods | Confirm that the necessary licences, permits or Customs arrangements are in place before the relevant activity begins. |
After the first FYE: the annual and tax deadlines start to bunch together
Your FYE is the anchor date for several recurring obligations. If you are still deciding or reviewing the company's FYE, see our guide to choosing a Financial Year End. The detailed FYE page owns the choice of FYE; this article focuses on what the date triggers after incorporation.
ECI: within three months after FYE
Your company files its Estimated Chargeable Income within three months after FYE. A company does not need to file ECI for a particular YA if both its annual revenue is S$5 million or below and its ECI is nil, before deducting the relevant tax exemptions. Other specific exclusions can also apply.
IRAS states that the filing obligation still applies where required even if the company did not receive a filing notification. Our ECI guide covers the calculation, waiver and filing process.
Financial statements and AGM: understand the private-company exemption
If a non-listed company is required to hold an AGM, it must do so within six months after FYE. A private company can skip the AGM if it meets an exemption or has dispensed with AGMs.
One common private-company exemption applies where financial statements are sent to all members within five months after FYE. That five-month point should therefore not be described simply as a universal filing deadline for financial statements. It is part of the AGM-exemption framework.
See our AGM guide for the meeting and exemption rules.
Annual Return: within seven months after FYE
A non-listed Singapore company must file its Annual Return with ACRA within seven months after FYE. If it has share capital and an overseas branch register, the deadline is eight months after FYE. The Annual Return is separate from the corporate income tax return filed with IRAS.
For the broader ACRA filing framework, see our Annual Filing Requirements with ACRA guide. For a broader recurring ACRA and IRAS overview, use our Singapore company annual compliance guide.
Your first corporate tax return: how the first YA works
Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C is due by 30 November of the relevant Year of Assessment (YA). For a new company, the first YA is determined by when the company closes its first set of accounts.
If your company closes its first accounts in the year of incorporation and has commenced business or received income, file the corporate income tax return for the YA immediately after the year of incorporation by 30 November of that YA, even if IRAS did not send a filing notification.
For example, if a company is incorporated on 15 July 2026 and closes its first accounts on 31 December 2026, its first return is for YA 2027 and is due by 30 November 2027.
If the first accounts close after the year of incorporation, IRAS starts issuing the filing notification from the second year after the year of incorporation. The absence of an IRAS reminder does not remove a filing obligation.
If the first set of financial statements covers more than 12 months, the profits or losses may need to be attributed across two YAs because a basis period for a YA should not exceed 12 months. This is one reason the FYE decision and first-year tax planning should be considered together.
A practical first-year compliance checklist
- Keep the incorporation documents, company constitution, Business Profile and company registers organised.
- Set up Corppass and assign the right government e-services to authorised users.
- Confirm whether licences or permits are needed before operations begin.
- Check whether an auditor is required before the three-month deadline.
- Appoint the company secretary before the six-month deadline, preferably earlier.
- Start bookkeeping and document retention from the first transaction.
- Update ACRA promptly when company particulars, officers, shares or shareholders change.
- Set up payroll, CPF, GST and PDPA processes when those obligations are triggered.
- Know the company's FYE and calendar the ECI, financial-statement circulation, AGM, Annual Return and corporate tax milestones before year end arrives.
The exact calendar differs from company to company. A company with employees, GST registration, regulated activities, overseas structures or audit requirements will have more milestones than a simple owner-managed private company. The useful approach is to build the compliance calendar from your incorporation date, business activities and FYE instead of relying on a generic annual reminder.
Want help keeping the first year organised?
We can help coordinate the accounting, tax and corporate-compliance work that starts after incorporation, so the deadlines do not all become a year-end problem. If you have just incorporated and are unsure what should be done now, what can wait, or which dates apply to your company, send us the incorporation date and FYE and we will be happy to help you work through the timeline.
See our Complete Accounting & Compliance service for ongoing support, or contact us with your questions.
