Entity Formation in Singapore

Ready for a permanent Singapore presence? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including telling you when it is too early.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in Singapore means

A Private Limited Company (Pte Ltd) is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence, incorporated entirely online through the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s (ACRA) BizFile+ portal using Singpass or Corppass, with no notary involved. For a lighter footprint, a Branch Office (an extension of the foreign parent, not a separate legal entity) or a Representative Office (market assessment only, cannot trade, renewable for around three years) are also available. When you form a Pte Ltd, you become the legal employer and operator in Singapore, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees, in exchange for the setup coordination and the ongoing obligations.

01

Your own company

Your own Pte Ltd makes you the legal employer and operator in Singapore, with full control of employment terms and a local brand presence.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Quick to register, not to operate

Registration itself can complete in minutes to one working day for a straightforward filing, or up to 15 working days if it needs referral to another agency. But you cannot employ anyone locally until the company exists, and a locally resident director, Central Provident Fund (CPF) and payroll setup, and a company secretary still take real coordination, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Singapore works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, then prepare the company particulars, run the name-application check, and arrange your registered Singapore office address.

02 — Capital & directors

There is no notarial deed to execute. Minimum share capital is a nominal S$1, so there is little to deposit before you incorporate, but the company needs at least one director who is locally resident, a Citizen, Permanent Resident, or an eligible pass holder with a Letter of Consent from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). We arrange a nominee director if nobody in your team qualifies.

03 — Register the company

The application is filed digitally with ACRA via BizFile+. Straightforward applications are typically approved within minutes to one working day, and you receive a Unique Entity Number (UEN) immediately, so you can operate and register for CPF and payroll compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Singapore costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Singapore’s formation cost is low; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

Minimum share capital for a Pte Ltd is a nominal S$1, so there is little to deposit before you incorporate. The total ACRA government filing fee is S$315 (S$15 for the name application plus S$300 for registration), separate from any corporate-secretarial service fee.

Corporate tax

17% flat headline rate. Partial tax exemption shelters 75% of the first S$10,000 of chargeable income and 50% of the next S$190,000 (up to S$102,500 total), and the YA2026 CIT Rebate adds a further 50% of tax payable, capped at S$40,000 combined with the Cash Grant.

GST

Standard GST is 9%, stable since the last staged increase took effect on 1 January 2024. Registration is mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds S$1,000,000 over a 12-month period.

Ongoing obligations

A qualified company secretary within six months, an Annual General Meeting (or exemption) within six months of financial year-end, Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) filed with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) within three months of financial year-end, and the Annual Return filed with ACRA within seven months, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Singapore company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Singapore through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

Corporate secretarial, tax, and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, coordinated for you, so the process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The incorporation trap nobody flags

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Singapore company. It sounds responsible. It usually is not, yet. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Director residency & payroll obligations

Expectation: any director will do. Reality: at least one director must be locally resident, a Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident, or a valid Employment Pass, Personalised Employment Pass, or ONE Pass holder, and an Employment Pass holder needs a Letter of Consent from MOM to also serve as director. The person you are relocating on an Employment Pass is usually exactly the profile that needs that consent, or you pay for a nominee director instead, and you cannot legally employ anyone until the company, its CPF registration, and payroll are all in place.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: winding up a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a formal winding-up process. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: a company secretary, an Annual General Meeting or exemption, annual accounts, ECI and Corporate Income Tax filed with IRAS, the Annual Return filed with ACRA, and a statutory audit unless the company qualifies as small. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to do it at the right time, with the right partners already in place.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Singapore payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax, CPF where it applies, and the Skills Development Levy calculated, withheld, and filed each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory entitlements administered: annual leave, sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, notice, and termination.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Singapore.

How long does it take to incorporate in Singapore?

Often minutes to one working day for a straightforward Pte Ltd filed through ACRA’s BizFile+, though applications needing referral to another agency can take up to 15 working days. You cannot legally employ anyone until registration completes, and appointing a locally resident director, setting up CPF and payroll, and engaging a company secretary still take real coordination, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

A nominal S$1, so there is little to deposit before you incorporate. The total ACRA government filing fee is S$315. The real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes for shareholders: there is no residency or citizenship requirement, and 100% foreign shareholding is allowed. Directors are different: at least one must be locally resident, a Citizen, Permanent Resident, or eligible pass holder. If nobody in your team qualifies, we arrange a nominee director, and you will need a registered Singapore office, which we arrange too.

Incorporate when you have permanent, proven headcount and want full control, and the per-head savings justify the ongoing costs. Use EOR while you are still validating the market or need people working quickly, since registering the company alone will not sidestep the director-residency requirement or the CPF and payroll setup. Most companies start with EOR and incorporate later. We advise on the crossover.

A qualified company secretary within six months, an Annual General Meeting (or exemption), ECI filed with IRAS, the Annual Return filed with ACRA, and a statutory audit unless the company qualifies as small. We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Singapore company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Singapore?

Tell us your plans for Singapore and we will tell you honestly whether now is the time to incorporate, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (ACRA, IRAS, CPF Board, MOM). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.