Global Payroll Services in Singapore

Already have a Singapore entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Singapore payroll partner who keeps CPF contributions, IR8A filings, and IRAS deadlines exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Singapore involves

If you already employ people through your own Singapore entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run payroll correctly every month: CPF contributions remitted to the CPF Board for your Singapore Citizen and Permanent Resident staff, the Skills Development Levy on every employee, and the annual IR8A filing to IRAS for each one. Singapore does not withhold income tax from salaries the way many countries do, which makes the CPF and filing mechanics the part that is easy to get wrong. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right across all of it.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Singapore staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

CPF contributions calculated and remitted correctly for eligible staff, the Skills Development Levy applied to everyone, itemised payslips issued from day one, and IR8A data filed to IRAS through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme, every cycle.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Singapore payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and where you employ people, place you with the right vetted Singapore payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

CPF contributions, the Skills Development Levy, and any statutory benefits configured correctly to current Singapore rules, citizens and permanent residents banded correctly by age, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, CPF contributions withheld and remitted for eligible staff, itemised payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

CPF remittances made to the CPF Board by the 14th of the following month, annual IR8A filings made to IRAS via the Auto-Inclusion Scheme, and IR21 tax clearance handled whenever a foreign employee’s contract ends.

What payroll in Singapore costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Singapore’s employer burden depends entirely on who you employ: CPF applies only to citizens and permanent residents, while every hire, local or foreign, carries the Skills Development Levy. The value of the partner is getting that split right and hitting IRAS and CPF Board deadlines every cycle.

Employer CPF & SDL

CPF calculated at up to 17% of Ordinary Wages for staff aged 55 and under, on wages up to the $8,000/month Ordinary Wage Ceiling (from 1 Jan 2026), tapering through four further age bands to 7.5% above age 70. CPF applies only to citizens and permanent residents; every employee, local or foreign, also carries the 0.25% Skills Development Levy (capped at $11.25/month), configured correctly every payroll run.

Local Qualifying Salary (2026)

Singapore has no general statutory minimum wage. Instead, sector-specific Progressive Wage Model ladders apply in cleaning, security, and other designated sectors, and the Local Qualifying Salary of $1,800/month (or $10.50/hour part-time) sets the floor a local employee must earn to count toward your foreign-worker quota, rising from $1,600/$9.00 on 1 July 2026.

Income tax (employee)

Progressive resident rates from 0% to a top 24% above S$1,000,000 (YA2026); non-residents pay a flat 15% or the resident-equivalent rate, whichever is higher. Singapore has no payroll withholding: employees settle their own bill with IRAS from the IR8A data you file.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

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

Pricing you can’t get direct

Singapore’s payroll math depends on employee status: CPF for citizens and permanent residents, the Skills Development Levy for everyone, and an annual IR8A filing with no in-year withholding to fall back on if it’s wrong. We benchmark across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

CPF eligibility rules that expose risk

Which employees are CPF-eligible and which are not, the monthly CPF EZPay deadline, and the annual IR8A filing under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across global markets, the deadlines, the filings, the year-end detail that exposes risk.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The payroll slips IRAS never misses

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & deduction rates

Treating a foreign hire on an Employment Pass or S Pass as CPF-eligible when they are not, or the reverse for a citizen or permanent resident. Missing a statutory benefit or leave entitlement. Filing IR8A late or incorrectly under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to IRAS and the CPF Board when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late CPF remittance past the 14th-of-the-month deadline, or a missed IR8A filing under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme, where penalties apply automatically. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Singapore payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

CPF, SDL & tax filings

Compliant Singapore payroll processed monthly, with CPF contributions, the Skills Development Levy, and IRAS filings correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with CPF contributions calculated and remitted, the Skills Development Levy applied, and IR8A data filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

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

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Singapore.

Do I need a Singapore entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Singapore entity, typically a Private Limited Company (Pte Ltd). If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

CPF contribution calculation and remittance for eligible staff, the Skills Development Levy on every hire, statutory benefits and leave, itemised payslips, and the annual IR8A filing to IRAS through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Two changes landed in 2026. From 1 January, the CPF Ordinary Wage Ceiling rose to $8,000 a month, so a higher slice of salary now attracts CPF for citizens and permanent residents earning above the old $7,400 cap. From 1 July, the Local Qualifying Salary rose to $1,800 a month ($10.50/hour part-time), up from $1,600 and $9.00, changing which local hires count toward your foreign-worker quota. A good payroll partner applies both from the correct effective date, one of the most common payroll mistakes when thresholds move mid-year.

It depends entirely on who you hire. For a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident aged 55 and under, CPF adds up to 17% of Ordinary Wages, on pay up to the $8,000/month ceiling. For a foreign hire on an Employment Pass, S Pass, or Work Permit, there is no CPF at all. Every employee, local or foreign, also carries the 0.25% Skills Development Levy. Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Singapore payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Singapore?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

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