Company Registration

How to Set Up a Company in Singapore in 2026: Business Structure, Eligibility and Set Up

Singapore regularly appears on lists of the “easy and quick business set-up” to start and run a business. The real appeal for this sits under the headlines: predictable regulation, a strong rule of law, a strategic spot in the middle of Asia, and a tax system that tries to keep rates competitive without blowing a hole in the budget of its consumers.  

For founders and investors, that combination translates into both bragging rights and practical benefits. A flat corporate tax rate of 17 per cent teams up with a web of exemptions and incentives that can noticeably soften the tax bill in the early years, which is about as close as policy gets to a welcome gift basket. On top of that, most sectors allow 100 per cent foreign ownership, and Singapore’s trade agreements turn a tiny island into a sensible launchpad for Southeast Asia and, with a bit of ambition, the wider AsiaPacific region. 

If you are an entrepreneur seeking a business setup in Singapore, this write-up is for you.  

Key Regulators in Singapore You Need to Know 

Before filling in a single field on the incorporation form, it helps to know who actually runs the show, so acronyms do not pile up in a panic. ACRA, short for the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, is the registry that oversees business entities, public accountants, and corporate service providers, and every Singapore company lives in its BizFile+ system. 

IRAS, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, is the tax side of the house and looks after corporate income tax, GST, and most businessrelated levies, which means its rules quietly decide what counts as profit and what does not. If an incorporation firm or corporate secretary is involved, it is worth checking that the CSP is properly registered with ACRA, because these providers now sit under explicit antimoneylaundering and counterterroristfinancing rules, complete with criminal penalties for anyone who treats compliance like optional fine print. 

Business Structures Available in Singapore 

Singapore business formation gives founders a short menu of structures, but it shapes liability, tax, and how banks, partners, and investors react when they see the letterhead. For foreign teams, the structure also affects how easily profits and dividends can cross borders without collecting unnecessary tax on the way. 

1. Private Limited Company (Ptv Ltd) 

For startups, SMEs, and foreign entrepreneurs who want something more serious than a side hustle, the private limited company is the default setting. It is a separate legal entity with limited liability for shareholders, so if the business has a bad day, personal savings are not automatically invited to the disaster. 

A Pte Ltd can have up to 50 shareholders and still stay “private”, full foreign ownership is allowed, and banks and investors tend to treat it as the grown‑up option compared with a sole proprietorship or informal partnership. It is also the main doorway into Singapore’s corporate tax incentives and treaty network, which starts to matter once revenue, cross‑border contracts, or holding structures move beyond the slide deck. 

2. Sole Proprietorship 

On paper, the sole proprietorship setup company in Singapore, the owner and the business as the same person. Ultimately, the debts, lawsuits, and regulatory penalties land straight on personal assets. In practice, sole proprietorships tend to suit very small, low‑risk local setups such as freelancers, hobby‑style consultancies, or home‑based services rather than funded startups trying to pitch institutional investors. 

In real life, the price of that simplicity is unlimited personal liability, which stops being theoretical the first time a contract goes sideways or a staff claim appears. Foreigners who want to run a sole proprietorship must appoint a locally resident manager, which adds enough friction that many serious founders quietly decide it is less stressful to start with a Ptv Ltd instead.  

3. Partnership and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) 

Partnerships and LLPs sit between a sole proprietorship and a company. It usually appears when two or more partners build together, a company in Singapore without any diving straight into full company formalities. In a general partnership, the partners share ownership and are equally responsible for liabilities, which is another way of saying one person’s mistake can quickly become everyone’s headache. 

An LLP adds a layer of protection by giving the entity separate legal personality and limited liability for partners while keeping partnership‑style flexibility for profit sharing and management. That mix explains why law firms, accounting practices, and some consulting outfits often choose LLPs, while venture‑backed or growth‑focused businesses still lean toward the Pte Ltd structure for cleaner equity rounds and ESOPs. 

4. Branch Office and Representative Office 

Foreign companies that prefer not to create a brand‑new legal entity in Singapore can opt for a branch or a representative office instead. A branch office is legally an extension of the foreign parent, which means the head office stays fully on the hook for debts and obligations, a setup that works only when the group is comfortable with direct exposure. 

A representative office goes in the opposite direction: it can handle only non‑commercial activities such as research and marketing and cannot sign contracts or generate revenue, making it more of a fact‑finding mission than a fully-fledged business. Most foreign founders who want local traction, payroll, and investor confidence eventually land on a wholly foreign‑owned Pte Ltd subsidiary, which gives clearer liability separation and smoother access to banking and tax incentives. 

Basic Eligibility and Legal Requirements for Singapore Business Setup 

Once the business structure of your company in Singapore is settled, the next step is to clear ACRA’s basic gates. It is far less painful to discover a missing director or unsuitable address on a checklist than halfway through a bank’s onboarding questionnaire. 

Shareholders, Directors, And Secretary 

A standard private limited company needs at least one shareholder. It can be an individual or another company. Holding‑company structures and group setups are allowed. At least one director must be “ordinarily resident” in Singapore business setup. It means a citizen, permanent resident, or certain work‑pass holders, so a board made entirely of offshore founders will not pass the test. 

A company secretary must be appointed within six months of incorporation. The secretary’s position cannot sit empty, because he/she is usually the one nudging everyone about deadlines for AGMs and filings. Foreign‑owned companies often meet the local director requirement by hiring a professional resident director through a licensed CSP, but that workaround does not remove the underlying director duties under Singapore law, even if the director has never written a single line of the pitch deck. 

Minimum Capital and Registered Address 

Singapore keeps the formal capital requirement deliberately low so that bureaucracy is not the main obstacle to entrepreneurship.  

A private limited company can be set up with as little as S$1 in paid‑up capital and increase that amount later when investors join, or the business model justifies it. The company must also list a registered local address of the physical location in Singapore, not a P.O. box. Although certain home office schemes allow residential addresses under specific rules.  

In more regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, or education, separate licensing regimes may come with higher effective capital expectations. This is the reason why regulated businesses tend to speak to advisors before announcing bold numbers and then discovering the regulator was thinking bigger.  

Age and Capacity 

Incorporators, shareholders, and directors generally need to be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity. This includes not being disqualified, undischarged bankrupt, or under a director‑ban for previous conduct. Background checks by CSPs and banks can feel slightly intrusive, but they exist partly to stop obviously unsuitable individuals from quietly reappearing on new letterheads. 

Foreigners: Extra Rules to Watch in Singapore  

Non‑residents can own a Singapore company outright, but the process gains a few extra layers the moment foreign passports and overseas addresses appear. Regulators and banks are particularly interested in who really controls the company and where decisions are made, especially when the structure hops across several jurisdictions. 

At a high level, foreign founders usually need at least one locally resident director or authorized representative and must file incorporation documents via a registered filing agent or CSP, who will run their own KYC and source‑of‑funds checks. Founders planning to relocate and run the company from Singapore will need an appropriate work pass, while those managing things remotely often rely on resident director and corporate secretary services, provided they continue to meet all filing, tax, and record‑keeping obligations rather than assuming the “local person” will magically fix everything. 

Step‑By‑Step: How to Register a Company in Singapore? 

Once decisions and documents are lined up, the registration itself is usually the quickest part of the journey. Many founders discover that the real time sink is chasing signatures and proofs, not ACRA’s internal processing. 

Step 1: Choose the Right Structure 

First, confirm whether a private limited company, LLP, or other structure genuinely fits the plan, not just the current comfort level. For most founders building for scale, fundraising, or regional expansion, a Pte Ltd with flexible shareholding is the starting point, because it is easier to work into cap tables, option pools, and group charts later. 

If there is uncertainty, mapping out exit plans, liability concerns, and investor expectations ahead of time usually pays off. A short, slightly dull conversation with a lawyer or CSP can be cheaper than an exciting restructuring exercise two years down the road. 

Step 2: Reserve and Approve Your Company Name 

Next comes the name, which goes through ACRA’s BizFile+ portal. It is often the first official interaction with the registry. The chosen name must be unique, cannot be identical or confusingly similar to an existing registered name, and must steer clear of certain sensitive words unless relevant authorities have pre‑approved their use. 

Simple, non‑controversial names are often approved within minutes, which is why it helps to have a backup or two in case the dream name is already taken. Names that involve “bank”, “insurance”, or particular education terms may be referred to other agencies for review, stretching out approval times and occasionally forcing a rethink of branding timelines. 

Step 3: Prepare Incorporation Documents 

Before hitting submit on any incorporation form, it is worth collecting all core documents in one place instead of playing email ping‑pong with scanned IDs. Regulators and CSPs will usually ask for shareholder and director particulars such as full names, identification details, and residential addresses, alongside formal consents to act as directors and, if relevant, as company secretary. 

Share capital details, including total capital, number of shares, and allocation, need to be agreed, and a company constitution must be selected or drafted. ACRA provides a model constitution that many small companies adopt at the start, then later replace when investors appear with very specific ideas about rights and vetoes. If a shareholder is a corporate entity, expect additional documents such as a certificate of incorporation and a corporate profile, which is where group structures start to resemble a family tree. 

Step 4: File Incorporation With ACRA 

The actual incorporation is filed through BizFile+, either directly where the applicant qualifies or through a registered filing agent. The application bundles together all the information gathered so far, plus declarations, supporting documents, and the required incorporation fee, and may be flagged for review based on sector, nationality, or structure. 

Once the application clears, ACRA issues an electronic certificate of incorporation and updates the public corporate register, which becomes the proof banks, landlords, and counterparties will expect to see. In ordinary cases, the whole process completes within a business day after submission, as long as no one has to pause and explain a particularly creative structure. 

Step 5: Complete Post‑Incorporation Setup 

After incorporation, the company exists on paper but still needs a functional backbone. Typical next steps include opening a corporate bank account with a Singapore or international bank, where KYC on directors and beneficial owners can be more probing than anything ACRA requested. 

It is also smart to set up accounting software, payroll systems, and payment gateways early. This promotes revenue and expenses flow through clean, and auditable channels from the beginning instead of being reconstructed from memory and card statements. This is often the stage when leases, vendor contracts, and SaaS subscriptions quietly shift from personal names to the company’s, which future investors and auditors tend to appreciate. 

Ongoing Compliance for Singapore in 2026: What Your Company Must Do  

Singapore business keeps the front door to incorporation relatively low, but expects companies to stay organized once the first wave of excitement passes. The annual obligations that follow are not designed to be optional, and the reminder letters from ACRA and IRAS have a habit of arriving right when everyone is busy. 

Corporate Governance and Filings 

On the governance side, companies must maintain statutory registers of members, directors, and beneficial owners and keep them updated whenever something changes, not once every few years during a clean‑up sprint. Most companies need to hold an Annual General Meeting within prescribed timelines unless formally dispensed with and must file annual returns with ACRA to confirm key information. 

Recent transparency reforms require companies to maintain a register of controllers from day one. You must update it within seven days of any change, and verify details at least annually. It is especially important when ownership is stacked through several holding entities. Regulators increasingly expect a clear line of sight to the individuals with actual control. It’s not just the entities between but also taking this as an administrative task creates compliance issues in future. 

Accounting, Tax, and Audit 

For tax and reporting, companies must prepare financial statements under Singapore Financial Reporting Standards and file corporate income tax returns with IRAS each year, even if profits are still small or non‑existent. The corporate tax rate sits at 17 percent on chargeable income, but start‑up and partial exemptions, sector‑specific incentives, and a 50 percent rebate can reduce the effective rate and improve cash flow for businesses that keep their filings in order. 

Many smaller companies qualify for audit exemption if they stay below thresholds for revenue, total assets, and employee count on a group basis. It cuts the professional costs but does not remove the obligation to maintain proper records. As the business grows past those thresholds, audits become mandatory, and having disciplined bookkeeping from the early years turns that shift from a drama into a routine annual project. 

Singapore Corporate Tax in 2026: The Basics 

A big reason founders set up business in Singapore is the less and predictable tax environment compared with many regional alternatives. The system is designed around clear rates, defined incentives, and straightforward filing rules instead of frequent ad hoc changes. It helps the newly formed businesses in Singapore to conduct long‑term planning. 

Headline Rate and Scope 

The standard corporate income tax rate is 17% on chargeable income, applied after allowable deductions and reliefs. Companies are taxed on income derived from or accrued and on certain foreign‑sourced income that is received in Singapore, subject to exemptions and treaty reliefs. It is the reason why tax advice is often sought before repatriating large overseas profits. 

This structure allows many regional companies to route Asian operations via Singapore while managing double taxation through Singapore’s tax treaty network. For holding and IP‑rich structures, understanding the interaction between source rules, foreign tax credits, and local incentives becomes a core part of tax planning rather than an afterthought. 

Start‑Up Exemption and Partial Exemption 

New and small companies benefit from targeted schemes that reduce effective tax bills in the early years, especially when profits are still modest. The Start‑Up Tax Exemption provides substantial exemptions on the first slices of chargeable income for qualifying new companies during their first few Years of Assessment. This can free up cash for product, hiring, or marketing. 

Separately, the Partial Tax Exemption offers ongoing relief on a portion of chargeable income for companies that no longer qualify as start‑ups but still meet general criteria, smoothing the step up from early incentives into the standard regime. On top of these broad schemes, specific sectors and activities, such as Research and Development and finance, can access special incentives and concessionary rates, making it worthwhile to map business activities against available tax programmes. 

Corporate Income Tax Rebate and Grants in Singapore in 2026 

For the Year of Assessment 2026, Singapore has introduced a temporary corporate income tax rebate and a small cash grant to support companies’ cash flow at a time of higher costs. All companies receive a 50% corporate income tax rebate, capped at S$40,000 for 2026, directly reducing tax payable rather than taxable income. 

Companies with at least one local employee in 2024, supported by CPF contributions, receive a minimum S$2,000 non‑taxable cash grant, which is designed to reach smaller employers that might otherwise see limited benefit from rebates. The rebate and grant are applied automatically by IRAS based on filed tax returns, so there is no separate application process, but timely and accurate filings are still essential to receive the support. 

Goods And Services Tax (GST) 

GST is Singapore’s version of value‑added tax, and it becomes relevant much faster than many founders expect once revenue begins to grow. It applies to most supplies of goods and services made in Singapore, with specific rules for exempt and zero‑rated transactions. 

Companies must register for GST if their annual taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million or is reasonably expected to cross that threshold, and voluntary registration below the threshold is possible where it makes commercial sense, such as when dealing mainly with GST‑registered counterparties. Once registered, the company charges GST on taxable supplies and can usually claim input GST on qualifying business purchases, but this also brings recurring filing obligations, record‑keeping standards, and potential penalties for errors, so systems and training matter. 

Banking, Payments, And Practical Setup 

Incorporation is only half the story; a functional business also needs banking, payments, and basic back‑office processes. Many startups find that delays arise less from the registry and more from bank onboarding and vendor due diligence. 

Common steps after receiving the incorporation certificate include opening a corporate bank account. It involves KYC on directors and beneficial owners, proof of business activities, and, in higher‑risk cases, additional checks or interviews. It is also a good moment to set up accounting software, payroll, and payment gateways, so that invoicing, expenses, and salaries flow through coherent systems that support future tax filings and audits. 

Licensing, Sector‑Specific Rules, And Employment 

Some sectors in Singapore are heavily regulated and require extra approvals beyond basic incorporation. But, skipping this layer can stall operations or lead to enforcement action. Finance and payments bring the Monetary Authority of Singapore into play, often with specific licensing regimes, capital requirements, and conduct rules. 

Food and beverage, healthcare, education, and retail businesses typically require operating licenses or permits from sector‑specific agencies, sometimes tied to premises and fit‑out standards. Any company that hires staff in Singapore must also comply with Ministry of Manpower rules on employment contracts, working hours, and termination, and must make the correct CPF and other statutory contributions for eligible local employees. 

Transparency, AML, And Beneficial Ownership 

Singapore has steadily raised the bar on transparency and anti‑money‑laundering expectations, particularly around corporate service providers and nominee arrangements. This reflects international pressure as well as domestic policy to keep the financial system clean while still remaining attractive to legitimate business. 

From the current year, 2026, the CSPs are required to complete registration with ACRA. They are exposed to criminal liability for AML, CFT, and proliferation‑financing breaches, with fines. It can reach substantial amounts where controls are weak, or misconduct is serious.  

Companies themselves must keep current registers of beneficial owners, verify information annually, and update details within seven days of any change, so complex holding structures and nominee directors now attract more documentation requests during incorporation, banking, and routine compliance reviews than in previous years. 

Common Mistakes Founders Make in Singapore in 2026 

Even though the process looks simple on an official checklist, certain mistakes repeatedly surface among new founders and foreign entrepreneurs. One frequent issue is rushing incorporation without thinking through shareholding splits, vesting, and founder exit scenarios, then having to restructure later at higher tax and legal cost. 

Another is treating the local director or company secretary as a pure formality, which can lead to late filings, missed AGM obligations, or conflicts when a professional director is asked to sign off on weak records. Fast‑growing companies also sometimes overlook GST registration triggers and beneficial ownership documentation, particularly when cross‑border transactions pick up, only realizing the gap when a bank, investor, or regulator asks hard questions. Planning structure, governance, and a simple compliance calendar early usually pays for itself within the first year. 

Putting It All Together 

Setting up a company in Singapore is very achievable for both locals and foreigners, as long as regulatory requirements are treated as part of normal business hygiene rather than an afterthought. The core steps of choosing a structure, reserving a name, preparing incorporation documents, filing via BizFile+, and completing post‑incorporation tasks can move quite quickly once decisions are made and documents are properly assembled. 

What really differentiate a smooth Singapore company formation from a messy one is early attention to governance, tax planning, and licensing, plus a realistic view of how the company will actually operate day to day. With that groundwork in place, Singapore’s legal system and tax incentives can support a long‑term, scalable business instead of just another quick registration on a crowded cap table. For expert assistance, talk to our seasoned professionals at Enterslice.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Company Registration in Singapore