How Much Does it Cost to Register a Company in Singapore (2024)
Looking to register a company in Singapore but not sure about the cost? Our guide is here to help! We’ve gathered all the information you need to know about the cost of company registration, including what it consists of, how it can vary, and ongoing costs for running a company in Singapore. We’ll also explain why it’s important to consider the long-term cost and provide tips on how to minimise expenses during the registration process. With examples of low-cost packages for company registration in Singapore, our guide is your ultimate resource for managing costs and maximising value.
The cost of registering the company in Singapore is a very important consideration for choosing the jurisdiction for your business start up or expansion. Singapore jurisdiction offers a plethora of advantages for company incorporation, such as low taxes and simple regulatory framework. On top of that, there are such advantages as an advanced business-oriented infrastructure and very high quality of living in the modern and multicultural city of Singapore. Many business people move here to run the business shortly after they register their company in Singapore for a very reasonable cost, so why shouldn’t you?
In this article, we will provide the summary of the real cost of company registration in Singapore. All prices are denoted in Singapore Dollars (SGD).
Let’s discuss all aspects of company registration and maintenance cost one by one.
1. What Does the Cost of Company Registration in Singapore Consist Of?
The fees involved to get your Singapore company up and running, can be broadly divided into 2 categories: government fees and agent fees. Agent fees can include such things as documents preparation and filing, company secretary services, nominee director services, company registered address and bank account opening.
Government Fees
As in any other country, there are government fees involved when you register your business. To register a private limited company in Singapore, there will be two types of government fees: name reservation fee and company reservation fee, which are:
- Company name reservation fee: $15.00
- Company registration (incorporation) fee: $300.00
The fees are payable to ACRA – a government agency responsible for company registration in Singapore and provision of regulatory framework for company registration agents and public accountants. Company registration is an online process performed via a specially dedicated website bizfile.gov.sg.
Company reservation fee of 15 singapore dollars is payable once your new company name is shown to be available in the system. It can be immediately reserved for up to 60 days. Once it is reserved, you can immediately proceed to incorporate your company. The process is entirely online and takes only about 20 minutes, if you have 2-3 directors and shareholders. With more people involved in the company structure, it may take slightly longer because additional personal data must be input for each person.
After the entry is done, the registration fee of 300 Singapore dollars will be paid.
In most of the cases, both fees (name reservation and incorporation) are paid together at the end of the registration process. If you have a good reason to reserve you unique company name in advance, before all the necessary paperwork is ready, you can do so to avoid the name being snatched by someone else.
Agent Fees
Life would be too easy if registering a company in Singapore would only cost SGD 315.00. In fact, this is possible for local residents, who can manage to register their company online and there are no foreign members or directors in their company.
For all foreign owners or directors it will be necessary to engage a qualified agent in Singapore who is registered to provide such services. They are called Registered Filing Agents (RFA). They are also known as corporate service providers.
These additional services are what they provide other than the company registration itself and this is where the other costs come from. As you can guess, government fees are the smaller part of the cost of company registration in Singapore.
Besides the government fees, any agent will include the following costs:
- Incorporation work, such as preparing the necessary documents and time spent online to register the company;
- Company secretary: usually provided from the day one, although the law prescribes to appoint one within the 6 months from incorporation;
- Local nominee director: this is a compulsory requirement of Singapore law; every company needs to have one. Unless you are a legal resident of Singapore already, you will require this service and your agent most likely will provide it to you;
- Company’s registered address: there are multiple options, from virtual to real office rental. In many cases, for the new companies the agent will also provide one, since they don’t have it from the day one.
These are all the necessary costs to make a company up and ready to run. On top of that, many agents will immediately charge (or try to charge) you additional options like bank account opening or some small things like company seal or official Certificate of Incorporation. It all depends, as there are different scenarios in which you may need them straight away, or can wait and buy it later.
2. How and Why the Cost Can Vary
Each additional option provided by the agent – company secretary, local director, registered address can vary depending on each agent’s appetite and pricing policy. These are common price ranges, from lowest, to reasonably mid-range (as usual, sky is the limit, especially for unsophisticated customers) that most of the Singapore incorporation agents will charge:
- Agent registration fees: from $100 to $500, around $200 on average.
- Company secretary: from $300 to $1000+ per year, around $500 on average.
- Local nominee director: from $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 per year, $3,000 on average. The tricky part: many service providers will charge you a refundable security deposit on top of that, which can be the same amount as 1-year service cost, so be prepared to spend more here.
- Company’s registered address: from $100 to $500 per year for a simple address only, without add-ons like phone line and mail scanning, $250 on average.
All in all, you will have to spend around $3,000 – $4,000 with the reasonably priced corporate service provider in your cost of company registration in Singapore. This excludes the refundable deposit for local director service and bank account opening.
3. What the Ongoing Cost Will Be Like for Singapore Company
The ongoing cost involves yearly payments for the options that the agent continues to provide (company secretary, local director) plus additional fees for annual filings. Every company must file annual returns and taxes every year.
Companies that trade locally may require to register for Goods and Service Tax (GST) and file quarterly returns. These fees are closely associated with the accounting work and maybe provided as one package, billable on the monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.
Accounting fees always depend on the company size and volume of activity, so the cost range can vary greatly; from just a few hundred dollars per year to a few thousand dollars, especially if your company requires an audit.
With the modest accounting expenses, a yearly company cost can vary from $3,000 to $5,000 dollars.
4. Why You Should Look at the Cost in the Long Term
Running a business involves many different types of cost beyond just minimum company infrastructure. These costs involve accounting fees, audit fees, office rental, payroll and many others. The amount of taxes is also a direct cost of running the business.
It is important to remember, when you estimate the cost to register a company, how much you will have to pay every year and in the long run.
For example, because of tax cuts for new companies in Singapore, the effective tax rate can be only 4.25% on the net income (please read our article about Singapore taxes here). This is substantially lower than in all other countries in the region and many countries in other parts of the world.
Another substantial savings can be achieved on audit. Because most of the companies, as being small companies, will not require one, this can easily save a few thousand dollars per year.
5. How Can You Minimise the Cost When You Register a Company in Singapore?
Firstly, you need to perform a minimal research and make sure that you pay a reasonable, market price for the company registration in Singapore. You can easily save a few hundred dollars, if not thousands (especially in the long run) of the cost necessary to register a company in Singapore.
Another tip is a more practical one. As you can see above, the biggest initial and yearly expense is a local nominee director fee. You can cut this expense by engaging yourself or some of your staff as a director of your company. You can read our article about this here.
6. Examples of Low-Cost Packages of Company Registration in Singapore
Finally, we provide a couple of examples of real, low cost packages to register your company in Singapore. We provide an honest, transparent and fixed price structure which is one of the most competitive in this market.
International Business
- Government Fees
- Incorporation Fees
- Company Secretary
- Local Nominee Director
- Company Registered Address
Moving to Singapore
- Government Fees
- Incorporation Fees
- Company Secretary
- Local Nominee Director
- Company Registered Address
- Employment Pass Application
Local Business
- Government Fees
- Incorporation Fees
- Company Secretary
- Company Registered Address
