Payroll in Singapore
Personal taxes
Income tax in Singapore is actually among the lowest in the world, at between 0% and 22% depending on salary. The latter amount is based on salaries of S$320,000+ ($231,392 USD). It is worth knowing that only the income earned in Singapore is taxable – anything earned abroad is generally not taxable.
Any salary used for relevant employment expenses, charitable donations, and relief funding such as course fees are exempt income tax.
The annual tax filing date for individuals is April 15th. This is only required for those on an income of S$22,000+ ($15,908 USD) – as any wage below this is not taxable. Foreign employees staying/working in Singapore for 61 days or more are liable to pay income tax in some form.
Singapore’s permanent residents make pension contributions from their salary to a Central Provident Fund. This applies to those aged 55 and below.
Corporate taxes
Corporate income tax has been set at 17% since 2010. Some start-up companies may qualify for tax exemption in the first three years of existence.
Companies must pay a Foreign Worker Levy for employees who are not permanent residents in Singapore. The amount payable depends on the type of company, and the ratio of foreign to residential workers.
From 2020, companies may be liable to pay a Carbon Tax depending on their greenhouse gas emissions.
HR in Singapore
What are the regular working hours in Singapore?
The most common working hours in Singapore are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Vacation, maternity and sickness
Legislation detailed in the Singapore Employment Act relates to any staff who have been in employment for three months plus.
Pregnant women may qualify for 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. After this, women are entitled to up to six days of childcare leave each year, until the child is seven years old.
Employees have an entitlement to sick leave depending on their length of time at the company. After three months of employment they are entitled to five days, after four months it’s eight days, after five months it’s 11 days, and then from six months onwards they are entitled to 14 days.
Annual leave is a minimum of seven days in the first year of employment, increasing one day for each additional year of employment. In spite of this, most companies generally give around 14 days per year.
Termination
In the instance of the termination of employment, there is no lawful notice period required however this must be stipulated in the employee contract. Any accrued holiday days can be used within the notice period.
