🇸🇬 Singapore

Singapore is the low-tax country nobody dares to call a tax haven. It has a 17% headline rate, a treaty network of about 100 countries, some of the world’s best banks and courts – and a partial exemption system that pushes the tax on a small company’s profit well below 10%.

It is also one of the most expensive cities on the planet, and it doesn’t hand out residence permits to anyone with a laptop and a company. For most of our readers, Singapore is where the company lives, not where they do. Here’s how it works as of September 2026.

Is it for you?#

Two very different things hide behind “going to Singapore”. Decide which one you mean.

The company, run by people in Singapore. If you have real business in Asia – clients, suppliers, a team – a Singapore company is the respected default. Banks, investors and counterparties know it, treaties protect payments, and dividends leave the company tax-free. It works for a regional holding too, as long as the decisions are taken in Singapore and not on a Zoom call from somewhere else.

You, living in Singapore. Possible, if you qualify for a work pass: a venture-backed or innovative startup (EntrePass), a solid salary from your own company (Employment Pass) or top-earner status (ONE Pass). Then the personal side gets attractive too: dividends and foreign income are tax-free, salaries are taxed at 0–24%.

It’s the wrong choice if you want a cheap place to live, an easy residence card, or a Singapore company you run from your kitchen in Hamburg. That last one is the classic. A company managed from Germany is taxed in Germany, and your Singapore nominee director won’t change that, however nice the letterhead looks (see place of management).

The company#

The vehicle#

The standard is the private limited company (Pte. Ltd.). Registration with ACRA happens online through a registered filing agent and usually takes a day once the name is approved – faster than most European banks answer an email. Minimum capital is S$1. The legal must-haves: at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore (citizen, permanent resident or work pass holder), a company secretary within six months, and a local registered address. Foreign founders without a pass usually hire a nominee director. It works, but you’re appointing a stranger with legal duties and access to your company.

How profits are taxed#

• Corporate tax: 17%, but with a partial exemption: 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 of chargeable income are exempt.
• Start-up exemption for a new company’s first three years: 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000 (not for investment holding or property development companies).
• 2026 rebate: for the 2026 year of assessment, a 50% corporate tax rebate capped at S$40,000 (enhanced in April 2026).
• Dividends: one-tier system – no withholding tax, tax-free for the shareholder.
• Foreign income: taxed when received in Singapore; foreign dividends, branch profits and service income are exempt if they were taxed abroad at a headline rate of at least 15%.
• GST: 9%, registration from S$1 million taxable turnover.

Worked example: €100,000 profit (≈ S$150,000), established company, no rebate, dividend to you.

As a new start-up the bill falls to S$8,500 (5.7%), and the 2026 rebate halves whatever is left. Above S$200,000 of profit every extra dollar pays the full 17% – still well under what a German GmbH pays on its first euro. Compare scenarios in the tax calculator; note that it works with the 17% headline rate.

Costs#

Registration costs a few hundred Singapore dollars in government fees. Running a small, audit-exempt company costs around S$7,500 (≈ €5,000) a year with a nominee director, company secretary, registered address, bookkeeping, tax return and ACRA filings. If you live there and act as director yourself, it’s closer to €3,000. Small companies don’t need an audit, which spares you the annual ritual of explaining your coffee receipts to a junior accountant.

Banking#

Singapore’s banks are among the best-capitalised in the world, and they intend to stay that way by saying no a lot. A foreign-owned company with a nominee director, no local staff and no Asian business often gets turned down or invited to fly in for a meeting. Digital business accounts open quickly and handle most day-to-day payments. With a work pass, a local address and real operations, the big banks suddenly remember their manners. More options in our banking guide.

Substance#

Singapore taxes companies by control and management: the company is tax-resident (and gets a certificate of residence and treaty benefits) if the board makes its strategic decisions in Singapore. Since 2024, gains from selling foreign assets are taxable unless the company has real economic substance in Singapore. A holding with a nominee director and no people fails that test – and your home country’s CFC rules will look at it anyway (CFC rules).

Living there#

Residency routes#

The short version: there’s no “move with your company” visa for ordinary small businesses. A consultant with a one-person company rarely meets COMPASS, and the EntrePass wants investors or intellectual property, not a nice website and a Stripe account.

Personal tax#

Residents pay progressive rates from 0% to 24% on Singapore employment and business income. Dividends from Singapore companies and foreign-sourced income are tax-free for individuals, even if you bring the money into Singapore (except through a Singapore partnership). There’s no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and, for foreigners, no CPF social security contributions. Read that list twice if you currently pay German social security.

Days#

You’re tax-resident with 183 days in a calendar year (or through the two- and three-year concessions for employees). In practice, a work pass assumes Singapore is where you live and work. It’s not a part-time address for the winter.

Daily life#

Numbeo puts Singapore’s cost of living (excluding rent) at 91.9 – New York territory. Rent, cars and international schools are eye-watering; hawker centres, where a great meal costs a few dollars, are the famous counterweight. The city is spotless, efficient and very safe (Numbeo safety index 77.7), English is an official language, and Changi connects you to all of Asia. The trade-offs: heat and humidity all year, strict laws with stricter enforcement, and a pace built for ambitious people, not for founders who wanted a hammock.

The catches#

Step by step#

FAQ#

Sources#

• IRAS – corporate income tax rates, rebates and exemptions
• IRAS – working out tax residency
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Singapore, corporate
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Singapore, individual
• Allen & Gledhill – YA 2026 rebate enhancement
• Ministry of Manpower – EntrePass
• Ministry of Manpower – Employment Pass
• Ministry of Manpower – ONE Pass
• ACRA – setting up a local company
• Numbeo – Singapore