Sole Proprietorship
REGISTRATION OF A SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
The sole proprietorship is the simplest business structure, easy to establish, and inexpensive to create and maintain compared to a company. It can be owned and controlled by an individual, a company, or a limited liability partnership. There are no partners in the business.
A sole proprietorship can be exempted from business registration. As long as you, being the owner, choose to conduct business using your full name as reflected in your Singapore NRIC, there is no need to register the business to ACRA. See the full list of exemptions for business from registration.
| Advantages of a Sole Proprietorship | Disadvantages of a Sole Proprietorship |
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Tax liability of a sole proprietor
As a self-employed person, you must report the income earned from your business operations as business income, not salary. The business income is part of the total personal income which is taxed at individual income tax rates.
Requirements in setting up Sole Proprietorship
A business owner:
- must be at least 18 years old;
- must be a Singapore citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident, or an eligible FIN (Foreign Identity Number) holder; and
- is required to keep Medisave contributions with CPF Board up-to-date.
PRE-REGISTRATION GUIDE
We will walk you through the procedures, requirements, and checklist for organized business registration.
- Choose a business name: After deciding on a business name, check with ACRA Bizfile using your SingPass ID, if the desired company name is available. Read more to know how to choose a suitable business name.
- Register your desired business name: You must first register your desired business name before you can register your business entity. A name application may be referred to the Referral Authorities for review and approval. Read more about Referral Authorities.
- Specify business activity. You can choose a maximum of 2 business activities. Select the most relevant business activities from Singapore Standard Industrial Classification Code.
- Provide business address. The registered office address must be an address in Singapore but it need not be the place of operation. Read more about the registered office address
- Provide residential address. The business owner must provide the residential address at the point of registration which is made publicly available if there are public purchases of information about the business entity.
After completing the requirements and documents, you are now ready to incorporate your company
You may wish to engage a registered filing agent to unload you with the administrative tasks and paperwork.
Foreign individuals and companies who wish to set up a business entity in Singapore will need to engage a registered filing agent to submit the application to the government on their behalf.
POST-REGISTRATION GUIDE
You have your business registered and you are now one step toward materializing your business goals. What do you need to do next?
- Licenses and Approvals. You cannot commence your business if the type of business activity that you are undertaking requires a license or approvals from other government agencies. You may wish to visit the GoBusiness licensing portal for more information.
- Application for a work visa. If you wish to employ foreign talent, the employing business or a licensed agency needs to apply for a suitable work visa for the candidate before starting the job. Learn more about our services for work visas and permits.
- Choose an accounting method and set up accounting software. Accounting is a vital part of your business, thus, it is imperative to pay careful thought to a long-term and viable solution. You may hire an in-house bookkeeper or accountant or outsource the accounting functions. As for accounting software, the most common accounting software used by SMEs in Singapore are ABSS and Xero.
- Update information. It is your responsibility to inform ACRA if there are changes to your business information to ensure that the information with ACRA is up to date.
- Renew your business registration. If you intend to continue running the business, you need to renew the business before the expiry date. The registered owner must ensure that the Medisave contributions are up to date, otherwise, the business entity cannot be renewed or may be canceled.
We offer a complete incorporation package which includes the provision of a company secretary (if needed), and a registered office address in Singapore. You may also choose from additional services like the application for a work pass if you or your foreign employees wish to live or work in Singapore.
Ready to have a business presence in Singapore? Accmaster will help you overcome the compliance challenges and help you get started on the path to global expansion. Talk to our experts.
