Estimated Company Taxable Income (ECI) in Singapore

ECI is an estimate of your company's taxable income (after deducting expenses allowed for tax purposes) for the year of assessment (YA).

Learn about taxable income and tax deductible expenses.

The IRAS (Internal Revenue Authority of Singapore) requires every company incorporated in Singapore, including new companies, to file an annual ECI report within three months of the end of the financial year.

Your company must file an ECI within 3 months of the end of the fiscal year, unless:

1. Your company qualifies for an exemption from the obligation to file an ECI; or
2. Your company is not required to file an ECI.

Your company does not need to file an ECI for the fiscal year in question if both criteria are met:

1. The annual income¹ for the fiscal year is $5 million or less;
   
   
2. The ECI is zero for the reporting year. ECI must be equal to the amount before deducting the amount exempted under partial tax exemption schemes or tax exemption schemes for new companies.
   
   

¹ - Revenue refers to a company's main source of income and excludes income from individual sources, such as interest, dividends and rent, which does not arise from its core business. In the case of an investment holding company, income is its investment income (e.g. dividend income and interest income).

If your company falls into 1 of the following categories, it does not need to file an ECI:

• Foreign shipowners or charterers whose local shipping agent has filed/submitted a declaration of carriage
• Foreign universities
• Specialized mutual funds and CPF-approved mutual funds
• Real estate investment trusts that have been granted tax treatment under Section 43(2) of the Income Tax Act.

Your company will be notified by IRAS to file an ECI in the last month of the fiscal year.

If your company has not received the notice and does not qualify for the ECI exemption, it must file the ECI within 3 months after the end of the fiscal year.

The amount of ECI your company submits does not have to include the new company/partial tax exemption for all companies.

IRAS will calculate and authorize the tax exemption for new start-up companies/partial tax exemption automatically.

You do not have to file an ECI for your company if it has no income and your company has an annual turnover of $5 million or less.
If your company's estimated earnings are zero and it has an annual turnover of more than $5 million, you are still required to file an ECI.

Your company must pay the tax due within 1 month of the date of the notice of assessment (ECI) unless it is entitled to payment in installments.

There are 2 ways to pay taxes:

• Payment via GIR

Companies registered in Singapore are advised to sign up for GIRO to take advantage of the installment payment of accrued tax.

If your company does not have an existing GIRO corporate income tax agreement, sign up for a GIRO at least 3 weeks before you file your ECI. The GIRO agreement must be approved before the due date (i.e., 1 month from the date of the notice of assessment) in order for your company to be eligible for payment in installments.

If the GIRO agreement is not approved before the due date, your company will have to pay the full amount of the assessed tax within 1 month of the date of the notice of assessment.

• Electronic payments
  

You can make your payment using electronic payment methods such as online banking, phone banking, and NETS. If your company is having trouble paying taxes, read about the support measures available.

If your company does not agree with the estimated tax amount, an objection must be filed within 2 months of the date of the tax assessment notice.

When filing the objection, your company must state the reasons for the late filing or failure to file the ECI and the revised ECI amount.