You must register for GST in Singapore when your taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million, and you can register voluntarily below that. Registration is done with IRAS through its online services. After approval you charge 9 % on standard-rated supplies, issue tax invoices and file GST returns, usually every quarter.
Under the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, a business must register when its taxable turnover for the past four quarters exceeds S$1 million, or when it expects turnover to exceed that amount in the next twelve months. IRAS applies both tests, so a fast-growing startup with signed contracts can be required to register before it has actually crossed the line.
Taxable turnover includes standard-rated and zero-rated supplies, so export sales count towards the threshold even though no GST is charged on them. Exempt supplies, such as most residential property and financial services, are treated separately. A business that mixes both needs to understand which of its supplies fall where.
Below the threshold, voluntary registration is allowed. It lets you claim input tax on purchases, which helps a business with large start-up costs or customers who are GST-registered themselves. The trade-off is that you commit to charging GST, filing returns and keeping records, and IRAS expects a business to stay registered for a minimum period before cancelling.
The application is made online by an authorised person using CorpPass or, for a sole proprietor, Singpass. You supply company details, the nature of your business, turnover figures and, for voluntary registration, the reasons for registering. IRAS may ask for contracts, bank statements or invoices to support the application.
Once approved, IRAS issues a GST registration number and an effective date. The effective date matters: supplies made on or after it need GST, while invoices issued before it must not show GST. Update your invoice template, contract templates and website before the effective date, so the first tax invoice is correct.
Late registration, where you should have registered earlier, can lead to penalties and a liability to pay GST on supplies you did not charge it on. If you realise you passed the threshold, speak to IRAS promptly and ask how to correct it, rather than waiting for a review.
The GST rate has been 9 % since 1 January 2024. Most supplies of goods and services in Singapore are standard-rated at that rate. Exports of goods and qualifying international services are zero-rated, which means GST is charged at 0 % but the supply still counts as taxable and keeps your right to claim input tax.
A tax invoice must carry the words 'Tax Invoice', your GST registration number, your name and address, the customer's name and address, a unique serial number, the date, a description of the supply, the amount before GST, the GST amount and the total. A simplified tax invoice is allowed for lower-value supplies, within limits set by IRAS. Issue the invoice within 30 days of the supply.
If you invoice in a foreign currency, the GST amount must also be shown in Singapore dollars, using an exchange rate that IRAS accepts. Record which rate you used, because the F5 return is in Singapore dollars and reviewers ask how the figure was derived.
Input tax is the GST you pay on business purchases. You can generally claim it if you hold a valid tax invoice, the purchase is for taxable business supplies and the claim is not blocked. Some items, such as club subscriptions or private motor car expenses, are blocked, so classify each purchase rather than claiming the total in one lump.
GST returns are filed through IRAS myTax Portal on Form F5, normally each quarter and normally due one month after the end of the accounting period. The return reports output tax, input tax, total supplies and the net amount payable or refundable. IRAS also publishes ways to pay, and late filing or payment can bring penalties.
Keep GST records, including tax invoices, import documents and credit notes, for at least five years. A reviewer who asks about one F5 line expects to see the invoices behind it, so a clear link from your ledger to the PDF is more useful than a summary spreadsheet.
A consultancy with S$80,000 monthly revenue reaches S$1 million of taxable turnover in the thirteenth month, but its signed twelve-month contracts already forecast more than S$1 million for the coming year. IRAS looks at both tests, so the consultancy applies for registration as soon as the forecast shows the contracts, not when the actual figure crosses the line.
Once the effective date is confirmed, the consultancy updates its invoice template with the GST number, informs customers that prices will carry 9 %, and checks that its long-term contracts say whether quoted prices include or exclude GST. A contract silent on this point can leave the consultancy absorbing the tax out of its own margin.
A business that falls below the threshold cannot simply stop charging GST. It must apply to IRAS to cancel, and IRAS considers the expected taxable turnover. If the business is wound up or ceases to make taxable supplies, the application is made in the same way, and GST may be due on assets still held at that point.
Mistakes on a filed return are corrected through the voluntary disclosure process rather than hidden in the next period. Tell IRAS what went wrong, the amount involved and how you are preventing a repeat; IRAS treats an early, complete disclosure more favourably than an error found during a review.
4invoices.net produces PDF invoices and an invoice archive, and you type the GST treatment yourself on each line. 4softerp.net is a multi-company financial ERP you can use for your own bookkeeping records. Neither connects to IRAS, applies GST rules automatically or files the F5 return.
Use them as a record-keeping base while the registration, the return and any InvoiceNow enrolment remain with IRAS and your accountant.
Invoices issued before registration is finalised lack the correct GST treatment, creating a gap in the InvoiceNow audit trail that IRAS may query during a review.
Register via IRAS myTax Portal and enter the 9 % / 0 % / exempt treatment yourself on each invoice. 4invoices does not connect to IRAS or apply GST rules for you.
Input and output GST are manually reconciled each quarter from invoices and purchase records, taking hours and introducing transcription errors before each F5 filing.
Reconcile input and output GST from your invoices and purchase records, with your accountant if needed. The F5 return is filed on IRAS myTax Portal; the 4b2b products do not produce F5 exports or file returns.
A business must register when taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million for the past four quarters, or is expected to exceed it in the next twelve months. IRAS tests both. Zero-rated exports count towards turnover, so an exporter can be required to register even when it charges no GST on most sales.
The standard rate is 9 %, in force since 1 January 2024. Exports of goods and qualifying international services are zero-rated, and some supplies, such as certain financial services and residential property, are exempt. Check IRAS for the treatment of your own supply, because wrong classification changes both your invoice and your return, and it also changes how much input tax you can claim.
Yes. Voluntary registration lets you claim input tax on purchases, which can help during a heavy investment phase or when your customers are GST-registered. You then have to charge GST, file returns and keep records, and IRAS expects you to stay registered for a minimum period before you can apply to cancel.
Most businesses file Form F5 quarterly through IRAS myTax Portal, normally within one month after the end of the accounting period. IRAS may assign a different filing frequency in some cases. Put each due date in a calendar, because late filing and late payment are penalised separately, and an overdue return can also delay a refund.
Yes. When an invoice is in another currency, the GST amount must also be stated in Singapore dollars using an exchange rate IRAS accepts, such as the rate published by a recognised source. Record the rate and its source so the figure on the invoice can be matched to your F5 return later.
PDF invoices and an invoice archive. GST registration and filing stay with IRAS.
