Singapore SME compliance calendar: October 2026 to March 2027

This is a dated calendar of the Singapore tax, grant, payroll and work-pass dates that an SME with staff may meet from mid-October 2026 to March 2027, checked against official pages on 17 October 2026 (earlier dates removed). The main ones are the GST return for the July–September quarter on 31 October 2026, the company tax return for Year of Assessment (YA) 2026 on 30 November 2026, and, from 1 January 2027, higher CPF rates for employees above 55 to 65 and higher Employment Pass and S Pass salary minimums for new applications.

Each item names its source page and that page’s “last updated” date where it has one; dates we worked out are marked as ours, and dates the source has not published say so. Your own dates depend on your GST accounting period and financial year-end. This is general information from desk research, not tax, payroll or legal advice.

October 2026

Already past at this check: 14 October, the CPF enforcement cut-off for September wages and IRAS’s GIRO date for the SME Cash Grant.

• 25 October (Sunday): SME Cash Grant payment details. IRAS’s SME Cash Grant 2026 page (last updated 14 October 2026) says eligible businesses with GIRO with IRAS as at 14 October 2026, or PayNow Corporate registered as at 25 October 2026, receive the grant from 2 November 2026; it pays no cheques. Without IRAS GIRO, ask your bank to link PayNow Corporate to your UEN, without a suffix, by then. Nobody applies, and the page now links IRAS’s eligibility checker.
• 31 October (Saturday): GST return and payment, July–September quarter. IRAS’s GST due dates page (last updated 9 October 2026) says the return and the payment are both due one month after the accounting period ends, and that a nil return must be filed even with no business activity. IRAS generally grants no extension, and any request must reach it at least five working days before the due date. As 31 October 2026 is a Saturday and the page does not say whether a weekend due date moves, planning for Friday 30 October avoids the question (our inference, not an IRAS rule). For the e-invoicing side, see our InvoiceNow guide for GST-registered businesses.

November 2026

• 2 November (Monday): SME Cash Grant payments start for businesses that met the 14 and 25 October payment-mode dates, with a notification letter in November to the registered address and through myTax Portal. IRAS pays S$500 for each local qualifying employee, capped at S$2,500 (who counts is in our SME Cash Grant guide); the grant is taxable, and appeal details are to follow nearer the payout.
• 2 November: Corppass access for IRAS grants. IRAS’s Progressive Wage Credit Scheme page (last updated 12 October 2026) asks Corppass administrators to assign the new “Schemes & Grants” authorisations to the relevant staff from this date, ahead of refreshed digital services at the end of December 2026.
• 16 November (Monday): GST GIRO deduction for the July–September return. IRAS’s GST page deducts on the 15th of the month after the due date, moved to the next working day when that is a weekend or public holiday, and 15 November is a Sunday (our application of the rule). The same Monday is the CPF enforcement cut-off for October wages.
• 30 November (Monday): Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C for YA 2026. IRAS’s filing season page (last updated 30 September 2026) says all companies must file by 30 November 2026 unless they have a waiver, and that this includes companies that made a loss. A dormant company with “No Business Done” status has a waiver; an “Active” one files the Form for Dormant Company. Late or non-filing may bring penalties of up to S$5,000, and directors remain responsible even when a tax agent files. Detail is in our Form C-S guide.
• 30 November: SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit expires. Enterprise Singapore’s SFEC page says support expires on 30 November 2026 and that employers must submit final claims for programmes they applied for, or courses they completed, by that date. Our SFEC guide covers planning claims.

December 2026

• 1 December (Tuesday): redesigned SFEC starts. Enterprise Singapore’s SFEC FAQ says that from 1 December 2026 eligible employers will be able to use support under the redesigned credit, administered by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency.
• 31 December (Thursday): ECI for September year-ends. ECI is an estimate of a company’s taxable profit. IRAS’s due dates page lists 31 December 2026 for September financial year-ends, and its ECI page says companies file within three months of the year-end unless the waiver applies: annual revenue of S$5 million or below and a nil ECI. Singapore-registered companies on GIRO that file earlier can get more instalments: IRAS’s December year-end example gives 10 instalments for filing by the 26th of the first month after year-end, 8 by the 26th of the second and 6 by the 26th of the third. By the same pattern a September year-end has 26 October, 26 November and 26 December 2026 (our application of IRAS’s example).

January 2027

• 1 January (Friday): CPF rates rise for employees above 55 to 65. CPF’s announcement (last updated 9 June 2026) gives the new rates for monthly wages above S$750. For employees above 55 to 60 the total becomes 35.5% (employer 16.5%, employee 19%); for above 60 to 65 it becomes 26% (13% each). CPF’s rate page (last updated 7 October 2026) shows the 2026 rates they replace: 34% (16% and 18%) and 25% (12.5% each). CPF says the changes apply to wages earned from 1 January 2027. Rates by age band are in our CPF contribution rates guide, and our CPF contribution calculator works out one employee’s monthly figures on either year’s rates.
• 1 January: Employment Pass and S Pass salary minimums rise for new applications. MOM’s Employment Pass eligibility page (last updated 28 April 2026) and S Pass eligibility page (last updated 1 September 2026) give the minimum qualifying salary for new applications from 1 January 2027: S$6,000 for an Employment Pass (up from S$5,600) and S$3,600 for an S Pass (up from S$3,300). The financial services minimums are S$6,600 and S$4,000, and all four rise progressively with age. Renewals follow later: both pages apply the new minimums to passes expiring from 1 January 2028. Planning notes are in our Employment Pass salary guide and our S Pass and salary guide.
• 31 January (Sunday): GST return and payment, October–December quarter. IRAS’s GST page lists 31 January for the October–December period and 15 February for GIRO deduction. It is a Sunday and the page does not say whether a weekend due date moves, so planning for Friday 29 January avoids the question (our inference).

February and March 2027

• 15 February (Monday): GST GIRO deduction for the October–December return (IRAS GST page).
• 1 March (Monday): employment income records for 2026. IRAS’s IR8A page (last updated 10 August 2026) says employers must prepare Form IR8A, and Appendix 8A or 8B where they apply, by 1 March of the year after the income is earned, which gives 1 March 2027 for 2026 income. Employers under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme submit electronically to IRAS by then; others give hardcopy forms to employees. Our IR8A and AIS guide covers who goes on the list.
• 31 March (Wednesday): ECI for December year-ends (our calculation). The three-month rule gives 31 March 2027 for a financial year ending 31 December 2026, matching the 31 March 2026 date on IRAS’s due dates list. IRAS’s December year-end example puts the instalment cut-offs at 26 January, 26 February and 26 March; 26 March 2027 is Good Friday, a public holiday, and the ECI page does not say whether a cut-off on a public holiday moves.

Which public holidays fall in this window?

MOM’s public holidays page (last updated 19 June 2026) and its press release on 2027 holidays (last updated 23 July 2026) give these:

• Deepavali: Sunday 8 November 2026. MOM’s page says Monday 9 November 2026 will be a public holiday if your rest day falls on 8 November.
• Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026.
• New Year’s Day: Friday 1 January 2027.
• Chinese New Year: Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February 2027. MOM’s press release says Monday 8 February 2027 will be a public holiday; its holidays page words this as applying if your rest day falls on 7 February.
• Hari Raya Puasa: Wednesday 10 March 2027.
• Good Friday: Friday 26 March 2027.

MOM’s press release says employees covered by the Employment Act are entitled to the 11 paid public holidays gazetted for 2027, and to an extra day’s salary at the basic rate of pay, on top of their gross rate for the day, if required to work on one. Time-off-in-lieu rules are in our guide to 2027 public holiday pay and rest days.

What recurs every month?

Two payroll duties repeat. CPF Board’s enforcement page (last updated 5 August 2026) says contributions are due on the last day of the calendar month, with late payment interest of 1.5% a month from the day after, minimum S$5, and enforcement action if payment is not made by the 14th of the following month, or the next working day if the 14th is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Applying that rule (our calculation), the due date for December 2026 wages is Thursday 31 December 2026, and the enforcement cut-offs, which are not the due dates, are:

• October 2026 wages: Monday 16 November 2026 (14 November is a Saturday).
• November 2026 wages: Monday 14 December 2026.
• December 2026 wages: Thursday 14 January 2027.
• January 2027 wages: Monday 15 February 2027 (14 February is a Sunday).
• February 2027 wages: Monday 15 March 2027 (14 March is a Sunday).
• March 2027 wages: Wednesday 14 April 2027.

The Skills Development Levy is paid with the CPF contributions, at 0.25% of monthly total wages, with a minimum of S$2 and a maximum of S$11.25 per employee, according to CPF’s levy page (last updated 2 July 2026). Salary is the second duty: MOM’s paying salary page (last updated 30 January 2026) says an employee covered by the Employment Act must be paid at least once a month, within 7 days after the end of the salary period, and overtime within 14 days. For a salary period ending 31 December 2026, that is 7 January 2027 for salary and 14 January for overtime (our arithmetic). Our month-end close checklist is a place to diarise them.

Which dates in this calendar are not confirmed?

• SME Cash Grant appeals: IRAS says details will be published nearer the payout, and its page does not say when a business that missed the payment-mode dates is paid.
• 2027 tax dates: IRAS’s due dates page lists 2026 dates only, and its footer reads “Last updated 2 November 2021”. The 31 January, 1 March and 31 March 2027 dates apply IRAS’s published rules to 2027, and no IRAS page we read says whether a due date on a weekend or public holiday moves (31 January 2027 is a Sunday).
• Left out: ACRA filing dates (they depend on each company’s year-end), sector licences, property tax, other grants (see our SME grants tracker) and anything announced after 17 October 2026. MOM’s foreign workforce factsheet (no date inside; its file name carries 3 March 2026) announced these salary minimums.

What to recheck, and when?

1. By 25 October 2026: run IRAS’s SME Cash Grant eligibility checker and, if you have no GIRO with IRAS, confirm PayNow Corporate is linked to your UEN.
2. Before 31 October 2026: your GST filing status in myTax Portal.
3. Early November 2026: whether the grant and its letter have arrived, and IRAS’s page for the appeal window.
4. Before 30 November 2026: that whoever files Form C-S has Corppass “Approver” authorisation for Corporate Tax (Filing and Application), and that final SFEC claims are in.
5. Before the December 2026 payroll: CPF Board’s rate pages for every employee above 55, then a sample payslip for each age band (our suggestion).
6. January 2027: IRAS’s due dates page for its 2027 list, and MOM’s work pass pages before any new Employment Pass or S Pass application.
7. Late February 2027: your IR8A data, and whether you are under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme.