Payroll in Singapore

Payroll in Singapore means calculating gross-to-net salary, deducting CPF (Central Provident Fund, the state savings and pension scheme) from each Citizen or Permanent Resident, paying the employer CPF share on top, issuing an itemised payslip and submitting CPF contributions to the CPF Board each month. The key local issue is what is missing: there is no monthly PAYE-style income-tax withholding for residents, and CPF applies only to Citizens and Permanent Residents, so foreigners on work passes sit entirely outside it.

Total employer cost for a S$ 90,000 annual salary is about S$ 105,300, around 17% on top of gross.

Our verdict: Fewer than 2 employees and no local entity in Singapore: use an EOR at $199 to $650 per employee per month. At 2 or more, opening a Pte. Ltd. (roughly $1,600 in setup costs and 3 to 6 weeks to complete) usually works out cheaper. Already running a local entity: standard payroll outsourcing is the cheaper route.

Use this page if you already have, or plan to set up, a local entity in Singapore and want to know what running payroll actually involves. If you want to hire in Singapore without becoming the legal employer, an Employer of Record is the faster route.

No local entity yet? See our guide to EOR in Singapore.

Payroll in Singapore at a Glance

Payroll cycle	Monthly
Employer contribution	17% employer CPF
Employee deductions	20.0% CPF
Income tax	Resident 0-24%
Main payroll filing	Monthly CPF contribution submission; annual IR8A income reporting to IRAS
Filing deadline	CPF by the 14th of the following month; annual IR8A income return to IRAS by 1 March
Employee register	CPF account; no separate national employee register
Payslips required	Yes
Entity required	Yes for standard payroll; no if using an EOR
Main authority	IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) and the CPF Board

How Does Payroll Work in Singapore?

Singapore payroll runs monthly, but it is split across two authorities rather than one. The CPF Board collects the savings contributions; IRAS, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, handles income tax. IRAS is Singapore’s equivalent of HMRC or the IRS, the body that assesses and collects tax on salaries.

The monthly job is narrower than in most countries. You calculate gross pay, deduct the employee’s CPF, add the employer CPF on top, then submit and pay the combined CPF to the Board. Income tax is not touched in the monthly run for residents.

That is the part that surprises foreign employers. Resident income tax in Singapore is assessed once a year by IRAS, not withheld from each payslip the way PAYE works in the UK. The employee receives a tax bill from IRAS after the year ends and pays it themselves.

So your monthly payroll moves CPF, while income tax is reported annually and settled directly between the employee and IRAS.

CPF itself only applies to one group. Citizens and Permanent Residents pay it; foreigners on work passes such as an Employment Pass do not pay CPF at all. A workforce of work-pass holders carries no CPF, which changes both your cost and your filing.

The annual reporting layer is IR8A. This is the return through which you tell IRAS what each employee earned over the year, so IRAS can raise the right assessment, and it is covered in detail below.

What Payroll Taxes Apply in Singapore?

Two things sit on a Singapore salary: CPF, which is split between employer and employee, and income tax. They behave very differently, because CPF is a monthly payroll deduction while income tax is an annual assessment outside payroll.

Employer Payroll Contributions in Singapore

For a Citizen or Permanent Resident aged 55 and below, the employer pays CPF at 17% of the employee’s wages. This is the standard employer rate and the main statutory cost on top of gross salary.

CPF is calculated on Ordinary Wages, which are the regular monthly earnings such as basic salary and fixed allowances. Ordinary Wages count toward CPF up to a ceiling of SGD 8,000 a month, so pay above that level attracts no further monthly CPF.

For a foreigner on a work pass, the employer CPF is zero. That is why a team of Employment Pass holders costs you close to gross salary, while a team of Citizens and PRs carries the full 17% loading.

The true cost of employing in Singapore

Employer contribution	Rate
Pension	17% of gross wage
Skills Development Levy (SDL)	0.25% of first SGD 4,500 of monthly wages
Contribution ceiling	SGD 102,000 a year
Total employer burden	17% of gross wage

Statutory employer rates; items can apply to different wage bases or carry conditions, so lines do not always sum to the total.

Singapore has no statutory 13th-month, holiday or profit-sharing bonus.

Sources: taxsummaries.pwc.com (employer contributions), mom.gov.sg (bonuses).

Employee Payroll Deductions in Singapore

A Citizen or Permanent Resident aged 55 and below has CPF deducted at 20% of wages, again on Ordinary Wages up to the SGD 8,000 monthly ceiling. You withhold this from gross pay and remit it to the CPF Board with the employer share.

Foreigners on work passes have no CPF deduction. Their gross pay flows through almost untouched at the monthly stage, because income tax is handled separately and annually.

The deduction is the employee’s contribution, but you are responsible for calculating, withholding and submitting it. A wrong CPF figure underpays the employee’s savings account and leaves your monthly submission out of step with what you actually paid.

Income Tax on Salary in Singapore

Resident income tax in Singapore is progressive, running from 0% on the lowest band up to 24% at the top. Unlike CPF, it is not deducted through payroll for residents.

Instead, IRAS assesses the tax once a year. After the year ends, IRAS uses the income you reported on IR8A to raise an assessment, and the employee pays the bill directly, often spread over monthly instalments. The figure in the example below is the annual tax IRAS would assess, not money taken from the payslip.

Payroll Tax Example: Gross Salary to Net Pay

Here is how CPF and income tax stack up for a representative resident salary. The figures come from the rates above, with the annual income tax shown as the amount IRAS assesses rather than a payroll deduction.

Gross annual salary	S$ 90,000
Employee CPF (20%)	− S$ 18,000
Taxable income	S$ 71,000
Income tax	− S$ 2,720
Estimated net salary	S$ 69,280
Employer CPF (17%)	+ S$ 15,300
Total employer cost	S$ 105,300

Simplified illustration: Singapore Citizen/PR aged 55 and below earning SGD 7,500/month; under the 2026 Ordinary Wage ceiling of SGD 8,000/month the full salary is CPF-able, so employee CPF = 20% x 90,000 = 18,000 and employer CPF = 17% x 90,000 = 15,300. Chargeable income = 90,000 – 18,000 CPF Relief (compulsory employee CPF) – 1,000 Earned Income Relief = 71,000; resident tax = 550 on the first 40,000 + 7% x 31,000 = 2,720. Income tax is assessed annually by IRAS rather than withheld, so net shows cash after both CPF and the assessed income tax. Reliefs are claimed on the annual IRAS return, not applied through payroll withholding; compulsory employee CPF is relieved in full (CPF Relief) and employed residents get the SGD 1,000 Earned Income Relief.

Read the two bold rows together. A resident on SGD 90,000 gross is left with SGD 69,280 after CPF and the annual tax, while your total cost as employer is SGD 105,300.

Now picture the same role filled by a work-pass holder: no employee CPF, no employer CPF, so your cost sits close to the SGD 90,000 gross. That single distinction is the Singapore payroll signature, and it is why the residency status of each hire drives your budget.

What Payroll Filings Are Required in Singapore?

Singapore splits payroll reporting across two filings on two rhythms. The CPF submission runs monthly to the CPF Board; the IR8A income report runs annually to IRAS. Together they cover the savings and the tax sides of every salary.

What the CPF Submission and IR8A Report

The monthly CPF submission tells the CPF Board how much CPF is due for each Citizen and Permanent Resident, combining the 20% employee deduction and the 17% employer share. Work-pass holders do not appear in it, because they carry no CPF.

IR8A is the annual return through which you report each employee’s total earnings for the year to IRAS. It is the figure IRAS uses to assess income tax, which is why an accurate IR8A matters even though no tax is withheld monthly.

When They Are Due

CPF contributions are due monthly, payable shortly after the end of each month. Your provider needs the run finalised in time to both submit and pay before the CPF Board’s grace period closes.

IR8A is an annual filing, prepared after the calendar year ends and submitted to IRAS so it can raise assessments. The monthly cash movement is CPF; the annual reporting event is IR8A.

Who Files Them

The legal obligation sits with the employer. In practice your payroll provider or accounting firm prepares and submits both the monthly CPF and the annual IR8A on your behalf, or your in-house team files them directly if you run your own Singapore entity.

Either way, confirm in writing who submits each one and by when. The liability for a late or wrong filing stays with you as employer regardless of who does the keying.

What Happens If Payroll Filings Are Wrong

Late CPF contributions attract interest of 1.5% per month, which works out at 18% a year and is calculated daily on the outstanding amount. Failing to submit the required annual employment income data to IRAS is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to SGD 5,000 and, in serious cases, imprisonment.

Beyond the penalty, a CPF submission or IR8A that does not match your actual payroll invites scrutiny, so getting the residency split and the wage ceiling right the first time matters more than the headline fine suggests.

What Are the Payroll Deadlines in Singapore?

Most Singapore payroll obligations land monthly, anchored to the CPF submission after each month closes. The exception is IR8A, which is annual, prepared once the calendar year ends rather than at month end.

Obligation	Frequency	Deadline	Responsible party
Salary payment	Monthly	Per contract / company policy	Employer
Tax & social filing (CPF / IR8A)	Annually	CPF by the 14th of the following month; annual IR8A income return to IRAS by 1 March	Employer / payroll provider
Tax & contribution payment	Annually	CPF by the 14th of the following month; annual IR8A income return to IRAS by 1 March	Employer / payroll provider
New-hire registration (CPF)	Per hire	Before the employee’s start date	Employer / payroll provider
Payslip issue	Per pay run	With salary payment	Employer / payroll provider

Late filing: Late CPF contributions incur interest of 1.5% per month (18% per annum), calculated daily. Failure to submit annual employment income data (AIS) to IRAS is an offence punishable by a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or imprisonment.

Payroll Operations Risk in Singapore

Employers in Singapore file with 2 separate agencies.

Payroll operations factor	Singapore
Agencies to file with	2
Labour-law changes (last 24 months)	1
Audit frequency	Low
Penalty severity	Low
Domestic payment rail	PayNow + FAST
Payment settlement	Same day (T+0)
Currency stability	Stable

Sources: mom.gov.sg (compliance), mas.gov.sg (payments).

What Are the Payslip and CPF Rules in Singapore?

Since 2016, Singapore law requires employers to give every covered employee an itemised payslip for each pay period. It has to show gross pay, each deduction such as CPF, and net pay, and it must be issued with the salary or shortly after.

There is no separate national employee register to maintain. The closest equivalent is the CPF account that each Citizen and Permanent Resident holds, into which their monthly contributions flow.

The point that catches foreign employers is the residency split on that CPF account. A new Citizen or PR hire needs CPF set up before their first payroll, while a work-pass holder is excluded from CPF entirely and only appears in your annual IR8A reporting.

When you assess a provider, treat the residency handling as seriously as the calculation itself. A system that quietly applies CPF to a foreigner, or misses it for a PR, produces a payslip that is wrong and a CPF submission that will not reconcile.

How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost in Singapore?

There are two separate numbers in Singapore payroll cost, and confusing them is the most common budgeting mistake. The first is your statutory employer cost, which is employer CPF at 17% for Citizens and PRs, and zero for work-pass holders.

12 of the 16 EOR providers we track publish Singapore fees; they range from $199 to $650 per employee per month.

Provider	Monthly EOR fee	Contractor fee	Source
Remofirst	$199	$25	Pricing page ↗
Remote People (formerly Horizons)	$199	—	Pricing page ↗
Playroll	$399	$35	Pricing page ↗
Multiplier	$400	$40	Pricing page ↗
Plane	$499	$39	Pricing page ↗
Lano	$539	$21	Pricing page ↗
WorkMotion	$549	$31	Pricing page ↗
Atlas	$599	—	Pricing page ↗
Deel	$599	$49	Pricing page ↗
Oyster HR	$599	$29	Pricing page ↗
Remote	$599	$29	Pricing page ↗
Papaya Global	$650	$25	Pricing page ↗
Gusto	Custom quote	$6	Pricing page ↗
Safeguard Global	—	$10	Pricing page ↗

Published list prices in USD: EOR fees are per employee per month, contractor fees per contractor per month. Providers that publish neither fee for Singapore are not shown.

According to Whichapp’s July 2026 analysis of EOR fees across 40 countries, providers charge $199 to $650 per employee per month in Singapore.

12 of the 16 providers we track publish Singapore EOR fees. The lowest published rate is $199 per employee per month and the highest is $650.

Contractor management fees in Singapore run from $6 to $49 per contractor per month.

The second is the fee you pay a provider to run the payroll for you. They are unrelated, and only the second is negotiable.

Managed Payroll Provider Fees

Managed payroll in Singapore is normally priced per employee per month, and most providers quote rather than publish a rate. The price turns on headcount, on whether you also need accounting or HR support, and on your mix of residents and work-pass holders, since the two are processed differently.

The fee buys the calculation, the monthly CPF submission, the annual IR8A reporting and payslip production. It does not include the CPF contributions themselves, which you fund on top, so gather two or three quotes before committing.

What Payroll Provider Fees Usually Include

A standard managed payroll fee in Singapore should cover the monthly gross-to-net calculation, CPF deduction and submission to the CPF Board, annual IR8A income reporting to IRAS, and itemised payslips. Ask for that list in writing. If any of it sits outside the headline fee, you want to know before the first run, not after.

Extra Payroll Costs to Ask About

The gaps tend to appear at the edges of the standard cycle. Ask specifically about work-pass administration and any liaison with the Ministry of Manpower, tax clearance filings when a foreign employee leaves, year-end IR8A and Auto-Inclusion Scheme reporting, correction filings when something has to be restated, and onboarding setup fees. These are the line items that turn a tidy per-head quote into a larger annual number.

When Payroll Outsourcing Becomes Cheaper Than EOR

The choice between running your own payroll and using an EOR is mostly about headcount and how long you plan to stay. An EOR carries a higher monthly fee per person because the provider is the legal employer and absorbs the entity, but it saves you setting one up.

Running your own payroll through a Singapore private limited company is cheaper per head once you are past a handful of employees and committed to staying, because the entity and provider fee spread across more people. In our assessment, the more people you hire and the longer the horizon, the more the economics favour your own entity with outsourced payroll.

Payroll in Singapore vs EOR in Singapore

The line between the two routes is simple: standard payroll assumes you are the legal employer through a Singapore entity, while an EOR makes the provider the legal employer so you do not need one.

	Standard payroll	EOR
Legal employer	You (your entity)	The provider
Entity required	Yes	No
Monthly provider fee	Lower	Higher
Best for	Longer-term hiring	Fast market entry
Control of employment	You	Shared with provider
Employer admin burden	Higher	Carried by provider

Use payroll outsourcing if you already have a local entity or are hiring enough people to justify one. Use an EOR if you need to hire before setting up an entity.

If that second case is you, our guide to EOR in Singapore covers the providers, licensing and costs in full. EOR pricing and provider ranking live there, not on this page.

Best Payroll Providers for Singapore

These providers all run payroll in Singapore, but they are built for different situations. Below is where each one fits and the local point to check before you sign. We do not list EOR prices here; for unpriced managed payroll, treat the fee as by quote and confirm it during your shortlist calls.

4 providers in Whichapp’s independent index cover Singapore. The top 4 by composite score:

1. Deel (9.1/10). From $599/month. Best for scale, automation and contractor volume. Runs its own Singapore entity.
2. Papaya Global (8.2/10). From $650/month. Best for multinational payroll consolidation. Runs its own Singapore entity.
3. Remote (8.0/10). From $599/month. Best for IP protection and owned-entity purity. Runs its own Singapore entity.
4. Rippling (6.4/10). Best for unified IT, HR, and global finance. Runs its own Singapore entity.

Rankings come straight from Whichapp’s provider index (coverage 30%, pricing transparency 25%, security and compliance 25%, integration depth 20%); see how we score.

All 4 major EORs we track in Singapore run their own local entity there.

Provider	Local entity	Services	Source
Deel	Own entity	EOR, Payroll, Contractor	Coverage page ↗
Papaya Global	Own entity	EOR, Payroll, Contractor	Coverage page ↗
Remote	Own entity	EOR, Payroll, Contractor	Coverage page ↗
Rippling	Own entity	EOR, Payroll, Contractor	Coverage page ↗

Entity model as reported on provider websites, last checked 2026-06-06. An own entity means the provider is the direct legal employer; a partner model adds a third party to the chain.

Deel for Payroll in Singapore

Deel is a strong fit if Singapore sits alongside other Asia-Pacific hires you want on one platform, with a single dashboard and API across markets. Singapore watch-out: confirm it handles the monthly CPF submission and annual IR8A directly, and that its engine applies CPF to Citizens and PRs while correctly excluding work-pass holders. Read our Deel review.

Remote for Payroll in Singapore

Remote runs much of its payroll through owned entities, which gives a cleaner compliance chain than a partner-network model. That suits employers who want a direct line of accountability for CPF and IR8A filings.

Singapore watch-out: confirm Singapore payroll is on Remote’s owned entity rather than a local partner, and that the residency split between CPF-paying PRs and exempt work-pass holders is handled inside the platform. Read our Remote review.

Papaya Global for Payroll in Singapore

Papaya Global is built for consolidating payroll across many countries with finance-grade reporting and audit trails, so it earns its place when Singapore is one market in a larger stack. Its weakness is the opposite case: for a single Singapore entity with no multi-country reporting need, the platform is heavier than the job requires.

Singapore watch-out: Papaya leans on local partners in some markets, so confirm whether your Singapore payroll runs on its own entity or a third-party bureau, and how directly it owns the CPF submission and IR8A. Read our Papaya Global review.

Rippling for Payroll in Singapore

Rippling appeals when you want payroll wired into the same system as HR, IT and device management, with automated journal entries. Singapore watch-out: it is platform-first, so confirm the depth of its statutory handling, specifically CPF on Ordinary Wages up to the ceiling and the work-pass exclusion, against what a local specialist would offer. Read our Rippling review.

Multiplier for Payroll in Singapore

Multiplier is the value option for multi-country payroll where price predictability matters, which fits smaller Singapore teams. The trade-off for that price is depth: in tightly regulated markets it tends to carry less local specialist weight than a Papaya or an in-country bureau.

Singapore watch-out: confirm it files the CPF submission and IR8A directly rather than through a reseller, and that its gross-to-net engine handles the Citizen/PR versus work-pass distinction before you anchor any salary offers on it. Read our Multiplier review.

Safeguard Global for Payroll in Singapore

Safeguard Global is a payroll-led specialist rather than an HR platform with payroll bolted on, which appeals when running the payroll correctly is the whole point and you do not need a wider people stack. That focus is also its limit: if you want integrated HR, devices and onboarding in one tool, it does less than Rippling or Deel.

Singapore watch-out: confirm its Singapore coverage is run in-house rather than subcontracted, and that the service includes work-pass administration and IR8A reporting, not just the monthly CPF calculation. Read our Safeguard Global review.

How to Choose a Payroll Provider in Singapore

The questions below separate a provider that genuinely runs Singapore payroll from one that resells a local bureau without owning the detail. Ask them before you sign, not after the first run.

Can They Handle the CPF Submission and IR8A?

Confirm the provider prepares and submits the monthly CPF contributions to the CPF Board and the annual IR8A to IRAS directly, and that it reconciles both against the actual payroll each period. Ask who submits each one and by when.

Do They Manage the CPF Account and Residency Split?

Check that new Citizen and PR hires have CPF set up before their first payroll, and that work-pass holders are correctly excluded from CPF while still appearing in IR8A. A provider that mishandles the residency split leaves you with wrong payslips and a submission that will not reconcile.

Can They Model Gross-to-Net Salary Accurately?

Singapore’s gross-to-net differs sharply between residents and work-pass holders, and income tax sits outside the monthly run entirely. A capable provider models both cases and explains the annual IRAS assessment to your hires, rather than just processing whatever number you hand over.

How Do They Update for Payroll Law Changes?

CPF rates, the wage ceiling and IRAS reporting rules change periodically. Ask how the provider tracks CPF Board and IRAS changes and how quickly updates reach your payroll runs.

Who Is Liable for Payroll Errors?

The statutory liability stays with you as employer, but the contract should set out what the provider is accountable for if a miscalculation or late filing is their fault. Get the indemnity and correction process in writing.

Can They Support Multi-Country Reporting?

If Singapore is one of several markets, confirm the provider can consolidate reporting across them in a single view, so your finance team is not stitching country files together by hand.

What Support Do They Offer During Terminations or Audits?

Terminations of foreign staff involve tax clearance with IRAS, and that is where weak providers show their limits. Ask what support you get during a leaver’s tax clearance or an IRAS query, and whether a named contact handles it or you are routed through a ticket queue.

What Does Terminating an Employee Cost in Singapore?

Severance: No statutory formula for retrenchment (redundancy) pay. Entitlement and amount depend on employment contract, collective agreement, or negotiation. Ministry of Manpower provides non-binding guideline recommending 0.5 to 1 month of salary per year of service.

Length of service	Minimum employer notice
Under 2 years	1 week
2 years to under 5 years	2 weeks
5 years or more	4 weeks

Statutory leave: 7 days of paid annual leave plus 11 public holidays a year.

Sources: mom.gov.sg (severance), mom.gov.sg (leave).

Singapore Payroll Checklist Before Hiring

• Confirm whether you need payroll or an EOR
• Check your local entity status
• Model gross-to-net salary for your offers
• Confirm employer contribution rate (employer CPF)
• Confirm employee deductions (CPF)
• Confirm income tax treatment
• Check who files CPF / IR8A and by when
• Confirm CPF registration is handled
• Confirm the payslip process
• Check leave, sick pay and termination workflows
• Ask who carries liability for calculation errors
• Confirm provider pricing and any extra fees

Work through this before your first hire. The residency split at points four and five is the one foreign employers miss most often, because CPF applies to Citizens and PRs but never to work-pass holders.

FAQs About Payroll in Singapore

Methodology and Disclosure

The CPF contribution rates, the wage ceiling, the resident income tax band, filing rules and penalty figures on this page come from Whichapp’s Singapore statutory dataset, grounded in CPF Board 2026 rates and IRAS income reporting rules, and refreshed as rates change. The worked example is calculated from those rates and reconciles by construction.

Provider assessments reflect our independent editorial view of payroll fit for Singapore; we do not sell payroll, EOR or contractor services. Some provider links may carry affiliate referrals, which never affects our editorial judgement or the figures above.

Already hiring contractors instead of employees? See contractor management in Singapore, or start from the Singapore hiring hub for the full picture.

Primary sources

• Income tax and employee contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Employer contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Minimum wage: mom.gov.sg
• Payroll filing deadlines: sso.agc.gov.sg
• Notice periods and leave: mom.gov.sg
• Severance rules: mom.gov.sg
• Entity setup benchmark: acra.gov.sg

Continue researching

Country Hiring in Kenya: EOR, Global Payroll & Contractor Management How to hire in Kenya in 2026: EOR, payroll, and contractor routes compared. Employer costs, employment law, and provider trade-offs... Read more → Ranking Best International PEO (2026): 5 Providers Compared International PEO costs $400-$750/month per employee, but most providers are not true PEOs. Know the model before you sign. Read more → Country Contractor Management in Singapore 2026: Rules, Risks, and Platforms Singapore's MOM multi-factor test turns simple contractor relationships into reclassification risk. See where exclusive, long-term work crosses the line. Read more →