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A payroll service in Singapore calculates salaries, pays the CPF and skills levy, issues payslips and prepares the yearly IR8A. For staff aged 55 and below who are citizens or permanent residents, CPF is 37% of wages above S$750 a month: 17% from the employer and 20% from the employee. Rates checked against CPF Board.
SingaporeCompanySetupGuide.com is an independent guide. It is not CPF Board, IRAS, MOM or a payroll firm. If you ask for quotes, we pass your request to providers that may pay us a referral fee.
What rules does a payroll provider have to follow?
The provider works to the same rules you do. These are the main ones.
| Rule | What the official body says | Body |
|---|---|---|
| CPF rate, age 55 and below, wages above S$750 | Employer 17%, employee 20%, total 37% | CPF Board |
| Monthly wage ceiling for CPF | S$8,000 a month, S$102,000 a year | CPF Board |
| CPF payment | Due end of month; enforcement if not paid by the 14th of the next month | CPF Board |
| Late CPF interest | 1.5% per month from the first day after the due date | CPF Board |
| Skills Development Levy | 0.25% of monthly wages, S$2 minimum, S$11.25 maximum | CPF Board |
| Salary payment | At least monthly, within 7 days after the salary period; overtime within 14 days | MOM |
| Payslip | Itemised, given with payment or within 3 working days | MOM |
| Employee income report | Form IR8A by 1 March of the year after | IRAS |
CPF Board has announced higher contribution rates for senior employees from , so a provider's system needs a rate update then.
Who gets CPF and who does not?
CPF contributions are payable for Singapore citizens and permanent residents. A foreigner on an Employment Pass or a work permit does not attract CPF. The Skills Development Levy is different. It applies to all employees working in Singapore, foreigners included. For the employer side in full, read CPF for employers.
What does the monthly payroll cycle look like?
- Collect changes. New joiners, leavers, leave, overtime, claims and bonuses.
- Compute gross pay. Basic pay plus allowances and overtime.
- Work out CPF. Apply the age band and the wage ceiling to ordinary wages. Additional wages like bonuses have their own ceiling rule.
- Add the Skills Development Levy. Paid with the CPF for local staff. For foreign-only payrolls it goes to the Skills and Workforce Development Agency instead.
- Pay staff. Within 7 days of the end of the salary period.
- Issue payslips. Itemised, with the employer and employee names, pay dates, basic salary, allowances, deductions, overtime and net pay.
- Pay CPF. Before the 14th of the next month to avoid enforcement.
At year end the employer reports each employee's income to IRAS on Form IR8A by 1 March. IRAS says the form must be completed for all employees, including part-time staff, non-resident staff and company directors. Employers named under IRAS's Auto-Inclusion Scheme submit it electronically. Other employers hand the forms to staff and do not send them to IRAS.
What should you ask a payroll provider?
Payroll prices are rarely published, so the scope question matters most. Ask:
- Is the CPF registration and monthly CPF payment included, or extra?
- Does the price cover IR8A and Appendix 8A or 8B, or only payslips?
- What is charged per payslip, per employee or per payroll run?
- Who corrects an error if CPF is paid late, and who pays the interest?
- Can staff get payslips and leave tools online?
- How do they handle the senior CPF rate change CPF Board announced?
- What happens to your data if you leave?
The InCorp payroll page we read lists monthly salary computation, CPF registration and payments, IR8A issuance, payslips and leave and claims portals. It prints no price. Treat any figure you see elsewhere as that firm's own claim and ask for it in writing.
Should you outsource payroll or run it yourself?
Run it yourself if you have one or two employees, the pay is a fixed salary and you are comfortable filing with CPF Board and IRAS. Outsource if you have a mix of local and foreign staff, overtime, frequent joiners or leavers, or if the founder's time is better spent elsewhere. Your accountant may already offer it, so ask at accounting services and bookkeeping services before you add another vendor.
If a Singapore employer sponsors an Employment Pass for a hire, the pass has its own salary rules. See employment pass.
What does a late or wrong payroll cost?
Late CPF carries 1.5% interest per month from the first day after the due date. CPF Board also takes enforcement action against employers who miss the 14th. Paying salary late breaks MOM's timing rule of 7 days. These are the costs a provider should be protecting you from, so ask how they cover mistakes.
Want someone else to run it? Use the quote form on this page. We pass your headcount and needs to payroll providers who take companies of your size, and you compare what comes back.
Sources
- CPF Board, how much CPF to pay: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/employer/employer-obligations/how-much-cpf-contributions-to-pay (contribution rates, wage threshold, notice of the senior rate change).
- CPF Board, ordinary wage ceiling: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/what-is-the-ordinary-wage-ow-ceiling (S$8,000 ceiling, S$102,000 annual ceiling).
- CPF Board, due date for CPF contributions: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/when-is-the-due-date-for-cpf-contributions (due date, 14th rule, 1.5% interest).
- CPF Board, Skills Development Levy: https://www.cpf.gov.sg/service/article/how-do-i-calculate-and-pay-the-skills-development-levy-sdl (rate, minimum, maximum, who pays).
- MOM, paying salary: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/salary/paying-salary (7 and 14 day rules).
- MOM, itemised payslips: https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/salary/itemised-payslips (issue timing, records).
- IRAS, reporting employee earnings: https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/employers/auto-inclusion-scheme-(ais)-for-employment-income/reporting-employee-earnings-(ir8a-appendix-8a-appendix-8b) (IR8A by 1 March, AIS).
