- Singapore's headline corporate tax rate is a flat 17%.
- The Start-Up Tax Exemption shields up to S$125,000 for 3 years.
- The 2026 CIT Rebate cuts tax payable by 50%, capped at S$40,000.
- After year 3, Partial Tax Exemption still lowers your effective rate.
Search “IRAS tax bracket” and most pages hand you the same flat 17% and stop there, which is only half the answer for a new company. At Sleek’s corporate tax filing service, we get this question on almost every incorporation call, usually phrased as “so how much will I actually owe?” The honest answer depends on the exemptions and rebates your company qualifies for.
Singapore companies are generally taxed at a flat corporate income tax rate of 17% on chargeable income. But what a new company actually pays can be lower because qualifying companies may benefit from the Start-Up Tax Exemption (SUTE), while the 2026 Corporate Income Tax Rebate can reduce tax payable further.
What tax rate does a new Singapore company actually pay?
Singapore’s corporate income tax rate is a flat 17% on chargeable income, and that figure hasn’t moved in years. It applies equally whether you’re incorporating a Singapore company as a foreign founder or as a local resident, because the rate attaches to the company, not the owner.
Here’s the part the 17% headline leaves out: almost no company in its first three years pays anywhere near that rate. Between the Start-Up Tax Exemption and the 2026 rebate, a founder’s real Singapore tax rate can end up less than half the number they searched for.
Most guides to Singapore tax rates repeat that single 17% figure and stop there. Searches phrased as “tax rate singapore” often land on pages written for individuals rather than companies, which is exactly why this page separates the two.
Does Singapore have corporate tax brackets?
No. Singapore does not use progressive corporate tax brackets. Companies are generally taxed at a flat corporate income tax rate of 17% on chargeable income. The exemptions and rebates available to qualifying companies can reduce the amount of tax they ultimately pay, but they do not change the headline corporate tax rate.
This is different from Singapore’s personal income tax system, which uses progressive tax bands based on an individual’s chargeable income. If you’re a company director drawing a salary, your salary is taxed under the personal income tax system, while your company’s taxable profits are assessed separately under the corporate tax system.
So if you’re searching for the IRAS tax bracket for your company, focus on the corporate tax rate, SUTE, PTE and any applicable rebates rather than the individual income tax bands. For personal income tax rates, see IRAS’s individual income tax rates.
How does the Start-Up Tax Exemption cut your first 3 years of tax?
New companies get access to the Start-Up Tax Exemption (SUTE) for their first three consecutive Years of Assessment. It works in two tiers: 75% of the first S$100,000 of chargeable income is exempt from tax, and a further 50% of the next S$100,000 is exempt too. Together, these exemptions can provide up to S$125,000 in tax exemption amount per Year of Assessment.
Eligibility isn’t automatic. To qualify, your company must be incorporated and tax-resident in Singapore, have no more than 20 shareholders, and at least one individual must hold 10% or more of the ordinary shares. Miss any one, because your shares sit entirely with a corporate parent, for example, and you fall back to the scheme below instead.
We cover every eligibility detail, including edge cases like corporate shareholding structures, in our full guide to the Start-Up Tax Exemption (SUTE) in full. What counts as being tax-resident here is its own question, answered in what counts as tax residency for a Singapore company.
What happens to your tax rate after year 3?
Once your three SUTE years are used up, you move to the Partial Tax Exemption (PTE) scheme. After the first three consecutive Years of Assessment, qualifying companies may generally benefit from the Partial Tax Exemption (PTE) scheme. PTE exempts 75% of the first S$10,000 of chargeable income and 50% of the next S$190,000, a smaller shield than SUTE but a permanent one.
The practical effect is that your effective Singapore tax rate rises after year three, but it never actually reaches the full 17% on ordinary trading income. A profitable company still keeps a meaningful discount on its iras tax rate for as long as it operates.
Compare the two singapore tax rates side by side, year 1-3 against year 4 onward, in the table below.
| Company stage | Applicable relief | Exemption on chargeable income | Effective rate range (before rebate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Three Years | Start-Up Tax Exemption | 75% of first S$100,000 + 50% of next S$100,000 | roughly 4–13%, depending on income |
| After 3 Years | Partial Tax Exemption | 75% of first S$10,000 + 50% of next S$190,000 | roughly 8–15%, depending on income |
Both ranges are before the 2026 rebate is applied, and the 2026 rebate lowers whichever figure you land on further, which is the next piece of the puzzle.
How does the 2026 tax rebate stack on top?
For Year of Assessment 2026, IRAS enhanced the Corporate Income Tax Rebate to 50% of tax payable, capped at S$40,000 in total benefit once the CIT Rebate Cash Grant is included. That’s a meaningful jump from the earlier Budget 2026 announcement of a smaller rebate, so if you saw the original figure quoted somewhere, treat this as the update.
The CIT Rebate Cash Grant portion is automatic for active companies that made CPF contributions for at least one local employee in 2025, excluding shareholder-directors. You don’t apply for it separately; IRAS pays it out based on your existing filings.
The rebate doesn’t change your headline iras tax rate itself. It reduces the final bill after the rate and every exemption above have already done their work.
Rebates aren’t the only relief stacking on top of your tax rate calculation. Several government grants available alongside tax relief can reduce your actual cash costs further, even though they sit outside the tax computation itself.
What does S$200,000 in chargeable income actually cost you?
Numbers make this concrete faster than percentages do, so here’s a worked example for a company in its second Year of Assessment with S$200,000 of chargeable income. This is illustrative only; your own figures will depend on your financial year and shareholding structure.
Start with the SUTE exemption: 75% of the first S$100,000 is exempt, leaving S$25,000 taxable, and 50% of the next S$100,000 is exempt, leaving S$50,000 taxable. Add those together and S$75,000 of the S$200,000 is actually taxable at 17%, which works out to S$12,750 in tax before any rebate.
Apply the YA2026 rebate on top: 50% of that S$12,750 is S$6,375, subject to the applicable YA2026 rebate rules and overall benefit cap. That gives a final corporate tax payable of S$6,375 before considering any other applicable tax adjustments, equivalent to 3.19% of the S$200,000 chargeable income in this simplified example. That’s the entire point of understanding how tax brackets work in Singapore before you assume the worst.
How does Sleek make sure every exemption is applied correctly?
Getting SUTE, PTE and the CIT rebate applied correctly isn’t a one-off calculation. It has to happen the same way every Year of Assessment, on the right chargeable income figure, without missing an eligibility condition that quietly changed. Sleek’s corporate tax filing service handles the full cycle: computing your chargeable income, applying whichever exemption scheme you’re eligible for, and filing your Estimated Chargeable Income and Form C or C-S with IRAS.
Filing itself has its own separate timeline and mechanics, which we’ve kept out of this page deliberately. If you want that detail next, how ECI filing works covers the full process, including the deadlines that sit alongside the exemptions described here.
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FAQs on iras tax bracket
What tax bracket is my Singapore company in?
Singapore’s corporate tax rate is a flat 17%, but a new company typically pays far less in its first three years thanks to the Start-Up Tax Exemption, which shields up to S$125,000 of chargeable income from tax, plus the 2026 corporate tax rebate on top. There’s no separate “bracket” your company gets assigned to; the 17% rate is the same for everyone, and what differs is how much of it gets exempted.
Do I need to apply for the Start-Up Tax Exemption?
No separate application is needed. IRAS applies the Start-Up Tax Exemption automatically when you file your Estimated Chargeable Income and Form C or C-S, provided your company meets the eligibility conditions on incorporation, tax residency, and shareholding.
Is the corporate tax rebate automatic?
Yes. The YA2026 Corporate Income Tax Rebate and its Cash Grant component are both applied automatically based on your existing tax filings and, for the Cash Grant, your CPF contribution record for 2025. You don’t submit a separate rebate claim.
What's the difference between SUTE and Partial Tax Exemption?
SUTE is only available for a company’s first three consecutive Years of Assessment and exempts more income: 75% of the first S$100,000 plus 50% of the next S$100,000. Partial Tax Exemption applies from year four onward, indefinitely, but exempts a smaller slice: 75% of the first S$10,000 plus 50% of the next S$190,000.
