How do you close a company in Singapore?
ACRA offers two ways to close a company: striking off, for a company that has stopped trading or never started, owns nothing, owes nothing and meets ACRA's other conditions, and winding up, for a company with debts to settle. IRAS says that before you apply to strike off, your company must file all its corporate income tax returns up to the date it ceased business, settle every tax matter and cancel its GST registration; otherwise IRAS will object. For applications made on or after 20 Oct 2026, striking off takes at least 2 months after approval, depending on whether anyone objects, ACRA says. IRAS issues no tax clearance letter for striking off, and a company under liquidation need not apply for tax clearance before the Final Meeting.
Striking off or winding up
ACRA's page on closing a local company puts the choice plainly. If your company is inactive and debt-free, you strike it off. If it has debts to settle, you wind it up.
ACRA's conditions for striking off
ACRA lists conditions that your company must meet together. It has stopped trading or never started business. It has no unpaid debts or unresolved issues with any government agency, and no charges in the charge register. It is not involved in legal cases in Singapore or overseas, and not subject to ongoing or pending regulatory action or disciplinary proceedings. It owns nothing and owes nothing. All or a majority of its directors agree. ACRA warns that applying without meeting these criteria can be a false declaration and lead to an investigation.
ACRA says a company officer, such as a director or the company secretary, can apply through Bizfile, free of charge. If other directors must endorse the application, all or a majority must do so within 14 days, or it lapses. A corporate service provider may also file, once a majority of the directors have consented.
What IRAS needs settled first
IRAS counts your company's tax matters as settled when three things are done. First, all Corporate Income Tax Returns (Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C) are filed up to the date business ceased, and Form C filers also submit financial statements and tax computations. Second, no queries from IRAS are outstanding, assessments are finalised, and taxes and any penalties are paid. Third, the GST registration is cancelled and no GST matters are outstanding.
IRAS's FAQ adds an exception: a dormant company already granted a filing waiver need not submit its final tax computation and financial statements, unless it had one-off income. If anything is still open, IRAS objects. An objection that is not resolved within 2 months means applying to ACRA again.
On GST, IRAS requires a business that has ceased to apply to cancel its registration within 30 days and to file a final GST F8 return. In that return, it accounts for GST on business assets on which input tax was claimed, if their total open market value exceeds S$10,000. Separately, IRAS generally requires an employer to seek tax clearance, by filing Form IR21, when a foreign or permanent resident employee ceases employment.
IRAS advises keeping the company's bank account open until everything is settled, because a tax refund due at dissolution goes to the Insolvency Office. IRAS issues no tax clearance letter for striking off. Instead, the latest Notice of Assessment and Statement of Accounts show that nothing is outstanding.
From approval to removal
For applications made on or after 20 Oct 2026, ACRA sets out these steps. Once it approves, ACRA sends a First Gazette notice and publishes the company's name. Officers and interested parties then have 60 days to object. If an objection is accepted, your company has two months to resolve it, or the process lapses. With no objection, ACRA publishes the name in the Final Gazette, and the company no longer legally exists.
ACRA says the process takes at least 2 months after approval. Applications made before 20 Oct 2026 follow the earlier process, which takes at least three months.
You can withdraw an application at any time, free of charge, and a struck-off company can be restored within six years by getting a Court Order, ACRA says. IRAS requires a dissolved company's books and papers to be kept for at least 5 years from the date of dissolution.
Winding up
ACRA describes four ways to wind up a company. In a members' voluntary winding up, the directors believe all debts can be paid within 12 months of starting. The Simplified Winding Up Programme is for a micro company (annual revenue under S$1 million) or a small company (under S$10 million) that cannot pay its debts. In a creditors' voluntary winding up, the directors believe the company cannot continue because of its debts. The fourth way is a winding up ordered by the Court.
IRAS makes the liquidator answerable for the company's tax affairs. The liquidator must not distribute assets to shareholders without providing for full payment of the company's tax. The liquidator files financial statements and tax computations up to the date of liquidation. After that, a Declaration of Receipts and Payments is due every year while there are receipts, or once every 4 years without them. The last one is due within 7 days of deciding to call the Final Meeting.
Help with the paperwork
ACRA lets a corporate service provider lodge a strike-off application once a majority of the directors have consented, and firms that do this work are ranked in this site's list. No filer can change ACRA's test, though. A company that still owes money is wound up rather than struck off, and ACRA's winding-up routes generally involve a liquidator. A sole proprietorship closes differently; see how a sole proprietorship compares with a company.