A dormant company still has separate corporate-registry and tax duties. ACRA generally still requires an annual return, while IRAS requires the corporate tax return by 30 November unless it has granted a waiver. The controlling references checked for this guide are ACRA financial-statement requirements and IRAS dormant companies.
Choose the branch that matches your case
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| No significant accounting transactions for ACRA purposes | Test dormant relevant company exemption |
| No business and no income for the whole IRAS basis period | Use the dormant-company tax route |
| Investments exist but earn no income | Check the stricter IRAS waiver conditions |
| Business or income restarts | Notify IRAS and resume the correct return |
ACRA and IRAS use different tests
ACRA focuses on significant accounting transactions and statutory financial reporting. IRAS defines a dormant company as one with no business and no income for the whole basis period. ACRA financial-statement requirements.
Run both tests; never copy a dormant answer from one agency into the other. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
Annual returns do not disappear
ACRA states all companies, including dormant companies, must file annual returns. Exemption from preparing or filing financial statements is a different question. IRAS dormant companies.
Keep the annual-return deadline on the compliance calendar. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
The ACRA asset ceiling matters
A dormant relevant company exemption includes a total-assets ceiling of S$500,000 and excludes listed companies and their subsidiaries. ACRA financial-statement requirements.
Document the highest asset value during the financial year, not only the year-end balance. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
IRAS filing continues until waiver
IRAS requires a return by 30 November unless a waiver has been granted. A dormant company can use the simplified filing route. IRAS dormant companies.
Check the myTax Portal status rather than assuming a past quiet year created a waiver. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
A waiver has four practical gates
IRAS requires filings up to cessation, no disqualifying investment income, GST deregistration where relevant, and no intention to restart within two years. ACRA financial-statement requirements.
Create a waiver evidence file before applying. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
Restarting business creates a fresh duty
After a waiver, the company must notify IRAS within one month of recommencing business or receiving income. IRAS dormant companies.
Define an internal trigger for invoices, interest, rent or active business sourcing. This matters because the decision is not complete until the evidence, timing and responsible person agree.
Use a two-regulator dormant-status matrix
Turn the rule into a working aid with columns for the controlling fact, the evidence you hold, the result and the date checked. For this task, the decisive question is to decide which ACRA and IRAS filings remain due and whether an IRAS waiver is available. A blank evidence cell is a stop sign, not permission to use a remembered number or a marketing summary.
Test at least two plausible branches from the table above. That comparison shows which fact changes the answer and prevents the most convenient scenario from being treated as the only possible one. Label every arithmetic step as an LBRD calculation and keep the official figure beside it.
Add a restart-trigger control list
The second aid should expose what the first one can hide: a deadline, cost, handover, alternative route or follow-up duty. Write the downside of being wrong beside each branch. Where the consequence is legal, financial, medical or safety-related, the competent authority and case-specific professional decision remain controlling.
Recheck the live source immediately before the irreversible step. Save only the minimum evidence needed, protect personal details, and note any limitation. Record who will act, the last safe date and the evidence that closes the task.
Stop when the evidence no longer matches
Pause the decision if you encounter treating dormant as struck off, confusing financial-statement exemption with annual-return exemption, ignoring passive income. Those are not small drafting errors; each can change the eligibility, cost, route or safety outcome described above. Return to ACRA financial-statement requirements for the controlling rule and use IRAS dormant companies to check the second part of the decision.
If the authority page, account record, booking screen or case document disagrees with this guide, use the live record. Escalate to the named organisation or an appropriately qualified professional when a deadline is running, a child or adult is unwell, a licence or tax position is uncertain, or an irreversible payment is due. Keep the question narrow and provide the facts needed for a case-specific answer.
Work through a realistic example
A company owns a fixed deposit but receives interest. It may look inactive operationally, yet IRAS says income means it is not dormant for that Year of Assessment. The director should use the ordinary corporate return route rather than the dormant form.
Before you act
- Run the ACRA transaction test
- Run the IRAS business-and-income test
- Check total assets
- Calendar the annual return
- Calendar 30 November tax filing
- Test every waiver condition
- Install a restart notification control
Mistakes that change the answer
- Treating dormant as struck off
- Confusing financial-statement exemption with annual-return exemption
- Ignoring passive income
- Forgetting GST deregistration before waiver
- Failing to notify a restart
Related LBRD guides
Next, calendar the ACRA annual return. You can also prepare the 2026 corporate tax file.
Questions readers ask
Must a dormant company file an ACRA annual return?
Yes, ACRA says all companies, including dormant companies, must file annual returns.
Is an IRAS waiver automatic?
No. Apply and satisfy the stated conditions.
What if the company receives interest?
IRAS says receipt of income can prevent dormant treatment for that year.
