Payroll Services in Singapore for Small Businesses
Salaries paid on time, CPF and IR8A filed correctly, payslips your staff can trust. We run your monthly payroll remotely and keep you compliant, priced simply per employee.
What does a payroll service in Singapore include?
A payroll service handles the full monthly cycle: salary calculation, CPF and SDL submission, itemised payslips, and year-end IR8A filing. A good provider also manages IR21 tax clearance for leavers and keeps up with rate changes, so your staff are paid correctly and your filings stay compliant with MOM, IRAS and the CPF Board.
Payroll in Singapore is more than transferring salaries. Every month you have statutory deductions to calculate, contributions to submit, and records to keep, each with its own deadline and penalty for getting it wrong.
Each cycle we handle salary and overtime computation, CPF and SDL submission, itemised payslips, and the annual IR8A, plus IR21 clearance whenever someone leaves.
*Full compliance cycle, nothing missed
*Each has its own rate, deadline and penalty
How does payroll work in Singapore?
Singapore payroll has four moving parts an employer manages every month or year: CPF contributions for citizens and PRs, the Skills Development Levy (SDL) for all employees, the Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) for Work Permit and S Pass holders, and annual income reporting through IR8A. Each has its own rate, deadline and penalty.
CPF goes to the CPF Board for every Singaporean and PR employee. SDL is a small levy on all staff, submitted alongside CPF.
FWL covers Work Permit and S Pass holders and is paid to MOM. IR8A is the annual income report to IRAS, with IR21 for anyone who leaves.
How much does payroll outsourcing cost in Singapore?
Basic payroll processing runs about S$5 to S$15 per employee per month, while full-service payroll covering CPF, SDL, payslips and IR8A typically costs S$50 to S$80 per employee per month. Most providers charge a small base fee plus a per-employee rate, so the cost scales with your headcount.
Because we price per employee, a five-person team pays far less than a fifty-person one, and you only ever pay for the people actually on your payroll that month.
See full pricing on our pricing page, or get a per-employee quote in one short call.
*Pay only for the people actually on payroll that month
- ✗ Salary + CPF + benefits
- ✗ Must track every rate change
- ✗ Compliance risk stays with you
- ✗ Idle when headcount is low
- ✓ Per-employee pricing
- ✓ Rate changes applied automatically
- ✓ Compliance risk on a specialist
- ✓ Scales up and down with headcount
*Nearly half of employees consider leaving after 2 payroll errors
Should you run payroll in-house or outsource it?
For most SMEs with fewer than 50 staff, outsourcing payroll is cheaper and safer than a dedicated hire, saving roughly 25 to 40% versus an in-house HR exec once CPF, benefits and software are counted. Outsourcing also moves the compliance risk to a specialist who tracks every rate change and deadline for you.
Manual payroll looks free until it isn't. Wasted hours, compliance penalties, and payroll mistakes that erode staff trust all carry a real cost, and nearly half of employees consider leaving after just two payroll errors.
Outsource and you get accurate monthly runs, automatic rate updates, and centrally tracked deadlines, without tying up your own team.
*Our service is built around your payroll calendar
What payroll deadlines and penalties must you not miss?
Salaries must be paid within seven days of the end of the pay cycle under the Employment Act. CPF is due monthly, and late payment attracts 1.5% interest per month with fines up to S$5,000 per offence and possible imprisonment. IR8A forms must reach employees and IRAS by the start of the year. Missing any of these is costly.
These deadlines don't move, and the penalties stack up fast. Our service is built around your payroll calendar, so CPF, SDL and IR8A are filed on time, every cycle.
How does the monthly payroll service work?
Each month you send us any changes (new hires, leavers, bonuses, adjustments). We compute salaries and statutory deductions, prepare your itemised payslips and bank transfer list, and submit CPF and SDL. You approve the summary, pay your staff and the CPF Board, and the records are kept for you.
You send changes
New hires, leavers, bonuses and any pay adjustments for the month.
We process everything
Salaries, CPF and SDL computed. Itemised payslips and bank transfer list prepared.
You approve and pay
You approve the summary, pay your staff and CPF Board. We keep records and file IR8A at year-end.
What changed for Singapore payroll in 2026?
The 2026 Budget raised the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling to S$8,000, stepped up CPF rates for senior workers above 55, and lifted the Local Qualifying Salary to S$1,800. Employers who haven't updated their payroll assumptions may be miscalculating contributions and exposing themselves to back-pay liability.
We keep your payroll current with these changes automatically, so you're never caught out by a rate you didn't know had moved.
Why choose accountantforsmallbusiness.com for payroll?
Because your payroll is run by a service overseen by a qualified Financial Controller, not a spreadsheet that breaks when rules change. Mehdi Javed brings 15+ years of multi-entity finance experience, so your CPF, SDL and IR8A are handled by someone who understands the numbers behind them.
- ✓ Pricing is per employee, so it scales cleanly as you hire.
- ✓ Payroll runs alongside your books in Xero or QuickBooks Online, keeping everything in one place.
2026 Singapore Payroll Updates
*We apply these automatically, no manual updates needed
Frequently Asked Questions
Do foreign employees get CPF?
What changed for payroll in 2026?
Do you handle IR8A and IR21?
How fast must I pay salaries?
Do you run payroll in Xero or QuickBooks?
Want payroll off your plate?
Get a simple per-employee quote and let us handle salaries, CPF and IR8A accurately, every month.
Get a payroll quote →