GST registration in Singapore: when a tech company must register, and when it should anyway

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is Singapore’s 9% consumption tax. A company that is registered charges GST on its sales in Singapore and claims back the GST it pays on its costs. Most young tech companies assume it does not apply to them yet. Often that is right. Sometimes they crossed the threshold a year ago without noticing, because their revenue is all from overseas.

When you must register

Registration is compulsory when taxable turnover goes past S$1 million. There are two tests:

• Looking back: taxable turnover for the calendar year just ended was more than S$1 million.
• Looking forward: you can reasonably expect more than S$1 million in the next 12 months, for example because you have signed the contracts.

Either way, you have 30 days to apply. Register late and IRAS backdates the registration. You then owe GST on sales made since the date you should have registered, whether or not you charged it to customers, plus penalties.

The catch for exporters

Taxable turnover includes zero-rated sales. Services supplied to customers who belong overseas are generally zero-rated, which means GST applies at 0%. They still count towards the S$1 million.

So a Singapore software company with S$1.5 million of revenue, all from customers in the US and Europe, must register even though it will charge no GST to anyone. A company in that position can ask IRAS for exemption from registration. In practice many choose to register, because registration lets them reclaim GST on rent, professional fees and local software subscriptions.

Registering voluntarily

Below the threshold, you can register by choice. It tends to make sense when:

• most of your customers are overseas, so you charge 0% and reclaim the GST on your costs; or
• your Singapore customers are GST-registered businesses that can reclaim what you charge them.

It tends not to make sense when you sell to consumers or to businesses that cannot reclaim GST, because your price effectively rises by 9%.

The conditions matter. You must stay registered for at least two years, file returns on time, and keep records for five years. New voluntary registrants must also send their invoice data to IRAS through the InvoiceNow network, so your accounting software has to be set up for it from the start.

Buying services from overseas

Under the reverse charge, a business that buys services from overseas suppliers accounts for GST on them as if it were the supplier. It applies to businesses that cannot reclaim all their input tax, such as those making exempt supplies. A typical tech company whose sales are all taxable or zero-rated is not affected. Fintech businesses, investment holding companies and others with exempt income should check.

Overseas companies selling into Singapore

An overseas business with no presence here must still register for GST if its global turnover exceeds S$1 million and it sells more than S$100,000 a year of digital or other remote services to consumers in Singapore. For a group whose overseas parent sells subscriptions or apps directly to Singapore consumers, the obligation may sit with the parent, not the Singapore subsidiary.

After you register

• Issue tax invoices showing your GST registration number, and show prices to the public inclusive of GST.
• File a GST return, normally every quarter, within one month of the period end, and pay any GST due by the same date.
• Check that each zero-rated sale really qualifies. The customer’s location and where the benefit of the service is received both matter, and the contract should support the treatment.
• Claim input tax only with a valid tax invoice, and not on blocked items such as most medical and motor car expenses.

A quick self-check

Add up the last four quarters of revenue, including overseas sales. If the total is near S$1 million, or your signed contracts will take you past it within a year, the 30-day clock may already be running.

This article is general information, not tax advice. Based on the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993 and IRAS guidance as at November 2026.