Corporate Income Tax for F&B Companies in Singapore: Form C-S, ECI and Deductions

Tax is not the first thing on an F&B owner’s mind, but getting it right early saves money and stress. This guide covers what a Singapore-incorporated F&B company needs to know about corporate income tax: the forms, the deadlines, the reliefs for new and small companies, and which restaurant costs are deductible. It uses IRAS rules published in September 2026.

Rebates and exemptions change at each Budget, so always check the Year of Assessment you are filing for. If you run a sole proprietorship or partnership instead of a company, different income tax rules apply; our guide to registering an F&B business explains the structures. Sole proprietors can read our Form B tax guide. This guide does not replace advice from your accountant or tax agent.

The basics: rate, Year of Assessment and who files

IRAS’s page on rates, rebates and exemptions says companies are taxed at a flat 17% of chargeable income. Chargeable income is your accounting profit adjusted for tax: non-deductible expenses added back, capital allowances deducted and exemptions applied.

Singapore taxes income on a preceding-year basis. The Year of Assessment (YA) is the year tax is assessed; it relates to your financial year ending in the previous calendar year. IRAS’s filing season page says all companies must file their YA 2026 return, covering financial year 2025, by 30 November 2026. That includes companies that made a loss. IRAS also stresses that directors are responsible for timely and accurate filing even when a tax agent is engaged, and late filing can lead to penalties of up to $5,000.

Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

ECI is an early estimate of your taxable profit for the YA. IRAS’s ECI page says you must file it within three months of your financial year end, unless your company qualifies for the waiver: annual revenue of $5 million or below and ECI of nil. You do not need to tell IRAS you qualify.

Filing early can spread the payment. IRAS grants instalments to Singapore-registered companies on GIRO that file within the qualifying months:

ECI filed within	Number of instalments
1 month of financial year end	10
2 months	8
3 months	6
After 3 months	0

IRAS says to file by the 26th of each qualifying month and to sign up for GIRO at least three weeks before filing. Report ECI before start-up or partial exemptions; IRAS applies them automatically. If you do not file when required, IRAS may issue an estimated assessment, which must be paid within one month, and any objection must be filed within two months.

Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C

IRAS’s overview of the returns sets out who files what:

Form	Who can use it	What is submitted
Form C-S (Lite)	Qualifies for Form C-S and revenue is $200,000 or below	6 essential fields; accounts and tax computation prepared but not submitted
Form C-S	Singapore-incorporated, revenue $5 million or below, only income taxable at 17%, not claiming carry-back relief, group relief, investment allowance or foreign tax credit	18 fields; accounts and tax computation prepared but not submitted
Form C	All other companies	Return plus financial statements and tax computation

Most single-outlet and small multi-outlet F&B companies will qualify for Form C-S. Even though you do not submit your accounts and tax computation with it, IRAS expects them to be ready on request. Our guide to bookkeeping for F&B compares doing the books yourself, using software and outsourcing.

Tax exemptions for new and existing companies

IRAS offers two exemption schemes, and a company uses one or the other.

Start-up tax exemption. For a qualifying new company’s first three consecutive YAs, IRAS exempts 75% of the first $100,000 of normal chargeable income and 50% of the next $100,000, a maximum exemption of $125,000 a year. To qualify, the company must be incorporated in Singapore, be tax resident for that YA and have no more than 20 shareholders, all of whom are individuals or at least one of whom is an individual holding at least 10% of the shares. The first three YAs count even if the company makes no profit in some of them.

Partial tax exemption. Other companies get 75% exemption on the first $10,000 of normal chargeable income and 50% on the next $190,000, a maximum of $102,500 a year.

IRAS warns it takes action against arrangements that split a profitable business into shell companies to claim these exemptions several times. Multi-brand groups should take advice before restructuring.

The YA 2026 CIT Rebate

For YA 2026, IRAS’s rates page says the CIT Rebate has been enhanced to 50% of tax payable, and the CIT Rebate Cash Grant to $2,000, with total benefits capped at $40,000. The cash grant goes to active companies that made CPF contributions to at least one local employee, excluding shareholder-directors, in 2025. For those companies, the rebate is reduced by the $2,000 already paid as a cash grant; if the computed rebate is $2,000 or less, no further rebate is given. IRAS applies the rebate automatically, so do not deduct it from the chargeable income you declare.

Illustration (hypothetical, YA 2026). A new cafe company qualifying for the start-up exemption has chargeable income of $150,000 before exemption and is not eligible for the cash grant:

• Exempt: 75% of $100,000 = $75,000, plus 50% of $50,000 = $25,000. Total $100,000.
• Chargeable after exemption: $50,000. Tax at 17%: $8,500.
• CIT Rebate at 50%: $4,250. Net tax: $4,250.

Rebate rates and caps have changed from year to year, so rerun the numbers for each YA using IRAS’s current page.

Deductible and non-deductible expenses for restaurants

IRAS’s page on business expenses says deductible expenses must be wholly and exclusively incurred in producing income, actually incurred, revenue rather than capital in nature, and not prohibited by the Income Tax Act. For an F&B company, typical deductible costs include:

• food, beverage and packaging costs;
• staff salaries, statutory CPF contributions and the Skills Development Levy;
• foreign worker levy, after deducting any levy rebate, according to IRAS;
• rent, utilities and premises upkeep;
• advertising, delivery platform commission and payment processing fees;
• accounting, bookkeeping and POS software renewal fees.

IRAS lists as non-deductible: depreciation (claim capital allowances instead), the cost of fixed assets, private car (S-plated) expenses, statutory fines and penalties, and voluntary CPF above statutory rates. IRAS names claiming non-deductible expenses and poor record keeping among the most common filing errors. Our guide to reading a restaurant P&L explains how these lines appear in your accounts.

Capital allowances for kitchen equipment and POS hardware

Depreciation in your accounts is not deductible. Instead, IRAS’s page on capital allowances lets you claim for the wear and tear of qualifying plant and machinery used in the business. IRAS’s examples of qualifying items include furniture and fixtures, electrical appliances, air-conditioning, signboards, carpets and office equipment. For an outlet, that covers most kitchen equipment, dining furniture and POS hardware.

The main write-off options:

• 1 year for computers and prescribed automation equipment, which IRAS says commonly includes computers, printers and software.
• 1 year for low-value assets costing no more than $5,000 each, capped at $30,000 of claims per YA.
• 3 years for any qualifying asset.
• Prescribed working life, now streamlined to 6, 12 or 16 years by election.

One rule matters for grant-funded purchases. IRAS says capital allowances are not given on expenditure funded by government capital grants approved on or after 1 January 2021, so you claim only on your net cost. If you buy equipment or a POS with grant support, see our guide to F&B grants and tell your accountant the grant amount.

Renovation and refurbishment (Section 14N)

IRAS says items that form part of the premises, such as lighting, false ceilings, floor tiles, fixed partitions, doors and water and gas piping, are not plant and machinery. Instead, qualifying renovation and refurbishment costs are deducted under Section 14N, according to IRAS’s business expenses (M-R) page. Its qualifying list includes kitchen fittings such as sinks and pipes, gas systems, flooring, wall finishes, canopies and hacking work, provided the works do not affect the structure of the premises.

The deduction is capped at $300,000 per fixed three-year period, the first being YA 2025 to YA 2027. It is normally claimed over three YAs, but from YA 2025 you can elect an irrevocable one-year write-off. IRAS says designer or professional fees qualify from YA 2025 unless they relate to structural works needing building control approval. If the business ceases, unclaimed balances are lost. Plan fit-out invoices with this in mind; our renovation checklist covers the practical side.

Records, deadlines and a yearly calendar

IRAS’s record keeping requirements say companies must keep source documents, accounting records and bank statements for at least five years from the relevant YA. For a December year-end F&B company, the year looks like this:

When	What
Monthly	Close the books: POS sales, purchases, payroll, bank reconciliation
By 26 January (for 10 instalments)	File ECI if required, on GIRO
By 31 March	ECI deadline, three months after year end
Within 1 month of each Notice of Assessment	Pay tax, unless on instalments
By 30 November	File Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C

Good records start at the till. A POS that exports clean daily sales, payment and GST figures into accounting software makes ECI and Form C-S quicker and more accurate. ChaChaCha, powered by AppsPOS, provides sales reports and integrates with Xero. Our guide to the best accounting software for F&B compares options, and you can ask us to confirm how ChaChaCha’s reports feed your year-end, or talk to us.