Country pack: Singapore

Run HR and payroll for a legal entity in Singapore. The pack covers CPF contributions by category and age with the wage ceilings, the Skills Development Levy and self-help group funds. It also covers IR8A data, the GIRO bank salary file, and leave, holidays and working time under the Employment Act.

Contents: Who can use it · What the pack contains · Install · Employee fields · CPF · SDL and self-help groups · Bank file · Reports and deadlines · Status of the figures · Example · FAQ

Who can use it

Admins and HR staff who can install country packs on a legal entity can use it. Payroll content (pay components, the bank file and the contribution reports) also needs payroll on your plan.

What the pack contains

Area	Singapore: private sector
CPF	Rates from 1 January 2026 (employee / employer): 55 and below 20% / 17%; above 55 to 60 18% / 16%; above 60 to 65 12.5% / 12.5%; above 65 to 70 7.5% / 9%; above 70 5% / 7.5%. Graduated rates for permanent residents in their first and second year. Ordinary wage ceiling 8,000 a month, yearly ceiling 102,000
SDL	0.25% of the month's pay, at least 2 and at most 11.25, for every employee
Self-help groups	CDAC, ECF, MBMF and SINDA by total wages, as picked for each person
Income tax	No monthly withholding; the IR8A data of the year for the Auto-Inclusion Scheme
Leave	Annual leave 7 days in the first year, rising to 14 days. Outpatient sick leave 14 days and hospitalisation 60 days after six months. Maternity 16 weeks, paternity 4 weeks, shared parental 10 weeks, childcare 6 days, unpaid infant care 6 days
Holidays	New Year's Day, Labour Day, National Day, Christmas, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Haji (Chinese New Year, Good Friday, Vesak Day and Deepavali added each year)
Working time	8 hours a day and 44 a week; overtime at 1.5 times, at most 12 hours a day and 72 overtime hours a month; Sunday rest day
Notice	As in the contract; when the contract is silent, 1 day to 4 weeks depending on service
Letters	Service certificate and salary certificate in English
Bank file	GIRO bulk salary file
Reports	Monthly CPF, SDL and self-help group contributions; IR8A data of the year

The pack also carries the key employment terms clauses, final pay rules, local formats (day/month/year dates, 6-digit postal codes), data protection defaults and electronic signature rules.

Install the pack

1. Go to Settings → Legal entities and open the legal entity. Its country must be Singapore.
2. Click Install country pack and choose Singapore: private sector (draft).
3. Read the preview, tick the notice that the pack is not yet verified and click Install.

Letters arrive as drafts: read them and publish them in Documents and letters. The Hari Raya holidays are added for this year and the next; adjust the date when the official date is announced.

Employee fields

The pack adds a CPF and self-help group (Singapore) section to employee profiles in Singapore:

• CPF category: the options are Full rates (citizen, or permanent resident from the third year), Permanent resident, first year, Permanent resident, second year or Not covered (work pass holder). Empty means full rates. HR picks the category; the payroll does not guess it from nationality.
• Self-help group fund: CDAC, ECF, MBMF, SINDA or None or opted out. Empty means none.

Put the NRIC or FIN under National ID (a letter, seven digits and a letter). The date of birth decides the CPF age band. A new rate starts the month after the birthday.

CPF

Every month the payroll splits pay into ordinary wages and additional wages (bonuses and leave paid out). Ordinary wages count for CPF up to 8,000. Additional wages count up to the yearly ceiling of 102,000, less the ordinary wages of the year. The year's ordinary wages are estimated from what was charged so far plus this month for every month left. The rate depends on the CPF category and age. Low wages are phased in: nothing up to 50, then only the employer's share up to 500, and the employee's share grows between 500 and 750. The total is rounded to the nearest dollar, the employee's share drops its cents and the employer pays the rest. The payslip shows CPF and CPF (employer).

Pay bonuses in the salary run (salary with bonus) so the additional wage ceiling is estimated correctly.

SDL and self-help groups

• Skills Development Levy is an employer cost for every employee, foreigners included: 0.25% of the month's pay, at least 2 and at most 11.25.
• Self-help group fund is deducted from pay by the month's total wages, using the fund's table (for example CDAC 1.50 on wages above 3,500 up to 5,000).

GIRO bank salary file

In a locked payroll run, open the Bank file tab and choose GIRO bulk salary file (CSV). The file has one line per payee: name, account number, the bank's BIC, amount, purpose code (SALA), reference, payment details and employee ID. If anyone has no account number or BIC, the file is not made and those people are listed. The file is for Singapore dollars only.

To match your bank's template, set the purpose code and the column headings under Pack settings of the legal entity's country pack.

Reports and deadlines

In Compliance → Reports, choose the legal entity:

• CPF, SDL and self-help group contributions (monthly): NRIC or FIN, CPF category, ordinary and additional wages, employee, employer and total CPF, SDL, fund and fund amount.
• IR8A: remuneration of the year: run it for January to December. It holds the salary, bonus, allowances, overtime, total, employee CPF and self-help group donations per person.

Compliance → Calendar shows the salary payment (within 7 days), the CPF payment (14th of the next month) and the IR8A submission (1 March).

Status of the figures

The pack is draft. It was written from the CPF Act and the CPF Board's 2026 rate tables, the Skills Development Levy Act, the self-help group schedules, the Income Tax Act and the Employment Act. Every item gives its source and a list of points the reviewer must confirm. The pack becomes verified only after a Singapore employment lawyer and a payroll practitioner sign. Until then, every screen that uses the pack says its figures are not verified. Your company stays responsible for its CPF payments and IRAS filings.

Example scenario

SG Trading Pte installs the Singapore pack. Tan Wei Ling, aged 30, earns 5,000 a month and HR picks CDAC. Her payslip shows CPF of 1,000, an employer CPF of 850 and a CDAC deduction of 1.50. SDL of 11.25 is an employer cost. In December, her 20,000 bonus counts for CPF only up to what is left of the yearly ceiling. HR makes the September GIRO file from the locked run and uploads it to the bank.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Someone pays no CPF. Check the CPF category on the profile (Not covered means a work pass holder) and that the person is an employee, not a contractor.

The rate did not change on the 55th birthday. That is right: it changes from the month after the birthday.

The GIRO file is refused. The message lists who has no account number or BIC. Fix the bank account on the profile and make the file again.

Chinese New Year is missing. Add it in Holidays each year; it follows the lunar calendar.