What is a dormant company?
A dormant company is one that does not carry on business and has no income for the whole of the preceding year.
Does a dormant company need to submit the Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S)?
A dormant company must submit its Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S)* unless it has been granted waiver of Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S) submission.
You can e-File via myTax Portal using the Dormant Company template if you have been authorised as an “Approver” for “Corporate Tax Matters” via EASY. For more details, please refer to the e-Service “File Income Tax Return - Dormant Company”.
*The financial accounts are not required to be submitted with Form C/ Form C-S. However, a dormant company may still be required to submit its accounts to ACRA for its annual return filing. For more information on ACRA's filing requirements for dormant companies, please refer to ACRA's website on Dormant Companies .
How to apply for a waiver of Form C/ Form C-S Submission
A dormant company can apply for a waiver via one of the following modes:
For e-Application
You can apply for a waiver electronically via the “Apply for Waiver of Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S) Submission By a Dormant Company” e-Service if you have been authorised as an "Approver" for Corporate Tax Matters via EASY.
For paper application
You can submit a paper application for waiver by completing the "Application for Waiver of Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S) Submission by a Dormant Company" (52KB) form to IRAS.
You will be notified of the status of application within 2 months from the date of receipt of the waiver application.
If the application is approved, the company will not be issued with a Form C/ Form C-S in future. However, if the company re-commences business, or receives any income subsequently, the company has to notify IRAS immediately by completing and submitting the form "Request for Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S) and Notification of New Accounting Year-End" (42KB).
FAQs
The company cannot claim capital allowances and expenses incurred in the preceding year, as it did not carry on a trade or business.
However, unutilised losses brought forward from a previous YA can be deducted against income for a subsequent YA if 50% or more of the ultimate shareholders and their respective shareholdings are the same as at the relevant dates. Find out more about how to determine if the shareholding test is met.
Yes, a dormant company can do so if the donations were made to an approved Institution of a Public Character (IPC) or the Singapore Government that benefit the local community. Any unutilised donations arising from a YA can be carried forward to subsequent YAs up to a maximum of five years, subject to meeting the shareholding test mentioned in Q1 above.
Yes, the company can complete the Income Tax Return (Form C/ Form C-S) as a dormant company for YA 2012.