Agency and consultancy expenses in Singapore: the complete guide

A Singapore agency’s costs are mostly people and software, and the rules are simpler than in most countries, with two exceptions that catch agencies out. The first is withholding tax: paying a resident freelancer is straightforward, but paying an overseas studio or consultant for services can mean withholding tax and filing with IRAS within weeks. The second is GST on overseas software: a registered agency should not be charged GST once it gives the vendor its GST number, and only partially exempt businesses reverse-charge. Entertainment, unusually, is deductible when it is for the business. This guide walks through the whole ledger with a verdict before the detail. Every figure is sourced to IRAS and the CPF Board in the Sources section, retrieved 10 October 2026.

What this guide covers: freelancers and non-resident withholding tax, overseas software and GST, entertainment and club fees, computers and capital allowances, staff costs and CPF, and the GST and records that tie it together.

The agency’s ledger at a glance

The rest of this guide walks through each row, and every section opens with its verdict.

Where ExpenseFlow fits

An agency’s purchase ledger is freelancer invoices, overseas studio invoices, monthly SaaS receipts in US dollars, ad platform statements and client lunches. ExpenseFlow captures each document (email forward, upload or phone), reads the line items, currency and GST, codes each line with a written reason, and routes anything uncertain to a person before it posts. Its agency checks come from the rules on this page: a line that reads as a contractor, freelancer, consultancy or day-rate payment is flagged to confirm the contractor’s residence before paying gross, since a payment to a non-resident can attract withholding tax, and a software, subscription or hosting line from an overseas supplier is flagged for the reverse charge question rather than a GST claim from the invoice. After approval the bill syncs to Xero with the source document attached, or to QuickBooks Online as a coded bill.

What it does not do: it never files withholding tax with IRAS, never computes the reverse charge and never runs CPF. The agency chart of accounts for Xero and for QuickBooks line up with the categories below.

The ExpenseFlow for agencies and consultancies page covers these checks across all five countries.

Freelancers and non-resident withholding tax

A payer who makes payments of a specified nature, such as royalties, interest or technical service fees, to a non-resident company or individual must withhold a percentage of the payment and pay it to IRAS ^[1] . You file and pay by the 15th of the second month from the date of payment ^[1] . The rates that matter to agencies are ^[2] :

• technical assistance, service fees and management fees paid to a non-resident company: the prevailing corporate income tax rate;
• payments to a non-resident professional or unincorporated firm: 15% on gross income, or the non-resident individual rate on net income;
• payments to a non-resident director: 24%.

IRAS publishes a withholding tax applicability guide for checking whether a particular payment to a non-resident is caught ^[1] . A tax treaty may reduce the rate ^[1] . If you agree to bear the tax on the contractor’s behalf, contractually obligated withholding tax is deductible, but tax you bear voluntarily is not ^[3] .

Overseas software and GST

Since 2020, GST-registered overseas vendors account for GST on supplies of remote services to consumers in Singapore ^[4] . If you are a GST-registered business buying from one, you provide your GST registration number so the vendor will not charge you GST on business purchases ^[4] . If you are not entitled to full input tax credit, because you make exempt supplies or receive non-business receipts, you account for GST on the imported services by reverse charge instead ^[4] . Most agencies are fully taxable and have nothing to reverse-charge. The GST rate is 9% ^[5] . The software and subscriptions guides cover deductibility.

Entertainment and club fees

IRAS lists entertainment among deductible business expenses, and treats entertainment not fully related to running the business as a non-deductible personal expense ^[3] . Staff welfare and benefits are deductible too ^[3] . On GST, input tax on entertainment needs a tax invoice, or a simplified tax invoice up to $1,000; a concession allows claims over $1,000 backed by a receipt, payment evidence and details of the entertainment ^[6] . Country club and other club entrance fees are not deductible ^[3] , and Regulation 26 disallows input tax on club subscription fees, alongside family benefits and staff medical expenses ^[6] . Record who attended and the business purpose on every entertainment receipt.

Computers and capital allowances

The capital allowance rules give a one-year write-off for computers and prescribed automation equipment, and for low-value assets costing $5,000 or less each, within a $30,000 cap per year of assessment; dearer assets use the three-year or working-life methods ^[7] . The equipment guide covers the methods in more detail.

Staff, CPF and records

From 1 January 2026, the employer CPF rate for wages above $750 is 17% for employees aged 55 and below, stepping down by age band ^[8] . The Skills Development Levy is 0.25% of monthly wages, at least $2 and at most $11.25 per employee ^[9] . The GST guide, GST F5 guide, record-keeping guide and year-end checklist cover the rest.

Common mistakes

• Paying an overseas studio’s service fee in full without checking withholding tax ^[1] .
• Missing the 15th-of-the-second-month withholding tax deadline ^[1] .
• Bearing a non-resident’s withholding tax voluntarily and deducting it ^[3] .
• Paying GST to overseas software vendors because your GST number was never entered ^[4] .
• Claiming input tax on club subscriptions ^[6] .
• Claiming entertainment with no record of the business purpose ^[3] .