Singapore Sole Proprietorship Quick Facts By Rikvin

Many people starting a business have little knowledge or interest in business entities and thus become sole proprietors. There are pros and cons to this approach.

A sole proprietorship is limited to a single owner or a married couple. This option offers one of the simplest business structures. Many states simply require obtaining a sales tax id and registering a doing business as name with your county records office. It does have certain consequences that should be taken into account. For example, taxable income is subject to income as well as employments taxes.

Business losses however can also offset income from other personal sources. The best way to understand this is if you are fully employed when you start your new enterprise. If you continue to work in say your previous place of employment, losses incurred from your new endeavor will reduce your tax liability. There are limitations and an accountant should always be consulted.

Below are some of the Facts on Singapore Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship in Singapore does not constitute a separate legal entity therefore it is not distinct from the owner/ proprietor. The business owner is personally accountable for all liabilities incurred during the course of the business.

• Any Singapore registered company or a natural person of at least 18 years of age is eligible to register a sole proprietorship.

• Sole proprietorship must appoint at least one manager who is a natural person of at least 21 years of age and who is ordinarily resident in Singapore – a Singapore Citizen or a Permanent Resident.

In most of the cases, the owner himself/herself will act in this capacity.

• A local Singapore address must be provided as the business address for the sole proprietorship. Under the Home Office Scheme, residential premises can be used as a business address but owners must seek written approval from HDB (for HDB properties) or URA (for private properties) to use their homes (owned or rented) for home office use.

• Singapore citizens or PRs registering Sole Proprietorship must ensure that their Medisave accounts have sufficient funds before proceeding with the registration.

• Profits of the sole proprietorship are treated as income of the individual who owns the entity, thus it is subjected to a tax rate as that of personal income, and where the owner is a pte ltd company, the profits will be subjected to corporate tax rate.

• As a Singapore sole proprietorship is not a legal entity, it cannot register another business firm.

• Sole proprietorship must ensure that all letterheads, invoices, bills or other documents used for the purposes of doing business have the registration number listed.

• Sole proprietorships do not need to audit their accounts or file annual returns with ACRA as any profits will be taxed as personal taxes.

• Raising funds or expansion options as a sole proprietorship will be limited because investors will hesitate to deal with non incorporated entities.

• Any changes to the particulars of the business must be lodged with the Registrar within 14 days from the date of change

• Registration of Singapore sole proprietorship needs to be renewed annually.

One of the greatest advantages to this legal entity is the ease with which it can be closed or terminated. As long as no outstanding creditors or balances are left open, closing as simple closing the real or virtual doors of your business.