# Payroll for startups.

URL: https://skillsforce.com.sg/services/payroll/for-startups
Title: Payroll for Startups in Singapore | Skillsforce
Description: Payroll for Singapore startups: CPF, IRAS and payslips handled correctly from your first hire, so founders avoid early, expensive payroll mistakes.
Updated 18 June 2026. First published 25 June 2026. Author: Skillsforce (People-operations team)

In the early days payroll feels small enough to do yourself, until CPF, IR8A and a foreign hire’s tax clearance turn a spreadsheet into a liability. We run it correctly from your first hire.

## How should a Singapore startup handle payroll?

From your first employee, payroll must calculate CPF correctly for Citizens and Permanent Residents, issue an itemised payslip within three working days of payment, and submit CPF by the last day of the calendar month. The 14th of the following month is CPF Board’s enforcement threshold, not the deadline. AIS reporting to IRAS becomes mandatory at five employees.

## Why “later” gets expensive

Founders run early payroll themselves because it seems trivial, a few transfers a month. The cost shows up later: a CPF age-band miscalculation, a late filing, a foreign hire who leaves without IR21 clearance. Each is small individually and painful in aggregate, and they are far cheaper to prevent than to correct.

## What we get right from day one

- CPF calculated correctly for Citizens and PRs, including PR graduated rates and age-band transitions.
- Payslips issued within three working days of payment, and CPF submitted by the last day of the calendar month rather than the 14th.
- Year-end IR8A reporting, and Auto-Inclusion Scheme registration once you reach five employees.
- IR21 tax clearance handled when a foreign employee leaves.

## Frequently asked questions

### When does a startup need to register for the Auto-Inclusion Scheme?

The Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) is compulsory once you have five or more employees in a year, counted across the whole calendar year. Registration is year-round on myTax Portal, and once in, you stay in even if headcount later drops below five.

### Do startups pay CPF for foreign founders or staff?

CPF is mandatory for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, and generally not payable for foreign work-pass holders. So a startup with foreign founders on Employment Passes may have little CPF early on, but it still must report income to IRAS.

### Is it worth outsourcing payroll this early?

Often yes. The early mistakes (CPF errors, late filings, missed IR21) are expensive to unwind, and a managed service costs little at low headcount. It also frees founders from a recurring monthly task that has real compliance risk attached.

## Sources

- [CPF Board: employer obligations](https://www.cpf.gov.sg/employer) (Accessed 18 June 2026)
- [IRAS: Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)](https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/employers/auto-inclusion-scheme-(ais)-for-employment-income) (Accessed 18 June 2026)

## Related

- [CPF rates 2026](https://skillsforce.com.sg/compliance/cpf-rates)
- [Payroll Processing](https://skillsforce.com.sg/services/payroll)
- [Continuity playbook](https://skillsforce.com.sg/guides/people-operations-continuity-singapore)