A company's financial year end (FYE) represents the final day of its accounting period. The accounting period is the recognised interval for completing an accounting cycle of the business. This periodicity provides perspective about the profitability of the business on an ongoing basis. Records of transactions are kept over this period and reported in the form of financial statements.
Accounting periods can be 12 months or 52 weeks. If you decide on a 12-month accounting period starting 1 January 2020, your company's FYE will be 31 December 2020. However, if you choose to have a 52-week accounting period starting Wednesday, 1 January 2020, your company's FYE will be Wednesday, 30 December 2020.
Choose FYE Carefully
You can choose any date as your company's Financial Year End (FYE). Common choices include 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, or 31 December.
Deciding on the FYE is crucial as it determines when your corporate filings and taxes are due each year. Private companies are required to:
- Hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) within 6 months after the FYE
- File their annual returns within 7 months after the FYE
Find out more about filing taxes and tax exemptions for new companies.
Read more about annual return filing requirements.
Illustrated examples
The tables below illustrate the due dates for holding the annual general meeting (AGM) and filing the annual return (AR) with ACRA based on different financial year-ends (FYEs).
For private companies:
- AGM is due 6 months after FYE
- AR is due 7 months after FYE
| Financial Year End | AGM Due Date (FYE + 6 months) | AR Due Date (FYE + 7 Months) |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2020 | 30 June 2021 | 31 July 2021 |
| 30 June 2021 | 31 December 2021 | 31 January 2022 |
| 30 September 2021 | 31 March 2022 | 30 April 2022 |
For private and public non-listed companies with share capital that maintain a branch register outside Singapore:
- AGM is due 6 months after FYE
- AR is due 8 months after FYE
| Financial Year End | AGM Due Date (FYE + 6 months) | AR Due Date (FYE + 8 Months) |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2020 | 30 June 2021 | 31 August 2021 |
| 30 June 2021 | 31 December 2021 | 28 February 2022 |
| 30 September 2021 | 31 March 2022 | 31 May 2022 |
Changing the FYE
Companies must notify the Registrar of any change in their FYE. They may change the FYE for the current or immediate previous financial year.
However, companies cannot change their FYE if statutory deadlines for the following have passed:
- Holding of Annual General Meeting (AGM)
- Filing of Annual Return (AR)
- Sending of financial statements
The Registrar's approval to change the FYE will be required if:
- The change in FYE will result in a financial year of more than 18 months; or
- The FYE was previously changed on or after 31 August 2018 for a financial year ending on or after 31 August 2018, and it is within 5 years from the end of that previously changed FYE.
