Hiring Your First Employee in Singapore (2026): The Payroll Setup Checklist

Hiring your first employee in Singapore means stepping into a set of statutory obligations that all converge on the first payday. None of them are difficult on their own — but missing one (a CPF registration, a payslip, a tax filing) turns a simple hire into a compliance problem. This checklist covers what to set up, in order.

Before the first payday

1. Register as an employer with the CPF Board. If you are employing a Singapore Citizen or PR, you must pay CPF — so register and obtain your CPF Submission Number (CSN). This is the identifier every CPF submission is tied to.

2. Set up Corppass. Corppass is the government's digital identity for businesses. You will need it to access CPF eZpay, IRAS e-services and MOM's portals.

3. Prepare the employment contract and Key Employment Terms (KETs). Give every covered employee a written contract that includes the KETs — job scope, salary, hours, leave, notice period — within 14 days of their start date.

4. Decide how you will produce itemised payslips. The Employment Act requires an itemised payslip within 3 working days of each payment. Whether by software or template, it must show the prescribed items.

5. Arrange payment — usually GIRO. You will need to pay salary to the employee and CPF to the Board. A GIRO bulk-payout arrangement handles salary; a GIRO link with the CPF Board handles contributions.

Every month

6. Calculate the statutory deductions. For each employee, depending on their status:

Cost	Applies to	Filed/paid
CPF	Citizens and PRs	CPF eZpay, by the 14th
SDL	All employees	With CPF, by the 14th (SDL guide)
SHG	Eligible employees	With CPF (SHG guide)
Foreign Worker Levy	Work Permit & S Pass holders	Monthly by GIRO (FWL guide)

See the current CPF contribution rates for the bands.

7. Run, review and pay. Calculate gross-to-net, review the figures, issue payslips, pay salaries, and submit CPF — the monthly payroll cycle walks through this end to end.

Once a year

8. File employee income to IRAS. Prepare IR8A for each employee and submit through the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) — mandatory for employers with 5 or more employees, or when IRAS notifies you — by 1 March.

If you hire a foreign employee

Apply for the correct work pass through MOM first, and note that foreign pass holders follow different payroll rules: no CPF, the Foreign Worker Levy for Work Permit and S Pass holders, SDL for everyone, and IR21 tax clearance before they leave.

A first-month checklist

Registered as a CPF employer (CSN obtained)
Corppass set up
Written contract + KETs issued within 14 days
Itemised payslip method ready
GIRO arrangements in place (salary + CPF)
CPF / SDL / SHG calculated for the first run
Submission and payment made via CPF eZpay by the 14th
Plan for IR8A / AIS at year-end

Where first-time employers trip up

Paying salary but forgetting CPF, then scrambling before the 14th.
No written KETs or payslips, which are both statutory, not optional.
Discovering the IRAS AIS obligation only at year-end, with a year of data to assemble.
Keeping everything in scattered spreadsheets, so the first audit or grant due-diligence takes days to answer.

AimmPayroll Asia is built for exactly this moment: it checks employee data before your first run, calculates CPF, SDL and SHG, produces compliant payslips, and keeps CPF eZpay and IRAS AIS in the same workflow. You can start free for up to three employees, or see full pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to set up before paying my first employee in Singapore?+

At minimum: register as an employer with the CPF Board (you will get a CPF Submission Number), set up Corppass to access government e-services, prepare a written employment contract with the Key Employment Terms, and arrange a way to pay salary and CPF — typically a GIRO arrangement. You should also decide how you will produce compliant itemised payslips.

Do I need to register for CPF when I hire my first local employee?+

Yes. If you employ a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident, you must pay CPF and therefore register as an employer with the CPF Board to obtain a CPF Submission Number (CSN). You then submit and pay monthly contributions through CPF eZpay by the 14th of the following month. You do not pay CPF for foreign pass holders.

What are Key Employment Terms (KETs) and when must I give them?+

KETs are the essential terms of employment — job title, duties, salary, working hours, leave, and so on — that the Employment Act requires you to give in writing to employees who are covered and employed for at least 14 days. They must be provided within 14 days of the start of employment, and can form part of the employment contract.

When do I have to issue payslips, and what must they show?+

Itemised payslips are mandatory under the Employment Act and must be given within 3 working days of payment (or with the payment). They must show prescribed items including basic pay, allowances, deductions, CPF, net pay and the pay period. See our itemised payslip guide for the full list.

Do I need to register for the IRAS Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)?+

The Auto-Inclusion Scheme — where you submit employees' income details to IRAS so they appear automatically in their tax filing — is mandatory for employers with 5 or more employees, and for any employer that IRAS notifies. Even below that threshold it is good practice, and you must still prepare IR8A forms. The annual deadline is 1 March.

How long must I keep employee and payroll records?+

Employers must keep employee records (including salary and the items shown on payslips). MOM requires records for current employees and for a period after they leave. Keeping payroll figures, CPF submissions and payslips together makes this straightforward and protects you in an audit or MOM inspection.