Paying Director’s Fees to Non-Resident Directors: What Must a Singapore Company Withhold?

In short: A Singapore company that pays director’s fees to a non-resident board director must generally withhold tax at 24%, then e-file and pay it to IRAS by the 15th of the second month from the date of payment of the director’s remuneration. It does not matter where the board meeting was held. Payments to someone in their capacity as an executive director are not subject to withholding tax; that income is reported in the director’s own tax return. This article is about board director’s fees, not the general withholding workflow for other non-resident payments.

Last reviewed: November 2026

Who counts as a non-resident board director?

IRAS’s page on board directors explains that residency for this withholding test depends on physical presence in Singapore in the year before the Year of Assessment. Presence of less than 183 days is treated as non-resident, and withholding generally applies to board director’s fees. Presence of 183 days or more is treated as resident, and withholding does not apply (IRAS describes a refund route if tax was already withheld).

IRAS also distinguishes board director fees from payments made to someone as an executive director (for example, a CEO). Payments in an executive-director capacity are not subject to withholding tax; the executive director reports the income in their own tax return.

What must the company do?

IRAS’s page on tax obligations for non-resident directors sets out the company’s obligations:

1. Withhold tax at 24% of the director’s remuneration (IRAS states 22% applied to income due and payable from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2022).
2. E-file through myTax Portal and pay the withholding tax by the 15th of the second month from the date of payment of the director’s remuneration.

IRAS states that it does not matter where the board meeting was held, or that the individual was not physically working in Singapore. Confirm the current rate and due date on the IRAS pages above before you file. For the wider non-resident withholding workflow, see our existing guide When must your Singapore company withhold tax on payments to non-residents?.

Being an overseas director of a Singapore company is also a work-pass question; that is covered in Do you need an Employment Pass to be a director from overseas?.

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Accounting services start from S$1,200. Corporate tax computation and filing is charged separately; contact us for a quote. We do not publish a tax-filing price. See our accounting and corporate tax pages, or contact us.