Determine your home business scheme
Step 1: Determine your home business scheme
There are two existing schemes for home businesses: Home-Based Business Scheme and Home Office Scheme.
Generally, you should select the scheme depending on your business activities.
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Home-Based Business Scheme: Small-scale businesses like bakeries and hairdressing, without any non-resident employee
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Home Office Scheme: Small scale offices running administrative functions, like accountancy and consultancy services, with up to two non-resident employees
A non-exhaustive list of business classification is provided below.
Home-Based Business Scheme
A non-exhaustive list of small-scale business activities that fall under this scheme:
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Food businesses such as baking on a small scale
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Hairdressing, facial and beauty (excluding massage), manicure, or pedicure services
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Private tuition for not more than 3 students at a time
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Sewing services
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Work as a freelance artist, journalist, photographer or writer
Home Office Scheme
A non-exhaustive list of small-scale office activities that fall under this scheme:
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Accountancy services
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Architectural services
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Consultancy services (business, engineering, IT, management or education)
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Design / Advertising services
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Insurance / Financial planning services
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Real estate agencies
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Technology-based and knowledge-intensive businesses
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Trading office (excluding car trading office)
A non-exhaustive list of small-scale office activities not permitted under this scheme:
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Massage / spa service
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Contractor business
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Car trading business
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Card reading / palm reading or fortune-telling in any form
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Catering / restaurants
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Clinics and pharmacies (e.g. dental, medical, veterinary)
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Commercial schools (e.g. dance, music, language, tuition centre)
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Courier business
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Classes on dress-making and embroidery
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Employment agency
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Funeral chapels or homes
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Maid agency
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Mausoleums
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Manufacturing, preparation or processing of any products and goods
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Money lending businesses
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Opticians
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Repair activities (e.g. household appliances, electrical products, footwear, etc.)
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Sales / marketing that involves conducting seminars and talks for a large number of customers
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Shops and any form of retail activity, including pet shops
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Societies / clubs / associations
Conditions of Use
The conditions of use are mandatory and must be followed. You may refer to the respective statutory boards’ websites for further information regarding the schemes – for public housing (i.e. HDB flats), please refer to HDB’s website; for private residential properties, please refer to Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s website.
For further clarification regarding the home-based business or home office schemes, you may contact HDB for public housing or URA for private residential properties.
Get recommendations for what to do next
If you are thinking of running a small-scale business from home, use this e-Adviser to find out the next steps to set it up.