{"id":264213,"date":"2026-09-14T15:57:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T07:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/home-office-vs-home-based-scheme\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T15:57:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T07:57:43","slug":"home-office-vs-home-based-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/home-office-vs-home-based-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Office Scheme vs Home-Based Business Scheme: Which One Actually Fits Your Side Hustle?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bright<\/p>\n

\nIf you’ve started digging into running a small business from your HDB flat or condo, you’ve probably bumped into two government schemes that sound almost identical: the Home Office Scheme (HOS)<\/strong> and the Home-Based Business Scheme (HBS)<\/strong>. Here’s the good news \u2014 they’re not the same thing wearing two names, and picking the right one can save you paperwork, a $20 fee, or both.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nThe one-line version:<\/strong> HBS needs zero government registration and zero fee \u2014 but it’s built for hands-on work like baking or tuition. HOS costs a token $20 and needs a quick Singpass registration[1]<\/a><\/sup> \u2014 but in exchange you can hire up to 2 non-resident employees and run admin-style work like consultancy or design.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So which one is which?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n\"Smiling<\/p>\n

🧁<\/span> Home-Based Business Scheme (HBS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For hands-on work \u2014 baking, home beauty (no massage), sewing, small tuition. Zero registration, zero fee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\"Smiling<\/p>\n

💻<\/span> Home Office Scheme (HOS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For desk-based work \u2014 consultancy, IT, design, trading. $20 fee, quick Singpass registration, up to 2 non-resident hires.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\nThink of HBS as the scheme for founders whose “office” is really a kitchen counter or a sewing table \u2014 baking, home beauty services (no massage), tailoring, and small tuition setups (capped at 3 students) all fall under it, and URA confirms there’s genuinely no registration or approval step at all<\/strong>[1]<\/a><\/sup>. HOS, on the other hand, is aimed at people doing desk-based work \u2014 bookkeeping, IT freelancing, trading, consultancy \u2014 and while it’s still simple, it does require a quick self-registration through Singpass and a $20 fee, approved almost instantly[1]<\/a><\/sup>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Factor<\/th>\nHome Office Scheme (HOS)<\/th>\nHome-Based Business Scheme (HBS)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Best suited for<\/strong><\/td>\nAdmin\/desk work \u2014 consultancy, accounting, IT, design, trading<\/td>\nHands-on work \u2014 baking, beauty (no massage), sewing, tuition (\u22643 students)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Registration needed?<\/strong><\/td>\nYes \u2014 self-register via Singpass, $20 fee, near-instant approval<\/td>\nNone \u2014 no HDB\/URA sign-up required<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Non-resident employees<\/strong><\/td>\nUp to 2 allowed<\/td>\nNone \u2014 owners\/residents only<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Property types<\/strong><\/td>\nHDB flats and private property<\/td>\nHDB flats and private property<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Walk-in clients \/ signage<\/strong><\/td>\nNot allowed<\/td>\nNot allowed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

🏙️<\/span> The part both schemes don’t solve for you<\/h3>\n

\"Singapore<\/p>\n

\nHere’s the catch that trips up a lot of first-time founders: picking HOS or HBS doesn’t replace ACRA registration \u2014 it’s still a mandatory, separate step.<\/strong> ACRA requires you to register any business carried out for profit on a regular basis (home-based businesses under a brand name, like “Cakes by Mei Ling,” included) \u2014 the only narrow exemption is trading strictly under your own full NRIC name[3]<\/a><\/sup>. So whichever address you use for that ACRA filing (your home address, under either HOS or HBS) becomes publicly searchable<\/strong> on ACRA’s business register. Even once you’ve picked the right scheme and handled ACRA registration properly, your home address is still out there for anyone to look up.\n<\/p>\n

\nIf that’s a dealbreaker \u2014 and for most people running a business from home, it eventually is \u2014 a virtual office address lets you register your company with a professional, non-residential address on public record while you keep working from your kitchen table under HBS, or your home desk under HOS. You get the low-cost, flexible setup both schemes are designed for, minus the privacy trade-off.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\nNeed a hand sorting out which scheme fits your setup, or want your business registered under a proper address instead of your home?<\/strong> Lionsworld’s LI team handles ACRA company registration and corporate secretarial compliance end-to-end, and LBC-SG can set you up with a virtual office address in a matter of days \u2014 so your home stays private and your business still looks the part.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nSources:<\/strong>
\n[1]<\/span> URA, “Guidelines for Home Office \/ Home-Based Business Scheme” (updated 23 Jun 2026) \u2014 ura.gov.sg<\/a>
\n[2]<\/span> HDB, Home Office Scheme guidelines (updated 23 Jun 2026) \u2014 hdb.gov.sg<\/a>
\n[3]<\/span> ACRA, “Registering a Business \u2014 Requirements & Eligibility” (last updated 29 Jan 2026) \u2014 acra.gov.sg<\/a>
\nGoBusiness Licensing e-Adviser \u2014 gobusiness.gov.sg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve started digging into running a small business from your HDB flat or condo, you’ve probably bumped into two government schemes that sound almost identical: the Home Office Scheme (HOS) and the Home-Based Business Scheme (HBS). Here’s the good news \u2014 they’re not the same thing wearing two names, and picking the right one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-264213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264213\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.lionsworld.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}