The Registrar's fees are small and fixed. The real budget is the yearly compliance that every Cyprus company must buy, and the real delay is the bank, not the Registrar. Price your company line by line, then build the programme week by week.
Registrar fees to form a company: €10 name approval plus €165 incorporation
Annual return fee. The €350 annual levy was abolished from 2024
Corporation tax from 1 January 2026, up from 12.5%
Realistic time from instruction to a working bank account and first invoice
Company law is Cap. 113, the Companies Law. Tax changed on 1 January 2026 after the reform passed on 22 December 2025, so treat any guide that still says 12.5% as out of date.
| Rule | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar fees, standard | €10 for each name submitted for approval, and €165 to incorporate a private company with share capital | In law |
| Registrar fees, accelerated | €30 for accelerated name approval, and €100 on top of the €165 for accelerated incorporation, so €295 in total | In law |
| Capital duty | None found. The Registrar's published fee is flat whatever the share capital. We could not find an official statement of repeal, so the adviser should confirm | Confirm |
| Stamp duty | Abolished from 1 January 2026 for company documents and most contracts. Limited exceptions remain, such as real estate, banking and insurance | In law |
| Minimum share capital | No statutory minimum for a private company. €1,000 is customary, and it need not be paid into a bank before incorporation | In law |
| Registered office | Compulsory, and it must be a physical address in Cyprus. The statutory registers are kept there | In law |
| Directors, shareholders and secretary | At least one director, one shareholder (up to 50) and a secretary. Any nationality or residence. A sole director can also be secretary only in a single-member company | In law |
| Corporation tax | 15% of taxable profit from 1 January 2026, up from 12.5%. Losses carry forward seven years | In law |
| Tax residence | From 2026 a company incorporated in Cyprus is Cyprus tax resident by default, unless a double tax treaty provides otherwise. A company managed and controlled in Cyprus is also resident | In law |
| Annual return, form HE32 | €20 filing fee. First return within 18 months of incorporation, then once every year, filed within 28 days of its made-up date with the financial statements attached | In law |
| Late annual return | €50, then €1 a day for the first six months and €2 a day after, capped at €500 per return. One source quotes a lower starting amount. Persistent failure leads to strike-off | Confirm |
| Annual company levy | The old €350 levy is abolished for 2024 onwards and has not returned. Levies unpaid for 2023 and earlier remain collectable | In law |
| Beneficial owner register | File within 90 days of incorporation, report changes within 45 days, reconfirm every year between 1 October and 31 December. Published penalties differ: €200 plus €100 a day to €20,000, or €100 plus €50 a day to €5,000 | Confirm |
| Audit or review | Every company files financial statements. A small private company with turnover under €300,000 (was €200,000) and total assets under €500,000, for two years running, may use a review engagement instead of a full audit, for financial years starting on or after 6 February 2026 | Confirm |
| Corporate tax return | For tax year 2026 onwards, due by 31 January of the second year after, so 31 January 2028 for 2026. The 2025 return is due by 31 March 2027. Provisional tax is paid on 31 July and 31 December | In law |
| VAT and bank account | VAT registration is compulsory above €15,600 of taxable sales in twelve months. A Cyprus bank account typically takes three to eight weeks, and up to three months for complex ownership | Confirm |
Government fees are fixed from the table above. Professional fees are yours to edit. They start at the midpoint of what Cyprus firms publish, and they are not an Aqualis quote.
Assumptions. Registrar fees: name approval €10 or €30 accelerated, incorporation €165 plus €100 if accelerated, annual return €20. No capital duty, stamp duty or annual levy. One name is submitted. Professional fees are midpoints of ranges published by Cyprus firms in 2026 and exclude 19% VAT, which a VAT-registered trading company normally recovers. Bookkeeping defaults to €115 a month up to 25 transactions, €225 up to 100, and €300 above. Accounts default to €700 for a holding company and €1,750 otherwise. Assurance defaults to €1,050 for a review engagement under €300,000 turnover, €2,350 for an audit up to €1 million, and €3,500 above. The review option also needs total assets under €500,000 for two consecutive years. Due diligence counts shareholders plus directors and charges each person after the first two, so it overstates the cost where the same person holds both roles. The first annual return may fall in year two. Salaries, social insurance, tax, bank charges and office rent are not included.
Each one is either a legal requirement or a practical one. Knowing which is which is how you avoid paying for things you do not need.
Name approval first. Then the memorandum and articles, and forms HE1, HE2 and HE3: a declaration of compliance signed by a Cyprus advocate, the registered office, and the officers. The Registrar examines the file and issues the certificate of incorporation. Tax registration follows.
Every company needs a physical registered office in Cyprus, where official post arrives and the statutory registers are kept. It also needs a secretary, who files the annual return, keeps the registers and minutes, and reconfirms the beneficial owners each year. Most foreign founders buy both from their accountant or lawyer. If you rent your own office in Limassol or Nicosia and have someone competent, you can do both in-house.
There is no minimum for a private company. Most are formed with €1,000 of €1 shares. It does not have to sit in a bank before incorporation. Fund the business with a mix of capital and shareholder loans once the account is open.
One director and one shareholder is enough, and they can be the same person, of any nationality. A nominee director is a paid professional who sits on your board. It is optional, and it only helps if that person really takes part in decisions.
Banks verify every owner, the source of funds and the business plan before they open an account. It cannot start until the company exists. This, not the Registrar, decides when you can invoice.
Financial statements, audited or reviewed. The corporate tax return. Provisional tax on 31 July and 31 December. The annual return with its €20 fee. The beneficial owner reconfirmation between October and December. VAT returns every quarter if registered. A dormant company still owes all of them.
Substance is the evidence that the company is really run from Cyprus: directors who live here and decide here, board meetings held here, an office, staff, a local bank account and books. Cyprus now treats its own companies as resident by default. Other countries still ask where management really sits.
The Registrar of Companies is the quick part. Aqualis sees name approval in one to two working days, and an accelerated incorporation is usually through in about a week. If incorporation were all you needed, you could be trading in a fortnight.
You cannot, because customers need somewhere to pay. A bank will not start its checks until the company exists and its certificates are issued. Then it verifies every shareholder and director, the source of the money, the expected flows and the main customers and suppliers. For a single founder with a clean file that takes three to four weeks. Where a shareholder is itself a company, the bank repeats the exercise up the chain, and two months is normal.
Registrar time is about one quarter of the programme. Bank time is about three fifths. Spend your effort where the weeks are.
The practical answer is to prepare the bank file while the Registrar is working: certified passports, proof of address, a short business plan, contracts or letters of intent, and evidence of where the funds come from. Some founders open an account with a licensed electronic money institution as a bridge. That can work for invoicing, but check that your customers and your auditors accept it.
A Cyprus company has a fixed floor of yearly cost, whether it earns a million or nothing. Budget for it before you incorporate, not after.
A registered office in Cyprus and a company secretary.
Proper books, and financial statements under international standards.
An audit, or a review engagement if the company is small enough.
The corporate tax return and the €20 annual return.
The beneficial owner reconfirmation each autumn.
A nominee or resident director from a provider.
A nominee shareholder.
Accelerated filing fees.
Bank introduction support.
A serviced office, unless you need it for substance.
On the default fees in the calculator, the floor for a quiet holding company is about €5,000 a year, and less if it is truly dormant. A small trading company with forty transactions a month sits nearer €7,000 to €8,000. The line that moves most is bookkeeping, which follows your transaction count. If the yearly floor is more than the tax you expect to save, Cyprus is the wrong answer, and a good adviser will say so.
A shelf company is one that a provider formed earlier and has kept unused, ready to transfer. It was a sensible purchase when incorporation took a month. With accelerated filing now taking about a week, the advantage has mostly gone.
An older incorporation date impresses nobody who matters. Banks and tax authorities look at who owns the company today. For most founders a new incorporation with the name and articles they want is cheaper and cleaner.
Figures use the default fee midpoints unless the text says otherwise. One of the three should think twice.
One shareholder, one director, himself. Accelerated filing, VAT registered, forty transactions a month, and he goes on the payroll once he has moved.
Two directors, one supplied by a provider in Nicosia. Standard filing, no VAT, ten transactions a month, no staff.
Two founders, both directors, one relocating. Accelerated filing, VAT registered. Bookkeeping was quoted at €650 a month for about 600 transactions, entered in place of the default.
Set a start date and four conditions. The chart shows each stage, which ones hold up the date, and the first realistic day you can trade.
Assumptions. All durations are working days, Monday to Friday, and ignore Cyprus public holidays. Due diligence on owners: 3 days for individuals, 8 where a shareholder is a company. Name approval: 2 days accelerated, as Aqualis reports, and 5 standard. Drafting and signing documents: 2 days, or 5 where corporate shareholders must supply certified and apostilled papers. Registrar examination: 6 days accelerated and 15 standard. Certificates and tax identification number: 3 days. Bank account: 20 days for individuals and 35 for corporate shareholders, starting once certificates are issued. VAT registration: 10 days from the tax number. These are typical figures from Cyprus practitioners, not guarantees, and the bank can take up to three months. The trading date is the first working day after every blocking stage is complete.
Ten yes or no questions about where the company is really run. Tick what is true today, not what you plan.
Assumptions. Weights are our own judgement of what tax authorities and treaty partners look at, not a statutory test: resident director majority 18, board meetings in Cyprus 14, documented decisions 12, no general power of attorney 10, own office 10, local staff 10, local bank account 8, records in Cyprus 8, contracts signed locally 5, local contact details 5. Bands: 75 and over is defensible, 45 to 74 is exposed in places, under 45 is thin. A high score does not guarantee treaty benefits, and a low score does not by itself make the company non-resident in Cyprus.
Since 1 January 2026 a company incorporated in Cyprus is treated as Cyprus tax resident by default, unless a double tax treaty provides otherwise. Before that, a Cyprus company had to show it was managed and controlled here. The change makes it simpler to get a Cyprus tax residency certificate.
It changes nothing abroad. Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel and most other countries tax a company where its effective management takes place. If the founder makes every decision from Munich, the German tax office can claim the company, and the treaty tie-breaker will usually side with the place of real management. The checklist above is about that second question.
The stages overlap where they can. The ones that cannot overlap are the reason the programme runs to weeks, not days.
Your adviser verifies every owner and director, as anti-money-laundering law requires, and submits the company name to the Registrar for approval.
Certified passport, recent proof of address, a short description of the business and the source of funds. Offer two or three names.The memorandum and articles are drafted and signed, then filed with forms HE1, HE2 and HE3. The Registrar examines the file and issues the certificate of incorporation.
Corporate shareholders need certified and apostilled company documents, which is where most delays start.Certified copies of the corporate certificates are ordered, the company is registered with the Tax Department for its tax identification number, and the statutory registers are written up.
The beneficial owner filing is due within 90 days of incorporation. Do it now, the bank will ask for it.The bank application goes in with the full file. VAT registration is filed in parallel if the company needs a number before its first invoice. Trading starts when both are live.
A signed customer contract or letter of intent speeds up both the bank and the VAT office.Thirteen questions, answered in plain terms and reviewed with the rest of the page.
Ask one we missed →There is none for a private limited company. Most are formed with €1,000 divided into €1 shares, and the money does not need to be deposited before incorporation. There is no capital duty on it. A public company is different and needs at least €25,629.
Yes. One person can be the sole shareholder and sole director, whatever their nationality or country of residence. In a single-member company the sole director may also act as secretary. In practice most foreign founders appoint their service provider as secretary, because the secretary has to deal with the Registrar in Cyprus.
Not to incorporate. Documents can be signed abroad and couriered, and identity is verified from certified copies or by video. The bank is the exception: some Cyprus banks want to meet the signatories or the main owner, so ask before you choose one. If you want the company to have real substance, you will be in Cyprus regularly anyway.
A nominee shareholder holds shares on trust for you, which keeps your name off the public share register. It does not hide you from the beneficial owner register, the bank or the tax authorities. A nominee director sits on the board. If that person only signs what you send, foreign tax authorities will look through the arrangement. Nominees are optional, they cost €2,000 to €3,500 a year for a director, and they are not a substitute for real management in Cyprus.
Only by a few days. You get a company number immediately, but the transfer of shares, the change of officers and the new beneficial owner filings still take time and money. The bank checks the new owners exactly as it would for a new company, so the date you can trade hardly moves. With accelerated incorporation taking about a week, a new company is usually the better choice.
Three to four weeks for a simple company owned by one or two individuals with a clear source of funds. Six to eight weeks where a shareholder is a company or the business is in a sector banks treat as higher risk. Three months is not unknown. The clock only starts once the company exists and its certificates are issued.
Every Cyprus company must prepare financial statements and have them examined by a licensed auditor, including dormant ones. A small private company can use a lighter review engagement instead of a full audit if its turnover is under €300,000 and its total assets are under €500,000 for two consecutive years. The €300,000 figure applies to financial years starting on or after 6 February 2026, and was €200,000 before. Companies that must prepare consolidated accounts, and regulated businesses, cannot use the review option.
The annual return, form HE32, costs €20 to file. Late filing brings a penalty that starts at about €50 and grows by €1 a day for six months, then €2 a day, up to €500 for each return. The larger risk is that the Registrar strikes off a company that ignores its returns. Reinstating it afterwards needs a court order or an administrative application, and costs far more than the filings would have.
There are two routes. Strike-off is for a company with no assets or debts. The directors apply to the Registrar, tax clearance is obtained, and the company is removed after about six to twelve months. Firms typically charge around €1,500 to €2,000. A members' voluntary liquidation uses a licensed liquidator, takes a year or more, and typically costs €3,500 upwards. Liquidation is final. A struck-off company can be restored by court order, which matters if a forgotten asset or creditor appears. All returns and accounts must be up to date first.
Often, yes. Cyprus allows a foreign company to transfer its registered office here and continue as the same legal entity, keeping its contracts, history and bank relationships, provided the law of the country it is leaving allows it. It usually takes several months and needs solvency statements and creditor notices. It suits companies with valuable contracts or licences. For a young business, a new Cyprus company and a transfer of the trade is usually quicker.
It is the headline rate on taxable profit from 1 January 2026. The effective rate is often lower. Dividends received and gains on selling shares are generally exempt, which is why holding companies pay little. Qualifying intellectual property income can benefit from an 80% deduction. Dividends paid to non-resident shareholders carry no withholding tax in most cases. What you pay personally depends on where you live, not where the company is.
Six come up again and again. The audit or review, which many founders from the UK or the US do not expect for a small company. Certified and apostilled documents for every owner. Bank charges and minimum balances. 19% VAT on professional fees, which a holding company cannot recover. Employer social insurance of roughly 15% on top of any salary. And the cost of real substance, such as an office and a resident director, if your home tax authority is likely to ask.
No. Registration is compulsory once taxable sales pass €15,600 in twelve months, or from the first invoice if you supply services to businesses in other EU countries. Many trading companies register voluntarily at the start so that they can recover VAT on setup costs. A pure holding company that only receives dividends cannot register at all.
Aqualis forms Cyprus companies from name approval to tax and VAT registration, provides the registered office and company secretary, and then keeps the company compliant: annual returns, accounts, audit coordination and tax filings. The adviser named here signs off every figure on this page.
Send the adviser your calculator totals and your target trading date. One person replies within one working day, and tells you plainly if Cyprus is not the right answer.
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