"How much does a Cyprus company cost?" has no single number, because the right answer depends on what you actually need. The useful way to think about it is in two buckets: the one-off cost of setting the company up, and the annual cost of keeping it compliant. This guide breaks down both by cost component, gives you a worked first-year framework, explains what pushes the price up or down, and clears up a common misconception — the old €350 annual levy is gone.
This article is about cost, not the mechanics of registration. If you want the step-by-step process — name approval, documents, signatures and timelines — read how to register a company in Cyprus; we won't repeat those steps here. We also don't publish a single headline price, because a dormant holding company and an active trading company with payroll and VAT have very different costs. Instead, here's the full cost structure so you can see exactly what you're paying for; for our own fee structure, see pricing.
The two cost buckets, at a glance
Every Cyprus company has exactly two kinds of cost: a one-off setup cost you pay once to bring the company into existence, and a recurring annual cost you pay every year to keep it compliant. Almost every "how much does it cost" question is really a question about which components fall into which bucket — and how big each one is for your particular company. The table below maps the components; the sections that follow explain each one.
| Cost component | One-off (setup) | Recurring (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| Registrar incorporation & name-approval fees | Yes | — |
| Drafting the Memorandum & Articles (M&AA) | Yes | — |
| Initial tax / TIC and (if needed) VAT registration | Yes | — |
| Initial UBO register filing | Yes | UBO upkeep (annual) |
| Registered office | Set-up | Yes |
| Company secretary / secretarial services | Appointment | Yes |
| Nominee director / shareholder (if used) | Set-up | Yes |
| Bookkeeping / accounting | — | Yes (scales with volume) |
| Annual audit or review | — | Yes (mandatory) |
| HE32 annual return filing | — | Yes |
| Tax-return preparation (TD4) & provisional tax | — | Yes |
What does the one-off setup cost cover?
The one-off cost covers bringing the company into legal existence and getting it ready to operate. It is paid once, and for most straightforward companies it is the smaller of the two buckets over the life of the company. The components are:
- Registrar incorporation & name-approval fees — the government fees charged by the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property to approve the company name and register the incorporation. These are statutory fees set by the Registrar, not professional fees.
- Drafting the Memorandum & Articles of Association (M&AA) — preparing the company's constitutional documents, including objects and share structure, in the form required to incorporate under Companies Law Cap. 113.
- Initial tax registration — registering the company with the Cyprus Tax Department for a Tax Identification Code, and for VAT if you will trade above the registration threshold or choose to register voluntarily.
- Initial UBO register filing — recording the ultimate beneficial owners on the Registrar's UBO register at incorporation.
- Optional: nominee director / shareholder and secretarial set-up — if you use nominee services for confidentiality or substance, or appoint a professional company secretary, there is a set-up element on top of the recurring fee.
A useful distinction when reading any quote is between statutory fees and professional fees. The Registrar's name-approval and incorporation charges are fixed by the State and are the same whoever files them; the cost of drafting the M&AA, handling the registrations and providing nominee or secretarial services is professional work that varies by provider and by how bespoke your constitution and structure are. A standard single-shareholder trading company sits at the lower end; a multi-class share structure, a holding company with tailored objects, or a setup needing nominees and substance sits higher. When comparing providers, separate the two so you are comparing the professional element on a like-for-like basis.
A Cyprus private company has no statutory minimum share capital. A nominal authorised capital (commonly €1,000) is typical but does not need to be paid up, so share capital is not a real cost of formation — don't let it inflate your setup budget.
What does it cost to run a Cyprus company each year?
The recurring annual cost is usually the larger number over the life of the company, and it is where scope matters most. Every Cyprus company carries the same core obligations regardless of size; what varies is the effort each one takes. The recurring components are:
- Bookkeeping / accounting — maintaining the books to the required standard; this is the component that scales most directly with transaction volume.
- The annual audit or review — every Cyprus company must have its financial statements examined; this is typically the single largest recurring cost. See the dedicated section below.
- HE32 annual return — the annual return filed with the Registrar, accompanied by the financial statements.
- Registered office and company secretary — the statutory address and the maintenance of statutory registers, minutes and filings.
- UBO maintenance — keeping the beneficial-owner register accurate and confirmed each year.
- Tax-return preparation — preparing and filing the corporate income tax return (TD4) and dealing with provisional tax.
- Nominee and VAT/payroll, if used — recurring nominee fees, and VAT-return or payroll work where the company is registered or employs staff.
The obligations behind each of these — and their deadlines — are set out in full in our Cyprus company annual obligations guide.
For years every Cyprus company paid an annual company levy of €350. It was abolished from 2024 and is no longer a recurring cost. If a provider's quote still lists it, the information is out of date.
The audit or review fee — the biggest recurring item
For most companies, the annual audit or review fee is the largest recurring cost, so it deserves its own line in any budget. The examination of the financial statements is mandatory for every Cyprus company — there is no size exemption that removes the requirement entirely. What size does affect is which engagement you need: a smaller company may use a lighter-touch review rather than a full audit.
The review option is available where the company's turnover is below €300,000 and total assets are below €500,000. A review (under the ISRE 2400 standard) is a lower-assurance, generally lower-cost engagement than a full audit; companies above those thresholds need a full statutory audit. Both must be performed by an ICPAC-licensed practitioner. The choice between the two — and what each involves — is explained in our audit or review (ISRE 2400) guide. Because the fee tracks the assurance level and the complexity of the accounts, getting onto the review track where you qualify is one of the few genuine levers on annual cost.
What drives the cost up or down?
Two companies incorporated in the same week can have very different costs, because the components above scale with scope rather than with a fixed tariff. The main drivers are:
- Activity & transaction volume — a dormant holding company costs far less to run than an active trading business; bookkeeping and the audit/review both scale with volume and complexity.
- Audit vs review, and audit complexity — qualifying for a review lowers cost; group structures, foreign operations and large balance sheets increase audit effort.
- Nominee & substance services — nominee directors or shareholders and real local substance add recurring cost, but may be necessary for banking or residency.
- VAT and payroll — registration and ongoing returns add recurring work that a dormant company avoids entirely.
- Banking — corporate account opening and ongoing KYC support add one-off and sometimes recurring cost; opening an account is a project in its own right, covered in our opening a Cyprus bank account guide.
The practical takeaway is that the cost of a Cyprus company is best understood as a function of activity, not a fixed product. A holding company that simply owns shares and books a handful of entries a year will sit near the floor of every recurring component; a trading company invoicing daily, employing staff and filing VAT will sit well above it on bookkeeping, audit and the VAT/payroll lines. This is precisely why a single published price would mislead more than it helps — the honest answer is a scoped quote that prices the components your company will actually use.
Worked example: the total first-year cost framework
To budget realistically, add the one-off setup and the first year's recurring cost together — the first year is always the most expensive because you pay both buckets at once. Use this framework (component by component, not a quoted figure):
| Step | What to add in |
|---|---|
| 1. One-off setup | Registrar incorporation + name approval, M&AA drafting, initial tax/VAT/UBO registration, plus any nominee or banking set-up |
| 2. Year-one recurring | Bookkeeping, the audit or review, HE32 filing, registered office + secretary, UBO upkeep, TD4 preparation, plus VAT/payroll if applicable |
| 3. Total first-year cost | Step 1 + Step 2 |
| 4. Steady-state annual cost | Step 2 only — what you pay in every subsequent year |
| Do not include | The €350 levy (abolished 2024); paid-up share capital (no minimum); 15% corporate tax (a tax on profit, not a formation cost) |
Cyprus corporate tax (15% in 2026) is charged on profit, not on forming or running the company. A company with no profit pays no corporate tax but still incurs the setup and recurring costs above. Keep the two separate when budgeting.
Does a faster setup cost more?
Speed and cost are largely separate questions. Once the name is approved and KYC due diligence is complete, incorporation typically takes a few business days; expedited name approval is available where it exists, and banking and VAT registration can add time. The timeline and the process steps are covered in how to register a company in Cyprus — this article stays focused on what each stage costs rather than how long it takes.
Getting a clear, fixed price
The cost of a Cyprus company is entirely predictable once the scope is clear — what matters is matching the setup to what you actually need, so you are neither under-served nor paying for services you won't use. The biggest hidden cost is usually a structure that doesn't fit, not the formation fee itself; the second is forgetting that the audit or review and the annual filings recur every year, not just in year one.
Tell us what you are trying to do and we will give you a clear, fixed-fee proposal covering setup and the first year against the framework above — see pricing for how we structure fees, our company formation service for what is included, and get in touch to scope your company. This article is general information, not a personalised quote.