What Does a Cyprus Company Cost to Set Up and Run? (2026)

"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 publish starting prices, but a dormant holding company and an active trading company with payroll and VAT have very different total costs. Here is 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

For budgeting, separate one-off setup fees, recurring compliance costs and business funding or tax cash flow. 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 governance and secretarial set-up — if you appoint a professional director or company secretary, there may be a set-up element on top of recurring fees. A nominee appointment alone does not establish tax residence or business substance.

The Registrar lists €10 per proposed name and €165 to register a company with share capital; an expedited name application adds €20 per name and expedited incorporation adds €100. Certified copies are additional where requested. For a standard private company with shares, €10 + €165 = €175 in two basic official fees, not the total cost of launching a business. 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.

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.

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 depends on the company meeting the applicable turnover, asset, period and other statutory tests. ICPAC states that the turnover threshold rose from €200,000 to €300,000 only for financial years beginning on or after 6 February 2026; the other criteria, including the €500,000 gross-assets threshold, remain subject to assessment. 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.
• Governance and substance — any professional director or other governance service adds cost; tax residence and banking requirements require a separate factual assessment, not merely a nominee appointment.
• 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 combines setup and recurring components, though later years may cost more if activity grows. 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
Show separately	Working capital, issued share capital and expected corporate tax. Do not add the abolished current-year €350 levy; check any old arrears.

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.

What do published starting prices actually buy?

At the time this guide was reviewed in October 2026, PLF's public pages advertised company setup from €998 and full accounting from €2,048 per year. These are starting prices for different service categories, not a universal first-year quotation. The simple sum, €3,046, is useful only as an illustration of why a setup figure alone does not describe the first year's budget. It does not establish that your company qualifies for both starting prices, that every required service is included, or that one price can be added to the other without overlap. Ask for a written scope and a single first-year schedule before treating any combination as your budget.

In particular, ask whether the published setup fee includes the Registrar's name and incorporation payments, document drafting, government-certified copies, registered office, company secretary, initial tax registration, VAT assessment and beneficial-owner filing. Then ask whether the accounting starting fee includes bookkeeping, annual financial statements, an audit or eligible review, the annual return, corporate-tax work and any VAT or payroll returns. Some firms bundle several of these; others charge separately. Without that breakdown, two attractive starting prices cannot be compared with a complete quote from another provider. Check whether VAT applies to each professional-service line and whether third-party disbursements are passed through at cost.

The €175 basic official-fee example earlier in this guide is a separate Registrar calculation for a standard share-capital company: one €10 name request plus €165 incorporation. It must not automatically be added on top of a provider's quoted setup fee. If that quote already includes official fees, adding €175 counts them twice. If it excludes them, add the actual government charges and any chosen expedited or certified-copy services. For a company without share capital, the Registrar lists a different incorporation fee; for unusual structures, obtain the relevant fee schedule rather than applying the standard-company example.

Turn the first-year budget into a cash calendar

An annual total can still leave a new company short of cash at the wrong moment. Divide your budget into amounts due before incorporation, amounts due when the company begins operating, and recurring or later statutory costs. Before incorporation, identify the fee to prepare documents and the official filing disbursements. At launch, allow for any balance of the professional setup fee, registered-office arrangements, initial accounting configuration and practical banking work. After trading begins, set aside the periodic bookkeeping, payroll or VAT work that your activity actually requires. Year-end financial statements, assurance and annual filing work may be invoiced much later than the incorporation date.

Do not assume “year one” is a uniform twelve months in every quotation. Ask when the accounting year begins, whether the annual service charge is prorated, what happens if the first financial period is shorter or longer, and when the first HE32 and financial-statement work will be billed. A founder who receives a low setup invoice but a large year-end invoice has not necessarily saved money; the cost has simply moved in time. Cash needed for employees, suppliers, share subscriptions or tax payments belongs on a separate line, because these are business obligations or funding needs rather than a price for incorporating the entity.

If the business might remain inactive for several months, ask for a low-activity estimate with explicit assumptions and a second estimate for the planned trading volume. If the company will import, export, employ staff, hold overseas subsidiaries or make numerous transactions, describe those facts before requesting a price. The cost of reconciling hundreds of transactions and preparing more complex accounts will not be captured by a dormant-company starting price. A calendar tied to actual activity is more reliable than a headline annual number.

A written quote checklist that prevents surprises

Send the same short brief to each prospective provider so that their offers can be compared on equal terms. State the proposed activities, expected first-year revenue band, approximate monthly invoice and bank-transaction counts, expected number of employees, whether VAT registration or cross-border supplies are likely, who will own and direct the company, and whether it will hold property or interests in other entities. Flag any deadline, but do not assume faster company registration also means faster bank onboarding. These are scoping inputs, not a request to promise tax residence or a particular regulatory outcome.

Request a line-by-line answer showing one-off professional fees, official disbursements, recurring office and secretarial fees, bookkeeping frequency, annual accounts and audit or review, tax filings, VAT and payroll, and optional support. For each line, ask whether the figure is fixed, conditional or an estimate; whether VAT is included; what transaction or staff volume it assumes; and what triggers a revised fee. The inclusion or exclusion of the first annual return and assurance engagement often makes the largest difference between two seemingly similar offers. Specify who will perform the work and which filings you must approve or sign.

Finally, ask for the payment schedule and what happens if the company changes course. A useful quote explains whether unused setup work can be credited if formation stops, whether extra director or shareholder changes are charged separately, and how fees change when the business grows. Keep the written scope alongside the first-year cash calendar. That gives you a defensible total for the service you expect to receive, rather than an impressive but incomplete entry price.

Getting a clear, fixed price

A scoped budget is more useful than a headline price — 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.