What a Cyprus company actually costs

A Cyprus company has three cost layers: one-off government fees, which are small, fixed and published; professional setup fees, which vary wildly between providers and are where quotes get creative; and the annual running costs that most incorporation ads never mention. This page lays out all three, with state figures as of July 2026. Our own service fees are in the pricing table on this page — fixed, so you can do the comparison yourself.

Government fees at incorporation

The state’s share of a standard formation:

Two pleasant absences: Cyprus charges no capital duty on share capital, and stamp duty was abolished from 1 January 2026 — contracts signed before that date still fall under the old rules, but new agreements attract none.

Service fees: what you are actually comparing

Every provider bundles differently, which is how a “cheap” formation quote grows on contact. When comparing offers, check whether the price includes: constitution drafting for your actual cap table (not a template), the registered office and secretary for the first year, tax (TIC) and VAT registrations, the UBO filing, and bank account support. If a line is missing, it returns later as an invoice. How the process itself runs is documented separately.

Annual running costs: the honest list

The recurring items every owner should budget from year one:

• Bookkeeping and VAT compliance. Scales with transaction volume and whether you are VAT-registered — scope and inclusions are on the accounting services page.
• Financial statements and audit or review. Every company prepares annual financial statements. Small companies — under €300,000 turnover (for financial years starting from 6 February 2026; previously €200,000) and under €500,000 in gross assets, both for two consecutive years — may have a review engagement instead of a full audit, still performed by a licensed auditor.
• Annual return (HE32). A €20 filing fee — and a deadline. Filing late costs €50 plus €1 per day, capped at €150 per return; details on the HE32 page.
• UBO confirmation. An annual confirmation window at the end of each year, plus filings within 45 days when ownership details change. Breaches are priced aggressively: €100 for the first day, €50 per day after, capped at €5,000.
• Registered office and secretary. Service fees, typically billed annually — when comparing providers, check whether they are bundled or invoiced separately.

The €350 annual levy: gone, with a footnote

The annual company levy of €350 was abolished for 2024 and all later years — the vote passed on 29 February 2024 and the law was published that March. The footnote: unpaid levies for 2011–2023 did not disappear. They remain collectable, with surcharges of 10% to 30% for late payment. Forming a fresh company, you will never see this charge; taking over an existing one, ask for proof the arrears are settled.

Timeline by stage

The pattern worth internalising: the state is rarely the bottleneck. The client-side document pack and the bank’s compliance queue set the real calendar.

Costs nobody quotes upfront

• Apostilles and certified translations. Any foreign document in the chain — corporate shareholder certificates especially — needs legalisation, priced by the issuing country, not by Cyprus.
• Certified copies. Banks and counterparties ask for certified corporate documents at €120–€130 per set from the Registrar.
• Bank charges. Onboarding and account maintenance fees vary by institution and profile — no provider controls them, and any quote pretending otherwise is guessing.
• Penalty exposure. A slipped HE32 costs up to €150, UBO breaches up to €5,000, and VAT filings carry their own fines. Boring calendar discipline costs less than any penalty it prevents.
• Levy arrears on second-hand companies. See above — the €350-per-year ghost of 2011–2023.

A realistic first-year budget is therefore: government fees (fixed, tiny), professional setup (compare like for like), plus the recurring accounting, audit and office costs that keep the company in good standing. Everything else is either avoidable with discipline or specific to your bank and documents — and we will tell you which, in writing, before you commit.