Company formation in Jersey in 2026

Updated 7 October 2026

A company in a British Crown Dependency with 0% corporate tax for most activities, registration with the Jersey Financial Services Commission registry and economic substance rules for certain businesses.

Jersey is a British Crown Dependency with its own tax law. Most companies pay 0% corporate tax, financial services companies pay 10%, and utility companies and income from Jersey property are taxed at 20%. Goods and services tax is 5%. Companies are registered by the Jersey Financial Services Commission registry: the fee starts at $280, and each company must have a registered office on the island.

If you are looking to buy a ready-made company in Jersey, note that a change of owner goes through the same beneficial owner checks as a new registration, so the time saved is usually small.

Who a Jersey company suits

A Jersey company is chosen for holding shares and assets, for investment and family structures, for funds and for deals involving London banks. The island's law is close to English law, the courts and the registry are predictable, and a private company's accounts are not published.

It is neither a cheap nor an anonymous company. Ownership details are held by the Financial Services Commission, the company is run by a licensed provider, and for a number of activities the law requires directors, staff and spending on the island. Jersey suits a trading firm with customers in the European Union less well: the island is outside the EU and its VAT system.

Requirements and documents

A private company needs only one member and one director; the law sets no minimum capital. A company secretary and a registered office in Jersey are mandatory. Applications are filed only through the registry portal.

• the name: the registry reviews it and may not accept it; a name can be reserved in advance;
• the articles and memorandum, the company type and the capital structure;
• details of beneficial owners, controllers, directors, the secretary and members;
• proof of identity and address for each of them;
• a structure chart if the owner differs from the subscriber or the company is part of a group;
• a description of the activity, and a separate justification for sensitive activities;
• source of funds documents for the provider and the bank.

Directors' names are public in the registry; ownership details are not: they are seen by the Commission and authorised agencies.

How to register a company in Jersey: steps and timelines

For a late annual confirmation the registry charges an additional fee, and a prolonged breach leads to the company being struck off.

How much does it cost to open a company in Jersey in 2026

Registry fees are set by the Jersey Financial Services Commission and reviewed every year from 1 January. The incorporation fee depends on the timeline chosen at filing.

Amounts are converted to dollars at the Central Bank of Russia rate of 7 October 2026 and rounded up.

The main part of the budget is the licensed provider's services: registered office, secretary, owner checks and the annual confirmation. A turnkey package with registration, an address for a year, a secretary, first-year fees and apostilled documents is in the price table below; a manager will calculate the total for your structure in the chat.

Taxes and economic substance

• Corporate tax: 0% for most companies, 10% for financial services, 20% for utility companies and income from Jersey property.
• Since 2025 large multinational groups with revenue of $850 million or more pay 15% tax in Jersey.
• Goods and services tax: 5%. Registration is required once turnover on the island exceeds $400,000 over 12 months.
• There is no capital gains tax and no withholding tax on dividends.
• The 2019 economic substance law: resident companies in certain activities (banking, insurance, fund management, finance and leasing, holding, intellectual property, shipping and others) must show management and real operations on the island.

A company incorporated in Jersey is treated as tax resident on the island. The exception is where it is managed from a country with a corporate tax rate of at least 10% and is resident there. If the company is managed from another country, its profit may be taxed there. We settle this before registration, not after.

Why registration gets delayed

• Incomplete documents on source of funds and beneficial owners.
• The activity falls under the economic substance rules and there is no plan to meet them.
• The name is not approved or matches an existing one.
• The activity is a sensitive one and there is no justification for the registry.
• An existing company has missed its annual confirmation deadline.

Restrictions for certain nationalities

Jersey company law does not restrict members and directors by citizenship or residence. What decides is the review: the provider and the registry assess the owners, the source of funds and the activity, and for higher-risk countries it is deeper and takes longer.

Jersey applies United Nations Security Council and United Kingdom sanctions. People and companies on sanctions lists cannot have a company registered, and their assets on the island are frozen. Owners connected with Russia and Belarus should check in advance whether their business falls under UK bans on certain services and transactions: we assess this before work starts.

A separate rule concerns working on the island itself: to trade in Jersey or hire staff there, a company needs a business licence from the island's government. We check before registration whether your company needs one.

Annual obligations of a Jersey company

• From 1 January to the end of February: annual confirmation of details in the Financial Services Commission registry; the fee for a company administered by a licensed provider is $450.
• For a late filing the registry charges an additional fee on a scale from $110 in March to $1,100 in September.
• The company must keep accounting records at all times; a private company does not publish accounts in the registry.
• The company's tax return is filed with the Jersey tax authority by 30 November of the following year.
• Changes in directors and beneficial owners are reported to the registry through the provider.
• Companies covered by the economic substance law confirm compliance each year in the tax return.

Bank and currency

Jersey uses the pound sterling and local pounds at par with it. A company account is usually opened with a bank on the island or in the United Kingdom, provided the company has a clear activity and a local administrator.

What we do

We check whether Jersey is really what you need given the taxes in your country of residence, prepare the documents and the ownership file, register the company through a licensed provider, provide an office and a secretary and track the annual confirmation. Prices for each service are in the table below.

Fees

See also

Business account · Personal account · Investment property · All country programs

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