Liechtenstein company formation: AG, GmbH, Anstalt

Updated 5 October 2026

12.5% on profits and access to the EU market, but as a rule a foreign owner cannot register a company without a licensed local director. We cover the AG, GmbH, Anstalt, foundation and Trust reg.: capital, board rules, timelines, fees, taxes, filings, banks and sanctions limits for Russian and Belarusian citizens.

Is it worth setting up a company in Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein taxes company profits at 12.5%. Next door in Austria the rate is 23%, almost double, and on top of the low rate the principality offers membership of the EEA (European Economic Area, the single market of the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the Swiss franc as its national currency.

The entry ticket is high too. Minimum capital runs from 10,000 to 50,000 francs and must be paid in full. The minimum tax is 1,800 francs a year even with no profit; only small companies with genuine commercial activity are exempt. And the board must include a local licensed professional whose services the company pays for. So even a company with no turnover costs real money every year.

It suits holding companies and family wealth structures, businesses that need access to the EU market from a low-tax country, and people doing succession planning through a foundation or trust. It does not suit a small online business turning over a few tens of thousands of euros: the fixed costs will eat the whole benefit of the rate. Nor does it suit anyone looking to relocate: a Liechtenstein company gives its owner no right to live in the country. Even EU citizens get residence permits here under a quota.

What the EEA brings. An EEA member since 1995, Liechtenstein lets its companies provide services and open branches across the single market. For financial firms this is the main draw: a Liechtenstein banking, insurance or investment fund licence can be extended to EU countries under single market rules. Goods are different: for customs, Liechtenstein is in a union with Switzerland, not the EU.

For the capital and life in the principality, see Vaduz.

Which form to choose: AG, GmbH, Anstalt, foundation or Trust reg.

Liechtenstein has five popular legal forms, and two of them, the Anstalt and the Trust reg., barely exist anywhere else. All are governed by the PGR (Personen- und Gesellschaftsrecht, the 1926 Persons and Companies Act), and Article 122 sets the minimum capital. Capital can be stated in Swiss francs (CHF, the principality's currency), euros or US dollars, with the same figures, and the minimum must be paid in full.

For an ordinary operating company the GmbH is the easiest start: the lowest capital, and one founder is enough. The AG suits plans for outside shareholders. Banks and foreign tax authorities sometimes ask more questions about the Anstalt and Trust reg.

A private foundation without a commercial business need not be entered in the commercial register: a formation notice (Gründungsanzeige) filed within 30 days with the Amt für Justiz (Office of Justice, which keeps the register) is enough. More on the Liechtenstein private foundation and Liechtenstein trust pages.

Who must sit on the board: Article 180a PGR and the representative

Liechtenstein's defining feature is Article 180a of the PGR. It requires the board (Verwaltung) of every company, foundation or Anstalt to include at least one member with authority to manage and sign for it who holds a local licence. Without such a person, registration will not go through.

Who qualifies for the role:

• a national of an EEA country or a person treated as equal under an international treaty, or a legal entity;
• holding a licence under the Treuhändergesetz (Trustee Act) or under the special act on persons under Article 180a. Licences are issued and supervised by the FMA (Finanzmarktaufsicht, Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority).

In practice a local trust company or licensed Treuhänder (professional trustee) takes the role. The exception covers companies that a special law, such as the Gewerbegesetz (Trade Act), already obliges to have a manager, and organisations under state supervision: an option for a real business with staff in the country, not for a holding.

Representative. Article 239 of the PGR requires the company to appoint a Repräsentant, a representative before the authorities. This is an EEA national permanently resident in Liechtenstein, or a local company. The government can waive the requirement if the company is otherwise reliably represented or has a local address for service.

Registered office and secretary. The registered office (Sitz) must be in Liechtenstein, usually provided by the same trust company. The law has no separate mandatory company secretary role of the kind found in the UK or Gibraltar.

Other directors and owners can come from any country. There is one restriction: Article 180b of the PGR, added in 2024, bars anyone convicted of insolvency offences, or of fraud or breach of trust with an unsuspended prison term of at least a year, from serving as a director with signing authority of an AG or GmbH. The ban lasts five years from the final judgment, and equivalent bans in other EEA countries count too.

How to register a company in Liechtenstein: steps and timelines

The law sets an exact deadline for only one case: a GmbH formed by individuals using the standard templates and filed online must be entered in the register by the Amt für Justiz within 5 working days of a complete filing, and other electronic GmbH filings within 10 working days (Article 984e PGR). There is no statutory deadline for other forms, and documents and owner checks usually take longer than registration itself.

Do you need to travel. The PGR does not require the founder to appear in person: documents can be signed by a representative under a power of attorney, and for a foundation it must be a special power of attorney for that specific act. Online filing needs an electronic ID recognised in Liechtenstein, which a Russian or Belarusian citizen without EU documents usually lacks, so the provider files. A bank may ask to meet in person.

How much it costs to set up a company in Liechtenstein: capital and fees

The largest mandatory sum at formation is not a fee but the capital: 10,000 francs for a GmbH, 30,000 for an Anstalt, foundation or Trust reg., 50,000 for an AG. The money stays with the company and later goes into its business, but it has to be paid in before registration.

Worked example: a GmbH with 10,000 francs of capital is below both the 1 million and 200,000 franc thresholds, so it pays no Gründungsabgabe and no register surcharge, only the base register fee, the public deed fee and the local professional.

Annual costs add up from the minimum tax, the licensed board member and representative, the registered office, bookkeeping and the review of accounts.

What taxes a Liechtenstein company pays

There is one rate for everyone: 12.5% of net profit (Article 61 of the Steuergesetz). No progressive scale and no cantonal surcharges as in Switzerland. Companies, foundations and Anstalten pay profit tax on the same terms.

PAS, a private asset structure. Privatvermögensstruktur (Article 64 of the Steuergesetz) is a status for a company or foundation that only holds a family's securities, shareholdings, cash and bank accounts and runs no business. Such a structure pays only the 1,800 franc minimum tax a year and is not assessed in the usual way, but it confirms to the tax administration every year that it meets the conditions. Neither the structure nor its owners may actually influence the management of the companies it holds shares in.

VAT and customs. Liechtenstein has been in a customs union with Switzerland since 1923, so VAT follows Swiss rules and rates rather than EU rules.

The owner's own taxes depend on their tax residence: where controlled foreign company rules apply, Russia included, the low Liechtenstein rate alone does not remove tax at home.

Is an audit required and what a company must file

A full audit in Liechtenstein is mandatory only for companies above the small size class, which is a relief for most foreign owners. But only micro companies can skip any check of their accounts at all, and only if all owners agree.

Annual accounts. AGs, GmbHs and other companies covered by the disclosure rules file their approved annual accounts with the Amt für Justiz no later than 12 months after the financial year end (Article 1122 PGR). AGs with bearer shares cannot waive the review.

Beneficial owners register. Under the VwbPG (Beneficial Owners Register Act), details of ultimate owners are filed within 30 days of registration, or for an unregistered foundation within 30 days of filing the formation notice, and updated when they change. The register is not public: the data are available to authorities and to organisations that check clients, such as banks and financial institutions. An outsider can request the data for a fee only by showing they are needed to fight money laundering or terrorist financing.

Bank accounts and Russian and Belarusian citizens

Registering the company is the easy part; the bank account is a separate exam, and the owner sits it, not the company. The principality's banking sector is small and geared to private banking, serving large private wealth, so a bank looks first at the person, the origin of their money and the purpose of the structure.

The bank decides for itself: a register entry does not oblige it to open an account. The realistic order: a clear business model and source-of-funds documents, then the company, then the bank. A company with no link to Liechtenstein may find it easier to bank elsewhere in the EEA or in Switzerland. More on business accounts in Liechtenstein and personal accounts in Liechtenstein.

Russian citizens. The PGR has no nationality bar, but Liechtenstein follows EU sanctions against Russia: the government ordinance of 10 March 2022 on measures in connection with the situation in Ukraine cites EU Council decisions and mirrors their key bans:

• a bank may not accept deposits totalling more than 100,000 euros (or the franc equivalent) per bank from a Russian citizen or a person living in Russia (Article 21);
• trusts may not be set up or serviced if the settlor or a beneficiary is a Russian citizen or resident; the ban extends to foundations and to Anstalten and Trust reg. structured like foundations (Article 29d);
• legal, accounting, audit and consulting services may not be provided to the Russian government or to companies established in Russia (Article 29e).

The first two bans do not apply to citizens of an EEA country or Switzerland, or to holders of a temporary or permanent residence permit of an EEA country or Switzerland. A Russian with EU residence falls outside the foundation ban; a Russian living in Russia falls within it.

Belarusian citizens. A separate ordinance of 18 March 2022 bars accepting deposits above 100,000 euros from Belarusian citizens and residents, with the same exception for EEA and Swiss citizens and residents. It has no foundation and trust ban like the Russian one.

Even where the bans do not apply, expect enhanced checks of sanctions lists, source of funds and business links to Russia or Belarus. A trust company or bank may refuse without giving reasons, so gather proof of income and of tax residence outside Russia or Belarus in advance.

What we do

• we look at your goals and say plainly if Liechtenstein is not right for you and Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg or Cyprus makes more sense;
• we help you choose the form: GmbH, AG, Anstalt, foundation or Trust reg.;
• we prepare the owner due diligence pack, constitutional documents, translations and apostilles;
• we file with the commercial register through a licensed partner and see the registration through to the register extract;
• we arrange the registered office, the licensed board member under Article 180a PGR and the representative through partners with a local licence;
• we file beneficial owner details and track annual filing deadlines;
• we bring in Murblz accounting and tax specialists for tax filings and VAT and, where needed, an auditor for the review;
• we prepare the compliance pack for the bank and support the account opening;
• we connect the company with a family structure: a private foundation or a trust.

Under Liechtenstein law only a locally licensed person can be the qualified board member, and the representative must be based in Liechtenstein, so these functions and legal representation are handled by our partners licensed in Liechtenstein. Other countries are covered under company formation and company registration abroad.

Fees

See also

Business account · Personal account · Investment property

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