Entity Formation in Luxembourg

Ready for a permanent Luxembourg presence? We help you incorporate the right way, and stay alongside you for the accounting, payroll, and compliance that follow. Independent advice, including telling you when it is too early, and when a plain SARL is all you need rather than a holding structure.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Honest timing

What incorporating in Luxembourg means

A SARL (société à responsabilité limitée, private limited company) is the standard vehicle for a permanent business presence, formed by notarial deed and RCS (Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés) entry, minimum capital EUR 12,000. Larger or listed operations sometimes use an SA (société anonyme, minimum capital EUR 30,000, 25% paid at incorporation). When you form one, you become the legal employer and operator in Luxembourg, with full control and no per-employee EOR fees.

01

Your own company

Your own SARL makes you the legal employer and operator in Luxembourg, with full control of employment terms and a local presence in one of Europe’s most closely watched financial centres.

02

Lower cost at scale

No per-employee EOR fees. For permanent, proven headcount, owning the entity is more cost-effective than ongoing EOR arrangements.

03

Setup takes time

Incorporation typically takes several weeks once the notarial deed, capital deposit, and RCS filing are in place, and you cannot employ anyone until registration completes. Timing the move matters, which is why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

How incorporating in Luxembourg works, step by step

From structuring the company to operating it compliantly.

01 — Structure & prepare

We confirm incorporation is right for you, and whether you need a plain trading SARL or a structure that elects participation-exemption (SOPARFI) tax treatment, then prepare the deed, run the company-name availability check, and arrange your registered Luxembourg office address.

02 — Capital & notarisation

The deed is executed before a Luxembourg notary, as required by law. Minimum share capital is EUR 12,000 for a SARL (EUR 30,000 for an SA, 25% paid at incorporation), deposited before the notary formalises the company.

03 — Register the company

The company is entered in the RCS via the notary, then registered for corporate tax with the ACD and for VAT with the AED, so you can operate and employ compliantly.

04 — Operate & stay compliant

Business bank account, then ongoing accounting, payroll, filings, and annual reporting, all of which we can run for you.

What incorporating in Luxembourg costs

Two kinds of cost: the one-off formation, and the ongoing operating obligations. Luxembourg’s formation cost is moderate; the real commitment is the ongoing compliance, and getting the tax treatment right if you are forming a holding structure. We give you a clear figure before you commit.

Share capital & formation

Minimum share capital for a SARL is EUR 12,000, fully paid before the notary formalises the company (EUR 30,000 for an SA, 25% paid at incorporation). Notary and RCS filing fees are on top, typically a few hundred to low thousands of euros depending on complexity.

Corporate tax

14% on taxable income up to EUR 175,000, a smoothing band to EUR 200,000, 16% above that. Add a 7% employment-fund surcharge on the tax itself and Luxembourg City’s 6.75% municipal business tax, and the combined rate runs roughly 21.73% (smaller companies) to 23.87% (larger companies).

VAT

Standard rate 17%, the lowest standard VAT rate in the EU, with reduced rates of 14%, 8%, and 3% depending on the goods or service. Registration with the AED is mandatory for any economic activity regardless of turnover, except a national small-business franchise below EUR 50,000/year introduced in 2025.

Ongoing obligations

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax and CCSS contributions), VAT and corporate tax filings, and annual accounts filed with the RCS, all of which we can manage for you.

Why form your Luxembourg company through Bradford Jacobs

Why companies incorporate in Luxembourg through us rather than a one-off formation agent.

We advise you on the best time to incorporate

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

End-to-end, not just the paperwork

We do not disappear after registration. We stay on for the accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your company runs, not just exists.

  • Beyond registration
  • Ongoing compliance
  • One team throughout

The right specialists, in place

Notary, tax, and accounting partners we have vetted and worked with, including specialists in participation-exemption structuring for holding companies, coordinated for you, so the process moves and nothing gets missed.

  • Vetted specialists
  • Coordinated for you
  • Nothing gets missed

Two decades of formations

Two decades forming and running entities across global markets, with the local knowledge to keep you compliant and out of the common traps.

  • Incorporations
  • Legal & tax partners
  • Traps avoided

We run it after you form it

Incorporation is the start, not the finish. We stay on for accounting, payroll, tax filings, and annual accounts, so your company operates from day one without you building a local finance function.

  • Full back office
  • Accounting & payroll
  • Annual accounts

The incorporation trap nobody flags

A growing business hits a good quarter and someone says, let us just set up a proper Luxembourg company, maybe even a SOPARFI holding structure. It sounds responsible. It is often the wrong first move, or built on a misunderstanding. Here is what people expect against what happens in practice.

Employment & payroll obligations

Expectation: SOPARFI is a special company type we register for. Reality: SOPARFI is not a distinct legal form or licence, it is an ordinary SARL or SA that elects participation-exemption tax treatment (a qualifying stake of at least 10%, or a EUR 1.2 million acquisition cost, held or committed for 12 months). Setting one up wrong, or forming one when you actually just need a trading SARL to employ staff, wastes the exemption and the notary fee alike.

Tax, filing & reporting obligations

Expectation: we can always reverse it. Reality: dissolving a company needs a shareholder resolution, creditor notification, and a winding-up period. And once it exists, the obligations do not stop: annual accounts filed with the RCS, monthly payroll filings if you employ anyone, corporate tax and VAT returns, and correct participation-exemption documentation every year if the structure relies on it. None of this is a reason not to incorporate. It is a reason to get the structure right the first time.

What we handle for your company

Beyond incorporation, we can run the full back office for your company.

Compliant payroll

Compliant Luxembourg payroll and employment administration, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and CCSS contributions calculated, withheld, and filed each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on incorporating and running a company in Luxembourg.

How long does it take to incorporate in Luxembourg?

Usually a few weeks once the notarial deed, capital deposit, company-name check, and registered office are in place, then RCS registration itself is fast once filed. You cannot legally employ anyone until registration completes, which is why timing matters and why many companies bridge with an EOR first.

EUR 12,000, fully paid before the notary formalises the company (EUR 30,000 for an SA, 25% paid at incorporation). Notary and RCS filing fees are on top. The real cost is the ongoing accounting and compliance, which we can run for you.

Yes. There is no residency or citizenship requirement for shareholders or managers (gérants); a non-EU, non-resident individual can be sole shareholder and sole manager, managing remotely. You will need a registered Luxembourg office, which we arrange.

SOPARFI is not a separate legal form, just an ordinary SARL or SA that elects participation-exemption treatment for dividends and gains from a qualifying subsidiary stake (at least 10%, or a EUR 1.2 million acquisition cost, held 12 months). If you are hiring staff and trading, you almost certainly want a plain SARL, not a holding structure. We advise on which one actually fits before you form anything.

Accounting, monthly payroll (income tax and CCSS contributions) if you employ anyone, corporate tax and VAT filings, and annual accounts filed with the RCS. We can run all of it so the entity stays compliant without you building a local finance function.

Yes, and it is how most companies use us. Beyond incorporation we provide ongoing accounting, payroll, and compliance, so your Luxembourg company operates smoothly from day one without hiring locally for back office.

Ready to form your company in Luxembourg?

Tell us your plans for Luxembourg and we will tell you honestly whether now is the time to incorporate, and which structure actually fits, then handle it end to end if it is, usually scoped within a day. No formation-mill upsell, just the right call.

Tax, company, and labour data verified July 2026 (CCSS, IGSS, ACD, the Luxembourg RCS). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your formation.