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People still search for a Gibraltar offshore company, but Gibraltar law has no such form. Its Companies Act 2014 knows companies limited by shares, limited by guarantee and unlimited, each private or public, and nearly every business uses a private company limited by shares whose name ends in Limited, the same company we supply ready-made or register new. Two features give it its offshore reputation. Gibraltar taxes a company at 15% only on profits accrued in or derived from Gibraltar, judged by where the activities producing them take place, and it has no VAT. Against that, a licensed activity counts as carried on in Gibraltar, and the beneficial owners of every company sit on a register the public can search.
Doing business in Gibraltar therefore suits holding structures, since dividends received and capital gains are not taxed, and businesses whose work and licence genuinely sit there, not owners seeking secrecy. Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory with its own company and tax laws; it left the European Union together with the United Kingdom, and its only comprehensive double taxation agreement is with the United Kingdom.
| Vehicle | Key legal rule | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Private company limited by shares (Limited) | No minimum share capital; one director is enough; a secretary who is not the sole director | Trading and holding companies, and the form sold ready-made |
| Public limited company | At least £20,500 of allotted share capital before it may start business; two or more directors | Companies with outside investors or a listing in view |
| Limited liability partnership | Partnership with limited liability under its own 2009 Act | Professional and partnership firms |
| Protected cell company | Formed under the Protected Cell Companies Act 2001 | Funds and captive insurers |
Foreign companies can also register a branch in Gibraltar or move their domicile there. Registration itself is covered on our page on Gibraltar company formation.
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Corporate tax rate | 15% since 1 July 2024; 20% for utility and fuel suppliers and for companies with a dominant market position |
| What is taxed | Profits accrued in or derived from Gibraltar; licensed activities are treated as Gibraltar activity, and royalties, and inter-company loan interest above a set level, received by a Gibraltar company count as Gibraltar income |
| VAT | None; since 15 July 2026 a transaction tax applies to goods imported into or produced in Gibraltar, but not to services |
| Dividends paid out | No withholding tax |
| Dividends received and capital gains | Not taxed |
| Registration for tax | Automatic once the company is on the Companies House register |
| Treaties | One comprehensive agreement, with the United Kingdom |
Gibraltar sets no nationality or residence test for shareholders or directors, and a private company may have a single director, who can even be a corporation. Two local requirements remain. Every company has a company secretary, an office a sole director cannot also hold, and keeps a registered office in Gibraltar, a service only a licensed person may offer to the public. Forming and managing companies, supplying directors, secretaries or nominee shareholders, and acting as a director by way of business count as company management under the Financial Services Act 2019 and need a licence from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
Ownership is on public view. Each company files its ultimate beneficial owners, individuals with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or a senior manager where nobody qualifies, with the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners within 30 days of incorporation or of any change. We can arrange the secretary every company must have, and a director or nominee shareholder if you want one, only through a company manager the GFSC has licensed; section 231 of the Companies Act 2014 makes void any agreement releasing such a director from liability, and the UBO register shows you as beneficial owner and, where it applies, as nominator or appointor.
Gibraltar law has no dormant-company status, so a company files every year whether it trades or not. The annual return is made up to the anniversary of incorporation and delivered within 30 days. Accounts reach Companies House within 12 months of the financial year end, as an abridged balance sheet for micro and small companies. The Income Tax Office receives Form CT1 with signed accounts within nine months after the end of the month in which the accounting period closes; above the audit threshold of £1.75 million of assessable income those accounts are audited, and below it an Independent Accountant’s Report goes with them. New directors or a new secretary are reported within 14 days, share transfers and a moved registered office within 30 days.
Gibraltar International Bank opens no business accounts online: it starts with an emailed questionnaire on management and control, source of funds and wealth, counterparties and countries of trade, then wants certified documents, which may be certified abroad, and a Certificate of Good Standing where the company is more than 12 months old. Trusted Novus Bank considers only businesses registered in Gibraltar or the United Kingdom, NatWest International’s business account is limited to residents of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar, and Turicum Private Bank takes on companies in enhanced risk sectors such as distributed ledger technology. Airwallex lists Gibraltar among eligible countries and Wise checks support at sign-up. Deposits are protected up to £120,000 per depositor per credit institution. An account a ready-made company already holds stays with it, but the bank reviews the new owners and may keep it, ask for more or close it. See our page on bank accounts for Gibraltar companies.
Companies House says incorporation normally takes three working days, so a ready-made company in Gibraltar is seldom bought for speed. An off the shelf company in Gibraltar is worth it when age matters: it comes with years of annual returns, accounts and tax returns on file and can obtain the Certificate of Good Standing that a bank or counterparty may ask for. It brings no licence, no trading record and no VAT number, since Gibraltar has none, and its change of owner reaches the public record within weeks. Where age does not matter, a new Limited is the simpler start. Buying is covered on our page on the Gibraltar shelf company, registration on the formation page, and what company age proves in our guide to aged shelf companies. Russian speakers can read about Gibraltar companies and buying a ready-made one (in Russian).
We can supply a ready-made Gibraltar company or form a new one, prepare the transfer or incorporation documents and the returns to Companies House and the UBO register, help prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, make an introduction; the decision is the bank’s alone.
No, although the names look alike. A Gibraltar Limited is registered at Companies House Gibraltar under Gibraltar’s own Companies Act 2014 and taxed by Gibraltar’s Income Tax Office, not by HMRC. Several rules differ: every Gibraltar company must have a company secretary, which a private UK company does not need, and its beneficial owners go on Gibraltar’s own public UBO register. Profits are taxed at 15% on a territorial basis, and there is no VAT.
No. Gibraltar left the European Union together with the United Kingdom, so EU directives such as the Parent-Subsidiary Directive no longer apply to its companies, and it remains outside the EU VAT system. The Treaty on Gibraltar and the European Union Act 2026 has, since 15 July 2026, charged a transaction tax on goods imported into or produced in Gibraltar; services stay outside it.
Yes. Gibraltar’s Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners can be searched online by the public. It shows the individuals holding more than 25% of a company’s shares or voting rights, or a senior manager where no one does, and also names nominators behind nominee holdings and the people who appointed directors since 9 February 2021. Filings at Companies House, including share transfers and accounts, are open to anyone too.
Not on dividends it receives: Gibraltar charges no tax when a Gibraltar company receives dividends from another company, and it has no capital gains tax. Dividends it pays out carry no withholding tax, whoever the shareholder is. The company still reports each dividend it declares to the Income Tax Office on Form CT2, within nine months after the end of the period in which it was declared.
Yes, where the business itself is regulated. Financial services, including company management, need GFSC permission, and gaming needs its own licence; a ready-made company holds neither, so a regulated business applies for its own. Names are checked too: words such as Bank or Blockchain need a GFSC no-objection, given only after full permission for the activity, and gaming words such as Casino or Bet are referred to the Gambling Division.
Considering a Gibraltar company? Ask us which ready-made Gibraltar companies are available now, with their incorporation dates, or what a new Limited would need, through our contact page. Telegram and WhatsApp work too, at +48 663 247 166.