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ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Latvian companies for international founders since 1995. Our Riga team handles every step of company formation in Latvia on a single fixed-price contract — from picking the right legal form through Uzņēmumu reģistrs registration, VID tax registration, UBO filing and your first Eurozone bank account. Most clients are trading inside 1–3 weeks, or in 3–7 working days if they choose a ready-made gatava SIA.
Single payment covers UR filing, UBO register, virtual juridiskā adrese and our service fee.
Company + adrese + Latvian banking + grāmatvedības birojs under one roof.
Standard formation 1–3 weeks. Latvian-speaking case manager.
eIDAS-qualified e-signature, Latvian consulate, or delegate to our Riga attorney via pilnvara.
We draft the statūti, file UR, register PVN, file UBO.
The SIA is the workhorse of Latvian commerce. Governed by the Komerclikums (Commercial Law).
For listed entities and capital-raising structures. Min capital €35,000, registered shares, dual-tier governance (Padome + Valde).
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIA (full) | €2,800 | 1–3 weeks | Default — SMEs, holdings |
| SIA (small) | €1 | 1–2 weeks | Bootstrapping (≤ 5 individual shareholders) |
| AS | €35,000 | 4–8 weeks | Listed groups |
| Filiāle | Parent-dependent | 3–6 weeks | Multinational presence |
| Gatava SIA | €2,800 (paid) | 3–7 days | Need immediate trading |
Confirm legal form, member structure, business activity (with NACE codes), juridiskā adrese, banking preferences.
The articles of association are drafted by our Riga attorney, bilingual Latvian-English.
Founders sign with notarised or attorney-certified signatures. Foreign founders can sign at any Latvian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate via pilnvara.
Open a deposit account at a Latvian bank, deposit €2,800 (full SIA) or €1 (small SIA). Bank issues a confirmation attached to the UR filing.
Files submitted electronically via the UR portal at ur.gov.lv. Processing: 1–5 working days. Registry fees: ≈ €60–150.
The reģistrācijas numurs doubles as the tax ID. Within 10 days the company files with VID for:
Beneficial owners filed in the Patieso labuma guvēju reģistrs at UR within 14 days.
Convert deposit account to operating account. Latvian banks: Swedbank Latvia, SEB Latvia, Luminor Bank, Citadele, Rietumu Banka, BlueOrange.
| Scenario | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| SIA via electronic UR filing | 1–3 weeks |
| Mazā SIA | 1–2 weeks |
| AS (joint-stock) | 4–8 weeks |
| Filiāle of foreign company | 3–6 weeks |
| Gatava SIA — transfer rather than formation | 3–7 working days |
Standard SIA via electronic UR filing: 1–3 weeks total.
€2,800 for a standard SIA, fully paid. €1 for “mazā SIA” (small SIA) with restrictions: max 5 individual-person shareholders, mandatory 25% profit retention to a statutory reserve until €2,800 is reached.
No. Neither dalībnieki nor valdes loceklis need Latvian or EU residency. Latvian banks apply enhanced KYC to non-EU UBOs (post-2018 ABLV-related compliance tightening).
Latvian SIAs pay 0% CIT on retained profits. CIT triggers only when profits are distributed (dividends, deemed distributions like excess remuneration to related parties). Effective rate on the net distribution is 25% (20/80 grossup). For a company that reinvests earnings, this can mean tax-free compounding for years until distribution.
0% on retained profits. 25% effective on distributed profits. VAT 21% standard. Total effective rate depends entirely on distribution policy and reinvestment strategy.
Yes, with substance considerations. Most foreign clients use a Riga virtual juridiskā adrese with regular valdes loceklis visits.
VID tax registration (PVN, VAT-EU), UBO filing, bank-account activation, accounting engagement. Most clients are operational within 2–3 weeks.
Ready to register your Latvian company? Contact our Latvian desk.
Latvia is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Latvia for your SIA specifically? Estonian-style; 0% retained, 2026 SME 15%+6% option is the headline reason — but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you’re pricing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Latvia specifically: 0% on retained / 20% nominal (25% effective via taxable-base divided by 0.8) on distributed – Estonian model since 2018. New 2026 alternative: 15% CIT + 6% PIT for individual-shareholder companies.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Latvia:
Yes. A name change is filed with the UR via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing — typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change in the standard fee for both shelf-company purchase and new formation. Subsequent changes are billed at cost.
Yes. As a Latvia-tax-resident SIA, your company has automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the EU Interest and Royalties Directive, and the network of Latvia’s bilateral double-tax treaties (typically 70-90 partner countries). Treaty access is conditional on meeting the principal-purpose test (PPT) under the Multilateral Instrument and the relevant treaty’s anti-abuse provisions.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural — for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in Latvia or a domestic tax-base reform — we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and offer a pricing-defined remedial path. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
A SIA is a separate legal entity Latvian-tax-resident with its own corporate tax filings and beneficial-owner record. A branch is an extension of a foreign parent — the foreign parent is the legal entity, the Latvia branch books local-source income but the parent’s overall tax liability cascades. Most foreign owners pick a SIA for liability ring-fencing and clean tax accounting; branches are sometimes preferred where the parent has specific group-relief or treaty considerations that depend on common legal personality.
Engaging us for your Latvian new SIA formation covers the following deliverables under one fixed-fee proposal:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC — we operate the same fixed-fee model globally for Latvian corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are quoted line-item separately so there is no scope creep on the headline incorporation or transfer fee.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Latvia consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive — a Latvian SIA can engage in any lawful commercial activity — but choosing a jurisdiction where the activity has a deep operating ecosystem (talent pool, regulatory familiarity, banking and supplier networks) materially shortens the time from incorporation to first revenue. Tell us your activity profile and we will confirm whether Latvia is the right fit before we begin.
A Latvian SIA sits within the EU treaty framework — automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive (zero withholding on intra-EU dividends meeting the holding test), the Interest and Royalties Directive, and Latvia’s bilateral double-tax treaties with non-EU partners. The treaty network is shaped by the OECD Multilateral Instrument since 2017, which embedded a Principal Purpose Test (PPT) into existing treaties to deny benefits where a structure was set up primarily for tax advantage rather than genuine commercial purpose.
Common Latvian SIA patterns we see: EU-wide trading hub with VAT one-stop-shop, IP holding with treaty-protected royalty flows, regional headquarters serving CEE/Western EU subsidiaries, and licensing-and-distribution structures using EU passport rights. Each pattern has its own substance and transfer-pricing implications which your consultant will map before structuring.
The 2026 corporate-law and tax landscape in Latvia: 20% nominal / 25% effective on distributed headline corporate tax. 0% on retained / 20% nominal (25% effective via taxable-base divided by 0.8) on distributed – Estonian model since 2018. New 2026 alternative: 15% CIT + 6% PIT for individual-shareholder companies.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Latvian structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above EUR 750M consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the UR’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Latvian tax regime, but reporting obligations to the UR apply to every entity regardless of size.
We track these regulatory currents continuously and flag anything material to active clients within working days of the change being announced. You do not need to monitor Latvia regulatory news yourself — that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: UR confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Latvia tax authority following the financial year-end, usually 6-12 months after period close), and VAT/sales-tax returns (monthly or quarterly cadence depending on turnover, where applicable). Beneficial-owner-register updates are event-triggered (filing required when ownership changes) rather than calendar-based.
Penalty consequences vary by jurisdiction but typically follow a pattern: small late-filing fee for short delays, larger automatic penalty for sustained non-filing, and ultimately strike-off from the UR for prolonged non-compliance. Strike-off voids the company and may require court application to restore. Our retainer service handles the full filing calendar so this never happens to a client on our books.
Three layers determine the after-tax dividend: Latvia corporate tax already paid at the SIA level on profits (20% nominal / 25% effective on distributed); Latvia withholding tax on outbound dividends, which is the variable that depends on where the recipient sits — zero under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive for qualifying EU/EEA corporate holders meeting the minimum holding test, reduced rates under bilateral treaties for non-EU recipients, default Latvian statutory rate where no treaty applies; and recipient-country tax on the dividend in the parent’s hands (often subject to participation exemption at the recipient level). Your consultant maps this end-to-end in the initial scoping so the after-tax economics are clear before incorporation.