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A Lithuania company owned from abroad is nearly always a UAB (uždaroji akcinė bendrovė), the private limited liability company of the Law on Companies, entered in the Register of Legal Entities kept by the State Enterprise Centre of Registers, Registrų centras. It serves as a trading company in the euro area, as the subsidiary of a foreign group and as a holding company, and its minimum authorised capital has been EUR 1,000 since 1 May 2023. Lithuania also hosts a large regulated payments sector: on 7 October 2026 the Bank of Lithuania’s register listed five banks authorised in Lithuania, six branches of EU and EEA banks and 70 electronic money institutions licensed for non-limited activity.
The main difference from its northern neighbours lies in tax. Latvia and Estonia tax company profit when it is distributed; Lithuania taxes it as it is earned, with lower rates for small companies.
| Lithuanian form | Who may own it | Capital set by law | Usual purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAB | One or more individuals or companies, any nationality | Authorised capital of at least EUR 1,000 (EUR 2,500 before 1 May 2023), initial contributions paid in cash before registration | Trading, holding and subsidiary companies; the form sold ready-made |
| MB (mažoji bendrija) | Natural persons only, at most ten | No minimum capital | Small businesses of individuals that will never need a corporate owner |
| AB (akcinė bendrovė) | Individuals or companies | Authorised capital of at least EUR 25,000, with a supervisory board or a board | Companies offering shares to the public |
Registering a UAB, online for EU citizens or through a Lithuanian notary for other founders, is covered on our page about company formation in Lithuania.
| Item | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 17% since 1 January 2026, up from 16%, charged on profit as it is earned |
| Small companies | Gross annual revenue under EUR 300,000 and fewer than ten employees: 0% for the first two years of operations, then 7%, if the other conditions are met |
| Tax residence | A company incorporated in Lithuania is resident there |
| Annual tax return | By the 15th day of the sixth month after the tax year, so 15 June for a calendar year |
| VAT | 21% standard, 12% and 5% reduced; registration once supplies over the last 12 months pass the EUR 45,000 threshold, or acquisitions of goods from other EU states pass the EUR 14,000 threshold in a calendar year |
| Sale of shares | No stamp duty or transfer tax |
| Tax treaties | 58 in force as at March 2026; the EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives apply, subject to the principal purpose test |
Shareholders may be individuals or companies of any nationality and residence, and a foreign owner may hold every share. The company must have a manager (vadovas), its compulsory single-person management body, who need not live in Lithuania; a board and a supervisory board are optional for a UAB. Towards third parties the company is represented by the manager whose data stand in the register. The registered office (buveinė) must be in Lithuania. A manager from outside the EU who intends to live and work there needs the usual residence and work permits in a personal capacity, a matter for that person rather than for the company.
Ownership is recorded in two places. JADIS, the information system of participants of legal entities, holds the shareholders, and for a single-shareholder UAB it passes that shareholder’s data to the Register of Legal Entities. Its subsystem JANGIS, launched in 2022, holds the beneficial owners: natural persons with more than 25% of the shares, votes or profit entitlement, or control by other means. JANGIS is not public. State authorities and obliged entities carrying out due diligence, such as banks, have full access; anyone else must register, show a legitimate interest and request extracts company by company.
A UAB has a bank before it has a company code: its founders pay the capital into an accumulative account (kaupiamoji sąskaita), and the money becomes usable only once the company is registered, when it moves to the company’s own account at that bank or at another credit or electronic money institution. For the operating account, SEB looks for a clear connection to Lithuania, an ownership chain it can trace to every holder of 25% or more and a business model it understands, and its video onboarding needs a Lithuanian identity document; Luminor aims at Baltic residents and customers with strong Baltic ties. Lithuanian electronic money institutions issue LT IBANs too, but electronic money is outside deposit insurance, which protects up to EUR 100,000 per depositor in each credit institution. Each bank’s conditions are on our page about bank accounts for Lithuanian companies.
We supply ready-made UABs and register new ones, prepare the founding documents or the share sale papers for the notary and the filings with Registrų centras, JADIS and JANGIS, and help the company put its bank application together. Where we have a working contact at a suitable bank we can make an introduction, and the bank decides alone whether to open or keep the account.
UAB is the abbreviation of uždaroji akcinė bendrovė, a closed joint-stock company. In practice it is the Lithuanian private limited company: its shares may not be offered to the public unless a law allows it, and its shareholders answer for its debts only up to what they must pay for their shares. The public form, the AB or akcinė bendrovė, drops the word for closed and needs EUR 25,000 of authorised capital.
The standard rate is 17%, one point higher than in 2025, charged on each year’s taxable profit whether or not it is paid out. A company with gross annual revenue under EUR 300,000 and fewer than ten employees may pay 0% in its first two years of operations and 7% after that, provided it meets the remaining conditions. The return for a calendar year is due by 15 June of the following year.
Not the general public, as far as beneficial owners go. They are kept in JANGIS, to which state authorities and obliged entities such as banks have full access, while anyone else must register, prove a legitimate interest and ask for extracts. Shareholders are recorded in JADIS, and the register extract shows the company’s registration date, legal status, manager and registered office.
No. Neither the manager nor any board member has to live in Lithuania or hold its citizenship, and one foreign individual can own the UAB and manage it alone. The company does need a registered office in Lithuania. A manager from outside the EU who moves there to work applies for permits personally. Banks are a separate matter: SEB, for example, expects a clear connection to Lithuania whoever the manager is.
Weighing up a company in Lithuania? Tell us through our contact page who the shareholders and the manager will be, where they live and whether they are EU citizens, and we will explain what a new or a ready-made UAB would need. Telegram and WhatsApp reach us at +48 663 247 166.