A Gibraltar company will take 3-5 days to incorporate. An urgent incorporation can be requested at an additional cost and can be completed in 24 hours. Incorporation of a Gibraltar company is subject to completion of our due diligence process.

We no longer keep shelf companies. As above, once we have completed our compliance checks, we can incorporate a Gibraltar company in 24 hours if needed

There is no requirement to visit our office. All our paperwork is online. Our ID verification software is online in addition to our company order forms. Clients are always welcome to visit our office, by appointment.

Corporation tax in Gibraltar is 12.5%. This is chargeable if the income in the company is accrued or derived from Gibraltar. This means, that if the person generating the income for the business is based in Gibraltar or the company is invoicing a Gibraltar business then it would be liable for the 12.5%. Non-resident companies are normally not liable for this tax. We recommend clients seek independent tax advice in their country of residence.

A Gibraltar company must file an annual return each year (this is usually on the anniversary of the incorporation date).

A Gibraltar company must also file accounts and a tax return each year even if the company is not chargeable to tax. The corporate tax return and accounts requirements will depend on the company size and the residency status.

There is no requirement to have a local director in Gibraltar however you should consider that companies are normally deemed taxable where the director is based from a management and control perspective.

At present, the secretary does not need to be locally based but is usually recommended so filings can be made to the registrar without penalties. It is understood that a local secretary requirement will be introduced shortly in Gibraltar.

Some documents require an original signature when submitting to the registrar. The documents have to be filed within 14 days so using a local secretary is sensible. Most companies use a corporate service provider like Octopus as we use a software platform that generates the paperwork for the registrar.

Gibraltar has no inheritance tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax or value added tax. Gibraltar has corporation tax and personal income tax which can be capped at 26%.

Yes, Royalties are taxed at 12.5%.

Any EU citizen can become resident in Gibraltar subject to having a suitable property and meeting one of the four criteria below. At Octopus, we guide you through the process.

There are 4 ways to become tax resident currently. Self-Sufficient route is not currently available. These are listed below:

1) Category 2 – this is for high-net-worth individuals with £2M or more of assets. See below – What is Category 2 residence?

2) HEPSS (High Executive Possessing Special Skills) – this is a regime which applies to individuals who bring their skillset to Gibraltar which is not readily available. See below – What is HEPSS residence?

3) Ordinary residence – this requires you to rent or buy a property in Gibraltar suitable for your needs, you must reside for 183 days or more and be employed in Gibraltar.

4) Self-employed – Only available to British nationals or residents already in Gibraltar.

The only difference is that a resident company is where the client is resident in Gibraltar, undertakes its business activity in Gibraltar and is subject to local taxation. A non-resident company is where the client is not resident in Gibraltar and potentially outside the scope for taxation in Gibraltar.

This will depend on the activity of the company and where the clients are based. We recommend independent tax advice is taken as the company may be taxable where the client is resident.

There are plenty of options to open bank accounts for a Gibraltar company. We use a combination of banks and electronic money institutions to open accounts. Each banking institution has their own requirements, so we assess the best option for each Gibraltar company on a case-by-case basis.

This is for high-net-worth individuals with £2M or more of assets.

You need to rent or buy a premium property in Gibraltar.

You are required to have private medical insurance and cannot compete with local businesses. The tax is capped on £118,000 of income which equates to a maximum of £44,740.

There is a zero-day residency requirement for this regime.

You cannot have been resident in the previous 5 years.

This is a regime which applies to individuals who bring their skillset to Gibraltar which is not readily available. This was set up to attract individuals in the gaming sector although has expanded to other areas of financial services.

Your income would be capped at £160,000 under the gross based system (£43,140). Any income earnt from the company above that would not be subject to tax. To comply, you must have a premium property available for your use and cannot have been resident for the last 3 years. You will need to reside for 183 days or more in Gibraltar.

Octopus can provide a corporate director service for Gibraltar companies which are asset holding or consultancy companies. Octopus do not provide these services to trading companies or high-risk sectors. If Octopus are directors, then we would control the bank account on behalf of the company.

Octopus can provide a corporate nominee shareholder for clients whereby we hold the shares under a declaration of trust for the client.

Yes, it is a statutory requirement for Gibraltar companies to file annual accounts and tax returns even if there is no taxable income in Gibraltar.

Yes, Octopus has an in-house accounting team who can assist with accounts and tax returns. In addition, we work with third party accountants depending on what is required, the size of the company, the number of transactions and the turnover.

Yes, we can provide weekly or monthly payroll services for Gibraltar companies, this service will depend on the activity of the company and the average number of transactions. We use software designed to generate the payslips and undertake the tax computation.

The Directors can choose an accounting year end for the company. The date must be within 18 months of the incorporation date and accounts must be prepared and filed each year after that. Gibraltar’s accounting year end date is 30 June so local companies may tend to choose this for simplicity.

Each company must file a tax return within 9 months of the accounting year end.

If tax returns are not filed in time, penalties will become liable:

• 1 day late £50 fine
• 3 months late an additional £300 fine
• 6 months late an additional £500 fine

Only companies with assessable income in Gibraltar in excess of £1.25 million are obliged to submit audited accounts.

Companies which are licensed and regulated will be required to submit audited accounts.

Failing to pay the annual renewal will result in us resigning services. After two years of not filing annual returns, the company will eventually be struck off the register. If the company has debts, the creditors can apply to the courts for a reinstatement.

They provide a record of transactions that a business has carried out. The records allow the Directors to monitor the activities of the business and measure its performance over time.

Records must be kept for 6 years following the closing of a company.