Ky Company Formation

---
name: ky-company-formation
description: "Source-cited draft: company formation & entity choice for Cayman Islands (tax year 2025) — rates, thresholds and rules with primary-source citations. Unverified; pending local-accountant review."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/ky-company-formation"
  jurisdiction: "KY"
  tax_year: "2025"
  last_updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# Cayman Islands Company Formation & Entity Choice

## Company formation in the Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands is a leading offshore incorporation centre. The most common vehicle for non-resident business is the exempted company, alongside exempted limited partnerships and LLCs. There is no minimum share capital and no corporate tax, but companies pay annual government fees and must keep a registered office and statutory registers.

- **Common entity types** — Exempted company; ordinary resident/non-resident company; exempted limited partnership (ELP); limited liability company (LLC); segregated portfolio company (SPC); foundation company  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://www.harneys.com/our-blogs/regulatory/cayman-islands-companies-act/)_
- **Most common offshore vehicle** — Exempted company — may not carry on business with the public in Cayman except in furtherance of business carried on outside the Islands  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://multilaw.com/Multilaw/Multilaw/Global_Business_Entities_Guide/Cayman_Islands_-_Exempted_Company.aspx)_
- **Minimum share capital** — None — there is no statutory minimum share capital; companies are commonly authorised with a nominal capital (e.g. US$50,000) to stay in the lowest annual-fee band USD  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://multilaw.com/Multilaw/Multilaw/Global_Business_Entities_Guide/Cayman_Islands_-_Exempted_Company.aspx)_
- **Minimum directors / shareholders** — At least one director and one shareholder; no residency requirement and corporate directors are permitted ((confirm current minimums))  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://multilaw.com/Multilaw/Multilaw/Global_Business_Entities_Guide/Cayman_Islands_-_Exempted_Company.aspx)_
- **Registered office** — Required — every company must maintain a registered office in the Cayman Islands, normally provided by a licensed corporate services provider  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://www.harneys.com/our-blogs/regulatory/cayman-islands-companies-act/)_
- **Incorporation timeline** — Typically 1–5 business days for standard registration; expedited same/next-day service available for an additional express fee ((approx — confirm))  _(General Registry — Cayman Islands — https://www.ciregistry.ky/fees/)_
- **Name reservation fee** — Between US$49 and US$195 to reserve a company name for up to four months, depending on the reservation period USD  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) — Fees Regulations (Cayman Islands) — https://www.ciregistry.ky/fees/)_
- **Initial / annual government fee — band 1** — Exempted company with no registered capital or registered capital up to CI$42,000: CI$925 annual fee (increased from CI$825, effective 1 January 2025) CI$
- **Initial / annual government fee — band 1** — Exempted company with no registered capital or registered capital up to CI$42,000: CI$925 annual fee (increased from CI$825, effective 1 January 2025) CI$
- **Annual government fee — band 2** — Exempted company with registered capital over CI$42,000 up to CI$82,000: CI$1,225 annual fee (increased from CI$1,125, effective 1 January 2025) CI$  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) — Fees Regulations (Cayman Islands) — https://www.harneys.com/our-blogs/regulatory/cayman-islands-proposed-changes-in-partnership-and-company-fees-takes-effect-from-1-january-2025/)_
- **Annual return filing** — Every company must file an annual return and pay the annual government fee in January each year following its year of registration  _(Companies Act (2025 Revision) (Cayman Islands) — https://www.ciregistry.ky/fees/)_
- **Beneficial ownership register** — Most Cayman companies must maintain an adequate, accurate and current beneficial ownership register and file required particulars  _(Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (Cayman Islands) — https://www.harneys.com/our-blogs/regulatory/cayman-islands-companies-act/)_
- **Economic substance / annual compliance** — In-scope entities must file an annual economic substance notification and (where carrying on relevant activities) an ES return; CRS/FATCA reporting applies to financial institutions  _(International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (Cayman Islands) — https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cayman-islands/corporate/other-issues)_

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-07-13. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `ky-company-formation` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/ky-company-formation. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.