Company Formation in Monaco

You set up a company in Monaco by obtaining government authorisation for your project, signing articles for a SURL, SARL or SAM, depositing capital in a Monaco bank and registering locally with real premises. It suits families, family offices and owners who live in Monaco and run a genuine local business, rarely an international trading company.

Key points

• Foreign founders need prior authorisation from the Monaco Business Office for a SARL or SURL, and a ministerial decree for a SAM. Every company needs a physical address in the Principality.

• Minimum capital is €8,000 for a single-member SURL owned by an individual, €15,000 for a SARL and €150,000 for a SAM.

• Profits tax (ISB) is 25%, but only for businesses earning more than 25% of turnover outside Monaco. There is no personal income tax for residents, except French nationals.

• Monaco has no tax treaty with India or the UK, has been on the FATF grey list since June 2024 and is preparing a 15% domestic minimum tax for groups with revenue of €750 million or more.

• Monaco is one of Europe's most expensive places to run a company, and works when the owner genuinely lives there.

Why do founders and families set up a company in Monaco?

Founders and families set up in Monaco mainly because they live there, or plan to, and want a local company to employ staff, manage family assets or run a business serving the Principality and the Riviera. Tax matters, but the decision almost always starts with the person, not the company.

Monaco offers stability, security, deep private banking and a customs union with France. For an ultra-high-net-worth family, a Monaco SAM or SARL can act as a family office, employing the people who manage investments and property. Our guide to 24 jurisdictions in Go Global with Greenwolf places Monaco in the wealth and succession group for that reason.

Monaco is rarely the right base for a trading or international services company. A business earning more than 25% of its turnover outside Monaco pays 25% profits tax, and the government vets every project first.

Who Monaco is not for: founders who will keep living in India or the UK, e-commerce, SaaS or trading businesses selling mainly abroad, and anyone wanting a quick, low-cost incorporation.

If you want a lower-cost European base that you will genuinely run yourself, compare our guide to company formation in Andorra.

What types of company can you register in Monaco?

Most foreign founders choose a SARL (limited liability company) or, since the 2025 company law reform, a single-member SURL. A SAM (Société Anonyme Monégasque) is used for larger businesses, family offices and regulated activities.

The figures below come from the government's comparison of legal forms and its page on the SURL, introduced by Law No. 1.573 of 8 April 2025 on the modernisation of company law.

A SARL or SURL manager must be a natural person, and in practice the authorities expect at least one manager to live in Monaco or the immediately neighbouring French or Italian towns. A SAM needs a board and two statutory auditors (commissaires aux comptes).

How is a Monaco company taxed in 2026?

A Monaco company pays profits tax (Impôt sur les Bénéfices, ISB) at 25% only if more than 25% of its turnover comes from outside Monaco, or if it earns income from patents, trademarks or other intellectual property. A business trading wholly or mainly inside the Principality is generally outside ISB, as the government's corporate income tax guidance explains.

The rate has stood at 25% since 2022. The main points for 2026:

• The 25% turnover test decides whether ISB applies. A family office invoicing a Monaco resident family is often outside it; a consultancy billing clients in London or Mumbai is usually inside it.

• Administrative offices of foreign groups are taxed on a deemed profit of 40% of operating expenses where that exceeds actual profits.

• Start-up relief: new ISB-liable businesses get temporary relief, historically a two-year exemption then a phased base over three years.

• Withholding tax: none on dividends, interest or royalties paid abroad.

• VAT: the French system applies, with a 20% standard rate.

• Personal tax: residents pay no personal income tax, except French nationals, who remain taxable in France under the 1963 France–Monaco convention.

Treaties. Monaco has only a small treaty network (including France, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Qatar, Liechtenstein and Guernsey), and none with India or the UK. India and Monaco have a Tax Information Exchange Agreement in force since 27 March 2013, according to the Embassy of India in Paris. Monaco also exchanges account data under the Common Reporting Standard.

Global minimum tax. Monaco's government submitted a draft law on 28 July 2026 to introduce a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax for groups with consolidated revenue of €750 million or more, for years beginning on or after 31 December 2026, as KPMG reports. For how these rules work across a group, see our page on GloBE (Pillar Two) and the end of arbitrage at scale.

How do you register a company in Monaco step by step?

Registration runs through the Monaco Business Office (part of the Business Development Agency) and the online portal MonGuichet. For a foreign-owned SARL the process looks like this:

1. Project meeting. Present the activity, people and premises to the Monaco Business Office before filing.

2. Secure premises. Every company needs a physical Monaco address from day one: a lease, a business centre, or briefly the manager's home if there are no employees.

3. Apply for authorisation. File the form, two sets of articles, passports, birth certificates and recent criminal record extracts for every partner and manager.

4. Review. The statutory review period for a foreign-owned SARL is 45 days once the file is admissible, according to the official SARL set-up guide.

5. Capital and signing. Deposit capital with a Monaco bank, sign the articles and publish an extract in the Journal de Monaco.

6. Registrations. Register with the Trade and Industry Register (RCI), obtain a statistical number (NIS), declare to the tax office and register the manager for social security.

A SAM needs notarised articles and a ministerial decree, with capital subscription and founding meetings completed within three months of the decree, as the SAM guide sets out.

Realistic timeline: three to four months for a straightforward SARL or SURL, and four to six months or more for a SAM or a project needing a bank account for a new arrival.

How much does it cost to open a company in Monaco?

Filing fees are modest; premises, people and professional fees are the real cost. The ranges below are indicative, not official tariffs.

A realistic all-in running cost for a small Monaco operating company with a serviced office is €50,000 to €120,000 a year before staff salaries.

Can a Monaco company open a bank account, and what do banks ask for?

Yes, but opening the account is often the slowest step. Monaco banks expect a clear source of wealth, a credible business plan, local premises and, for new residents, a substantial personal relationship with the bank.

Expect requests for certified passports, CVs, source-of-wealth evidence, group charts down to the individuals, the authorisation and projected flows. Private banks often expect several hundred thousand euros for a personal relationship.

Monaco's addition to the FATF grey list in June 2024 has made banks at home and abroad more careful. The FATF found in June 2026 that Monaco had substantially completed its action plan, and removal could be considered at the October 2026 plenary.

Until then, expect enhanced due diligence when a Monaco company deals with banks in India, the UK or the EU. We explain why this happens in why banks challenge group structures before tax authorities do.

What substance does a Monaco company need?

A Monaco company needs real premises, a locally resident manager and decisions taken in Monaco; the authorisation regime itself screens out shells.

The bigger risk sits at home. A Monaco company run from Mumbai can be Indian resident under the test we cover in POEM: can a foreign company be managed from India?. If a UK company owns it, UK CFC rules can re-attribute low-taxed offshore profits. The wider principle is set out in our page on economic substance after 2022.

A family holding vehicle should also sit apart from operating risk, as our guide to holding vs operating companies explains.

How do you get Monaco residency through a company?

Monaco has no residence-by-investment programme. Foreign nationals over 16 who live in Monaco for more than three months a year need a residence card (carte de séjour) from the Directorate of Public Security, as described on the government's residence permit page.

Applicants generally need Monaco accommodation suitable for the family, proof of sufficient means (usually a Monaco bank attestation, a local employment contract or an authorised Monaco business) and a clean record.

The card follows where you actually live. The first card is usually temporary and renewable, leading to longer cards after several years of genuine residence. Indian nationals also need a long-stay visa from the French consulate before applying.

For tax purposes, moving to Monaco only works if you also cease to be resident at home. Our page on how founder behaviour quietly shifts tax residency explains how days and board seats pull residence back.

How does an Indian resident set up or fund a Monaco company?

An Indian company invests under the ODI route; a resident individual uses the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (US$250,000 a year). We compare them in how an Indian founder can fund an overseas company: ODI vs LRS.

Two Monaco-specific points matter:

• Family office and investment companies. Resident individuals cannot make ODI in an entity engaged in financial services and face limits on step-down subsidiaries, so a Monaco investment company needs careful classification. See our ODI rules explainer.

• No DTAA. Dividends from a Monaco company are taxed in India at slab rates for individuals under the Income-tax Act 2025 (in force since 1 April 2026), with no Monaco withholding to credit. Monaco holdings must be reported in the foreign assets schedule.

Families moving from India to Monaco should plan succession at the same time; see our guide to offshore trusts and succession planning for mobile Indian families.

For UK owners: with no UK–Monaco treaty, UK resident individuals pay UK tax on Monaco dividends in full and the transfer of assets abroad rules can attribute company income. UK corporate owners must test the subsidiary under the CFC rules.

What are the ongoing compliance requirements?

A Monaco company must keep full accounts and keep its registrations current. The main obligations are:

• Annual accounts approved by the members; SAMs have them audited.

• ISB return and payment for companies in scope, due within three months of the year end, with quarterly instalments.

• VAT returns where the company makes taxable supplies.

• Beneficial ownership filings with the Trade and Industry Register, updated when owners change.

• Prior approval for changes in activity, managers and often shareholders, because the authorisation is tied to the people.

• Social security and payroll filings.

Monaco vs Andorra vs Switzerland: which fits?

Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland all attract wealthy families, but they solve different problems. The table compares them for a founder or family considering a move with a company.

The Greenwolf view

Monaco is a place to live and manage wealth, not a place to book profits. When clients ask us about a Monaco company, the first question we ask is who will live there, and for how many days. If the answer is nobody, Monaco is the wrong answer.

When the family is genuinely moving, a Monaco SAM or SARL can be an excellent hub for the people who run its affairs. We design it alongside the personal move, the exit from India or the UK and the holding structure above it, because those decisions drive the tax outcome far more than the Monaco company itself.

Be realistic about banking, the lack of treaties with India and the UK, and the cost base. A company without local management, premises and a credible activity will struggle with the Business Office, its bank and tax authorities at home.

Setting up in Monaco with Greenwolf

If you are planning a move to Monaco or setting up a family office there, Greenwolf Advisors can map the personal residence plan, the Indian or UK exit, the holding structure and the Monaco authorisation as one project. Speak with a Greenwolf strategist before you sign a lease or move money.

This article is general information, not advice for a specific case.