Company formation in Hungary

At a glance

Entity

Private limited company (Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság, 'Kft.') — the vehicle roughly 80% of Hungarian businesses use

Corporate tax

9% flat corporate income tax, the lowest headline rate in the EU (2026). Add local business tax (HIPA) of up to 2% of adjusted net revenue, set by each municipality; large multinational groups may also face a Pillar Two top-up.

Incorporation time

~1-3 business days via the simplified electronic procedure once documents are signed; longer if signatures must be apostilled abroad

Minimum capital

HUF 3,000,000 (approx. €7,500). At least half of the cash contribution must be paid in before registration; the balance is due within one year.

Resident director

No residency requirement — the managing director (ügyvezető) can be a non-resident foreigner. A Hungarian delivery/service-of-process agent (kézbesítési megbízott) must be appointed for founders without a domestic address.

Audit

Statutory audit is exempt where both two-year averages are met: net sales revenue not exceeding HUF 600,000,000 (raised from HUF 300m effective 2025) and average headcount not exceeding 50. Exemption is lost if the company has over HUF 10m of overdue public dues at the balance-sheet date.

Remote set-up

Yes — the whole process can run without travelling to Hungary. A Hungarian attorney (ügyvéd) must draft and countersign the articles; this is legally mandatory. Founders sign under a power of attorney that must be apostilled (or consular-legalised) and accompanied by a Hungarian certified translation; the attorney files electronically.

Government fee

HUF 0 — registration of a Kft. via the simplified electronic procedure has been fee-free (illetékmentes) since 2017; the regular procedure and later amendments still carry duties. Expect to pay attorney, translation and apostille costs separately.

Best for

This suits founders who want an onshore EU company with the bloc's lowest corporate tax and a fast, low-cost setup. They need to tolerate mandatory attorney involvement and Hungarian-language filings.

The process

1. Engage a Hungarian attorney, reserve the company name, and prepare articles of association plus the founder's KYC/identification documents
2. Sign the articles and a power of attorney (apostilled and translated where the founder signs abroad); appoint a managing director and, if needed, a delivery agent
3. Attorney countersigns and files the application electronically with the Court of Registration (Cégbíróság); company receives its registration and tax numbers
4. Open a Hungarian corporate bank account, pay in the required share capital, and register for VAT and local business tax with NAV