Offshore Companies

Choose the jurisdiction which best suits your needs

Isle of Man

Private Company Limited by Shares

General Info

Procedures to incorporate

The Isle of Man is an island of 221 square miles located in the Irish Sea, equidistant between the northeast of Ireland, the southwest of Scotland, and the northwest of England.

It has been a separate self-governing jurisdiction for over a thousand years and is not and has never been a part of the United Kingdom.

The benefits of Isle of Man Company

Zero Corporation Tax: profits on a company are taxed at 0% (banking and insurance business are taxed at 10%).
Zero Capital Gains Tax: on the sale of the holdings no tax will be paid on the capital gain.
Zero Inheritance Tax: property held within an Isle of Man company will not pay any inheritance tax in the estate of the ultimate owner.

Zero Stamp duty: in certain cases stamp duties on the transfer of the property/holdings can also be mitigated.
VAT Registration: an Isle of Man company can register for VAT for EU trade and sales.

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General Company Information

Type of Law: Common
Type of Entity: Limited
Time of Incorporate: 2 days
Minimum Government Fees: £380

Directors

Minimum number: One (and can be Corporate)
Local Directors required: No
Public records: Yes
Location of Meetings: Worldwide

+ Company Secretary

This is an optional role for private companies, so you do not have to appoint a secretary if you do not need or want to unless the articles of association state otherwise. Public companies are also required by law to have a company secretary appointed at all times.

+ Share Capital

Every company must state in its memorandum of association the amount of authorised share capital with which it is to be registered and how such share capital is to be divided into shares of a fixed amount. The authorised capital may be increased, or re-organised by resolution of the company in general meeting. A private company must have a minimum of one share in issue while a public company must have a minimum of two shares in issue. Further shares can be issued up to the amount of the authorised capital, and shares cannot generally be issued at a discount.

+ Annual Accounts

There are no requirements in the Isle of Man to file annual financial statements. Yearly profit and loss statements, balance statements and directors’ reports must be prepared and kept at the registered office despite there being no need to file these documents.

+ General Information

Transfer of Domicile permitted: Yes
Annual Return required: Yes

+ Members

Private limited companies are owned by one or more individuals (human or corporate) known as ‘members’. The members of limited by shares companies are called shareholders. The members of limited by guarantee companies are known as guarantors. Location of meetings are on a worldwide basis.

Publicly accessible records: Optional

+ Corporate Taxation

Companies resident in the Isle of Man are taxed on their worldwide income and are required to file an annual income tax return reporting worldwide taxable profits calculated in line with local legislation and practice. A non-resident company incorporated outside the Isle of Man but having a place of business or a permanent establishment (PE) on the Isle of Man will be taxed on the profit attributable to the Isle of Man establishment.

There are three rates of corporate income tax (CIT):

The 10% rate applies to income from (a) a banking business carried on in the Isle of Man on the basis of a deposit taking license issued by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, and (b) retail activities (i.e., the sale of goods to consumers through retail premises) carried on in the Isle of Man, but only if that profit exceeds 500,000 Isle of Man pounds (IMP) in the year.
The 20% rate applies to income derived from real estate situated in the Isle of Man.
The 0% rate applies to all other income.