🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is 160 square kilometres of Alpine valley with a flat 12.5% profit tax, no withholding tax on dividends, the Swiss franc in your wallet and EEA membership in your pocket. It’s also one of the most rationed places to live in Europe. Residence permits come by quota, and half of the EEA quota is drawn by lot. Yes, a lottery. For the right to pay low taxes.

That tells you what Liechtenstein is for. It’s a place to structure and hold wealth – foundations, trusts, holdings, family offices – not a place most founders can move to. Think of it as a well-run safe, not a new home. Here’s the picture as of September 2026.

Is it for you?#

It fits if you have meaningful family wealth to protect and pass on, want an EEA-based foundation or holding with a hard currency and top-tier courts, and work with a Liechtenstein trustee who knows your home country’s rules. It also fits operating businesses with real presence in the Rhine valley – and the thousands of people who live in Switzerland or Austria and commute to Vaduz every day, because that’s easier than winning a permit.

It’s the wrong choice if you’re a solo founder looking for a cheap low-tax company (a licensed local board member and CHF 50,000 capital for an AG are just the entry ticket), or if the plan depends on moving there. Without an EEA passport and luck in the draw – or a job as a key manager – you won’t get a permit. Charm doesn’t count, and neither does your net worth.

And if you still live in Germany or Austria: a Liechtenstein company doesn’t change where you pay tax. Your tax office knows where Vaduz is. At 12.5%, it sits below Germany’s 15% low-tax threshold for CFC rules – more on that under the catches.

Weighing it against Switzerland? Our Switzerland guide covers the neighbour that lets people in. For a broader shortlist, try the Jurisdiction Finder.

The company#

The vehicles#

• AG (Aktiengesellschaft) – the standard company, CHF 50,000 minimum capital.
• Anstalt (establishment) – a Liechtenstein speciality without shareholders in the usual sense; flexible and popular for holdings and family businesses.
• Foundation (Stiftung) – CHF 30,000 minimum capital, a foundation council of at least two members, one of them a Liechtenstein trustee or equivalent. The classic tool for asset protection and succession.
• Trust (Treuhänderschaft) – Liechtenstein has its own trust law, used alongside or instead of foundations.

Every legal entity needs local qualified management: companies without a local business licence must have a board member who is a licensed Liechtenstein trustee (Art. 180a PGR); trading businesses need a manager who meets the local licence requirements. A trustee handles formation, and the Office of Justice registers the company – about two weeks once due diligence is complete. Due diligence is the slow part; they will want to know where every franc came from, and they will read the answers.

How profits are taxed#

One rate, no brackets, no municipal trade-tax puzzle: the profit tax is a flat 12.5% on net profit, for companies, Anstalten and foundations alike. There’s a minimum tax of CHF 1,800 a year, credited against the profit tax – and waived if total assets stayed below CHF 500,000 in the previous three years. Dividends received and capital gains on shareholdings are generally exempt at company level.

Entities that don’t carry out any business activity and only manage private assets can apply for private asset structure (PVS) status. They then pay only the CHF 1,800 minimum tax, whatever their investment income. That’s the part of Liechtenstein the brochures don’t shout about, and the part that matters most.

There’s no withholding tax on dividends. Liechtenstein implemented the 15% global minimum tax (QDMTT and IIR), which only affects groups with €750 million+ turnover.

Worked example: €100,000 profit in a Liechtenstein AG#

The German column assumes an active trading business really run from Vaduz. If the income is passive (interest, licences, many intra-group services), Germany’s CFC rules can tax it in your hands immediately, dividend or not.

Running costs, banking and substance#

Expect roughly CHF 8,000–12,000 a year for a small AG: the trustee on the board, registered office, bookkeeping and tax return. Foundations cost similar or more, depending on the trustee and assets. Nobody here competes on price.

Liechtenstein’s banks – LGT, LLB, VP Bank and a handful of smaller houses – are private banks built for wealth. A foundation with a trustee and investable assets is routine. A one-person trading company with a few thousand in turnover gets the polite smile and a long wait. Plan banking together with the trustee before you incorporate.

Substance matters twice: to be respected as a Liechtenstein company (treaty access, bank comfort) and, more importantly, to stay out of your home country’s reach. A board meeting in Vaduz once a year, followed by a nice lunch, won’t outweigh daily decisions from your kitchen in Stuttgart – see place of management.

Living there#

Residence routes#

• EEA citizens: at least 56 permits for gainful activity and 16 without a year. Half are allocated by public draw – 28 for work (you need a job in Liechtenstein), 8 without work – for CHF 100 (preliminary draw) plus CHF 500 (final draw). The government allocates the rest.
• Swiss citizens: a separate contingent (at least 12 work and 5 non-work permits a year), decided by the government.
• Everyone else: no legal right to a permit. In practice it’s qualified managers and specialists a Liechtenstein employer can’t find in the EEA or Switzerland.
• Cross-border commuting: by far the most common route. Live in the Swiss Rhine valley or Austrian Vorarlberg and drive over. Note that you’re then tax resident where you live, not in Liechtenstein.

Citizenship is for the patient: 10 years of residence plus a municipal vote, or 30 years for the facilitated route – and you normally have to give up your old passport.

Personal tax#

If you do get in, the tax system is almost polite. Income tax is 1–8% at national level plus a municipal surcharge of 150–180%, so 2.5–22.4% combined (PwC). Dividends and capital gains on shares are tax-exempt for residents, with anti-abuse rules for low-taxed passive foreign companies. Instead, net wealth is taxed through a 4% notional return added to your income. Example: CHF 2 million net wealth adds CHF 80,000 of notional income. Lump-sum taxation exists for wealthy newcomers who don’t work in Liechtenstein – it still needs a permit, which is the bottleneck.

Daily life#

Vaduz has about 6,000 inhabitants, so life happens across the whole valley and over the Swiss and Austrian borders. Numbeo has no data for Vaduz; nearby St. Gallen sits at 105.7 (excluding rent) with a safety index of 77.6, and prices in Liechtenstein are at Swiss level. It’s safe, green and very quiet. Nightlife is a strong word here. The administration runs in German; bankers and trustees speak excellent English. Zurich airport is about 90 minutes away.

The catches#

Step by step#

FAQ#

Sources#

• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Liechtenstein, corporate taxes
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Liechtenstein, personal income tax
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Liechtenstein, income determination
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Liechtenstein, tax treaties
• Liechtenstein tax act (SteG)
• Liechtenstein National Administration – residence permit draw
• Baker McKenzie – Liechtenstein immigration overview
• Grant Thornton – the Liechtenstein foundation
• Grant Thornton – legal forms in Liechtenstein and Switzerland
• Council of the EU – EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions
• FATF – jurisdictions under increased monitoring