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Seychelles Company Ongoing Costs: The 3-Year Total
A standard Seychelles IBC costs US$2,550 over three years with us, US$410 of it government fees. See how accounting, nominees and late fees change that total.
Licensed auditor & chartered accountant · 6 years of experience in offshore accounting
A Seychelles IBC is paid for every year you keep it, and any add-ons repeat with it. In this post, we’ll add up the first three years: the base cost, the add-ons that fit your setup, the one-off charges, and the costs that only appear when a deadline is missed.
Quick Summary
A standard Seychelles IBC costs US$2,550 over three years with us, formation plus two renewals at US$850 each, with US$410 of it in government fees.
A trading company that uses our accounting adds from US$1,050 over three years, and audited accounts, which the IBC Act does not require of a standard IBC, add from US$1,950 more.
A nominee director and a nominee shareholder add US$4,800 over three years, at US$800 a year each.
One-off items such as the US$25 government fee for a certificate of good standing or a US$150 certificate of incumbency are small, but come back whenever a bank asks for a current one.
Missed deadlines are where the total jumps: the annual fee rises 10% and then 50%, the company is struck off and dissolved on day 181, and a missed records lodging carries a Registrar’s penalty from US$5,000.
Three-Year Cost of a Standard Seychelles IBC
A standard IBC, with no nominees and no bookkeeping bought in, costs US$850 a year with us, and the government’s fees sit inside that price. Year one carries the US$130 registration fee in the FSA fee schedule, and the US$140 annual fee falls due on or before each anniversary of incorporation (section 12), so years two and three carry one US$140 fee each.
Year | Government fees | Our price | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
Year 1 | US$130 | US$850 | US$850 |
Year 2 | US$140 | US$850 | US$1,700 |
Year 3 | US$140 | US$850 | US$2,550 |
That is US$2,550 over three years, US$410 of it paid to the government. The answer to how much a Seychelles company costs in any single year is US$850, and each renewal covers the annual fee, another 12 months of registered office, beneficial ownership register upkeep, records lodging support and deadline reminders.
Three-Year Cost by Type of Company
The base price is the same for every setup; what your company does moves the total.
Setup | What is added | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|
Holding company with no trading | Nothing | US$2,550 |
Trading company with bookkeeping | Our accounting, from US$350 a year | From US$3,600 |
Trading company whose bank asks for audited accounts | Our accounting plus audited accounts from US$650 a year | From US$5,550 |
Any company with a nominee director and a nominee shareholder | US$800 a year for each nominee | US$7,350 before accounting |
Holding company with no trading: holds shares or other assets and has no trade of its own. It needs no annual financial summary unless its turnover passes SCR 50,000,000, and like any company with no trading, it can send the registered agent a signed declaration for each half-year with no transactions instead of lodging records.
Trading company with bookkeeping: keeps full accounting records, lodges them at the registered office twice a year if they are kept abroad, and prepares an annual financial summary within 6 months of year end at any turnover. Our accounting price rises with transaction volume.
Trading company with audited accounts: the IBC Act does not require a standard IBC to be audited, so this is for a company whose bank, investors or group ask for one.
Any company with nominees: a nominee keeps your name out of a casual search, never away from regulators, banks or courts. The registers record each nominee and who they act for, the beneficial owner goes on the FIU’s database, and from 1 January 2027 current directors’ names become public.
Rows combine, so a trading company with our accounting and both nominees starts at US$8,400. Pricing only year one is one of the common formation mistakes, because every add-on in this table repeats each year the company exists.
One-Off Costs to Budget For
Some charges come up only when something happens. The government filing fees are set in the Second Schedule of the International Business Companies Act 2016.
Item | Cost | When it comes up |
|---|---|---|
Certificate of good standing | US$25 government fee | Bank reviews, contracts and licence applications, whenever a current one is asked for |
Certificate of incumbency | US$150 with us | Bank account opening and larger transactions |
Apostilled document set | Budget US$150 to US$400, by document count and courier | When a bank or authority outside Seychelles wants apostilled originals |
Name change or amended articles | US$50 government fee within 30 days of the resolution, US$100 after | When you rename the company or change its constitution |
Change of registered office | US$50 government fee | When the company’s registered office moves |
A certificate of good standing is only issued while every fee and penalty is paid, so a late renewal also holds up the certificate.
Costs Outside Seychelles
Three more costs are set by someone else.
Bank and EMI Account Fees
Banks and EMIs set their own account fees, and some banks also expect substance and a minimum balance before they open an account. Approval is always the institution’s decision.
Home-Country Tax Advice
Your home country’s tax rules, including any controlled foreign company rules and rules on where a company is managed, apply whatever Seychelles charges. Budget for an adviser where you live and for any filings required there.
Licences for Regulated Activities
An IBC can never carry on banking, cannot carry on insurance or securities business in Seychelles, and needs the licence the law requires for mutual funds, gambling or virtual asset services (section 5). Where your activity needs one, the licence is a separate project with its own application and annual licence fees.
What a Missed Deadline Adds
The annual fee is due on or before each anniversary of incorporation (section 12). Records penalties follow the Registrar’s table of penalties, and a director who knowingly permits a breach can be liable as well.
What was missed | What it costs |
|---|---|
Annual fee, paid within 90 days of the due date | US$14, a 10% penalty |
Annual fee, paid more than 90 days late | US$70, a 50% penalty |
Annual fee or penalty still unpaid 180 days after the due date | The company is struck off and dissolved on day 181 |
Restoring a struck-off company | US$300 within 6 months of strike-off or US$600 after, plus every outstanding fee and penalty, with 7 years of accounting records produced |
A missed records lodging or annual financial summary | US$5,000 plus US$100 a day, up to US$10,000 per breach |
No registered agent | US$100 plus US$25 a day, for the company and for each director who knowingly permits it |
If you do not renew, the company is struck off and dissolved on day 181 under FSA Circular No. 2 of 2025, and the unpaid fees and penalties stay owed.
How to Keep the Three-Year Cost Down
Renew before the anniversary. Paying on or before the due date means no late penalty and no strike-off.
Declare quiet half-years. For any January to June or July to December with no transactions, a signed directors’ declaration to the registered agent replaces bookkeeping you do not need.
Add nominees and audits only when something requires them. Two nominees alone take the three-year total from US$2,550 to US$7,350.
Close the company properly when you stop using it. A lapsed company still owes its fees and penalties, while a solvent one can be wound up voluntarily, with government fees of US$50 to file the resolution and US$75 for the liquidator’s completion notice.
Every date that moves the total sits on one compliance calendar: the incorporation anniversary for the fee, the end of July and the end of January for records lodging, and six months after the financial year end for the financial summary. Our annual compliance service tracks those dates and handles the renewal for one yearly fee of US$850.
FAQ
How much does a Seychelles IBC cost per year after the first year?
US$850 a year with us, including the US$140 government annual fee due on or before each anniversary of incorporation. Add-ons are yearly too: accounting from US$350, nominees at US$800 each and audited accounts from US$650, only if your company uses them.
Are there hidden fees with a Seychelles company?
Not in the Registrar’s charges: every one is listed in the IBC Act, and a standard company pays only the US$130 registration fee and the US$140 annual fee. The costs owners do not plan for are the ones they trigger: late penalties, restoration fees, records penalties and the certificates a bank asks for.
Is a dormant Seychelles company cheaper to keep?
Only on accounting. A company with no activity renews at the same US$850, and a signed declaration to the registered agent covers each half-year with no transactions in place of bookkeeping.
