Starting a business in Lithuania
Individual activity by certificate is a same-day start - the MB and the €1,000 UAB wait for when a company earns its keep.
Checked against the sources on 2026-08-30
Before anything else
Lithuania’s lightest start is individuali veikla pagal pažymą - individual activity under certificate - registered free at the tax inspectorate (VMI) online and active the same day. Income tax works on a sliding effective rate (5% rising toward 15% as annual profit passes ~€20,000, via a credit mechanism), with 30% presumed costs if you skip receipts.
For fixed small trades there is also the verslo liudijimas (business certificate) - a lump-sum licence bought per month for listed activities - but the certificate route above fits most modern service work better.
The legal shell
Individual activity, MB, or UAB?
Individuali veikla
Solo services, the default start.
Free; VSD/PSD contributions on 90% of profit with ceilings.
Personal liability, and the effective tax climbs with profit.
MB (mažoji bendrija)
The small partnership: no minimum capital, up to 10 members, lighter than a UAB.
~€100 in registration costs, no notary in the standard e-path.
Members cannot also be employees of it; payouts have their own contribution logic - the flexibility has rules.
UAB
The standard limited company for growth and investors.
€1,000 minimum capital (lowered from €2,500), registration via the Registrų centras e-system.
Full accounting, 16% corporate tax (since 2025), and a director payroll expected by practice.
The sequence
Register the activity at VMI
Where: Mano VMI, onlineCost: €0Takes: Same day
Pick the activity (EVRK codes), and you may invoice immediately. Sodra - social insurance - learns automatically; contributions follow the annual declaration rather than fixed monthly bills, with the option to pay as you go.
Choose real or presumed costs
Deduct documented expenses, or a flat 30% of income with no receipts at all. The 30% route plus the low starting rate is what makes the first years nearly administration-free.
Watch VAT at €45,000
PVM registration is compulsory once twelve-month turnover passes €45,000, with the usual EU cross-border triggers arriving earlier for B2B services abroad.
What it costs to start
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Individual activity | €0 |
| MB registration | ~€100 |
| UAB | €1,000 capital + ~€100 fees |
| VSD/PSD contributionsWith annual ceilings. | ~20% on 90% of profit |
The words on the forms
- Individuali veikla
- Individual activity under certificate - the free same-day start.
- Verslo liudijimas
- The per-month lump-sum licence for listed trades.
- VMI / Mano VMI
- The tax inspectorate and its portal.
- Sodra
- Social insurance.
- MB
- The small partnership without capital requirements.
- UAB
- The €1,000 limited company.
- PVM
- VAT, compulsory at €45,000.
The traps
- Forgetting Sodra because nothing bills monthly - the annual settlement arrives regardless.
- Missing the point where the sliding rate makes a UAB comparison worth running.
- MB member/employee confusion - the flexibility has hard edges.
Where to check this yourself
- VMIIndividual activity and the rate mechanics.
- Registrų centrasMB and UAB formation.
- SodraContribution rules.
This is a map, not legal or tax advice - and an honest one about how it was drawn: the Germany guide was written by a person who walked the route; most other countries were drafted with AI against the official sources and have not yet been walked by someone who did it. Laws change. Every guide carries the date it was last checked and the sources to check it yourself - and if you have been through one of these routes, your corrections are exactly what this handbook wants.