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.
Gegen die Quellen geprüft am 2026-08-30
Dieser Guide ist noch nicht übersetzt - du liest das englische Original.
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
Wo: Mano VMI, onlineKosten: €0Dauer: 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
| Was | Betrag |
|---|---|
| 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.
Das hier ist eine Landkarte, keine Rechts- oder Steuerberatung - und eine ehrliche darüber, wie sie entstanden ist: Der Deutschland-Guide stammt von jemandem, der den Weg gegangen ist; die meisten anderen Länder wurden mit KI aus den offiziellen Quellen erstellt und noch von niemandem abgelaufen, der es getan hat. Gesetze ändern sich. Jeder Guide trägt das Datum seiner letzten Prüfung und die Quellen zum Selbst-Nachlesen - und wer einen dieser Wege hinter sich hat: Genau diese Korrekturen wünscht sich das Handbuch.