Belize Belize Set up your Belize IBC with a team that talks through the structure first and then accompanies you through the entire incorporation. Every piece of paperwork and every follow-up is handled for you, from the first conversation to a company ready to use.
Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of Belize, the Belize Financial Services Commission, or the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and handle the incorporation on your behalf; whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.
Requirements
Ten requirements in all for a Belize IBC. Three are covered by our package, one is optional, and six are decisions you take with our guidance.
One director is enough and the articles set any number above that. A director may live in any country and a company may hold the seat. The first directors are appointed by the registered agent on the day the company is formed, so the board exists from hour one.
The people who ultimately own or control the company are identified before it is formed, looked through every holding company until a person is reached. The register goes to the registered agent, who carries it into the electronic filing system, and it is not open to the public.
Belize asks an international company for no company secretary and for no other officer. The directors may appoint a president, a treasurer or a managing director by resolution when a counterparty expects a title, and a director may hold the office as well.
Belize sets no minimum capital and nothing has to be paid up before the company trades. The articles state the maximum number of shares the company may issue, and most are set up at 50,000, the band the government fee is built around.
Every Belize company with an owner or director from outside Belize and CARICOM must hold a registered agent in the country at all times. The agent is the company’s channel to the authorities, appoints the first directors, keeps the registers and the accounting records, and answers the authorities within a day when they ask. It comes with every package.
The company needs a physical address in Belize, and it is where the statutory registers live. In practice it is the office of the registered agent, so it comes with the agent and you lease nothing and staff nothing.
The name must end in one of the endings the law sets out, and it must not be one already taken in Belize or one the authorities read as claiming a connection with government. We check availability and reserve the name before anything is filed.
Under current Belize law a company is constituted by its articles, not by a memorandum. They state the name, which of the five kinds of company it is, the registered office, the registered agent, and the shares and classes it may issue. By-laws sit underneath for the day to day.
Every Belize company is registered with the Belize Tax Service and given a tax identification number, whether or not it will pay anything. The number carries the yearly business tax return and the substance declaration, and nothing about the company can be evidenced in good standing without it.
KYC
Collecting what is needed from your side is something we do with you, not something we leave to you. Each item is reviewed by our team before it goes anywhere.
See the full checklistEntity Subtypes
The first form suits the great majority of plans. The others are there for particular jobs: a company built for one purpose, portfolios kept apart from each other, or a vehicle that holds a family trust. Select one to see what it is for, or ask our experts which one you need.
Liability limited
The form nearly every international company in Belize takes. Members hold shares, the company answers for its own debts, and a member can lose only what is still unpaid on the shares held.
Liability limited
There is no share capital at all. Each member promises a fixed sum towards the assets if the company is wound up, and that promise is the whole of what can be asked of them.
Liability limited
Two kinds of member in one company. Guarantee members stand behind a fixed sum, shareholders put in capital, and at least one member has to be a guarantee member.
Liability unlimited
Shares are issued, but there is no ceiling on what the members can be called on for. It is chosen deliberately, usually because a tax system at home looks straight through a company built this way.
Liability unlimited
No share capital and no shield. There is membership and nothing else, and the members stand behind everything the company does.
Added to a company limited by shares
A company limited by shares whose articles fix what it exists to do. It has to be set up this way from the first day: a company that was not registered as one on incorporation cannot become one later.
Added to a company limited by shares
One company carrying several walled portfolios. Each portfolio is named and identified separately, and its assets and liabilities are held apart from every other portfolio and from the company’s own.
Added to a company limited by shares
A company formed to act as trustee of one family’s trusts and of nothing else. It takes no fee for the trusteeship beyond its costs, and it does not offer trust services to anybody outside that circle.
If none of these obviously fits, that is normal. Tell us the plan and we will name the right form for your Belize company in one conversation.
Activities and Usage
From cross-border trade to digital assets, a Belize IBC has plenty of uses. Select the one closest to what you are planning, and count on our expertise for the rest.
Open the day the company exists. Nothing in this column waits on anything.
Extra steps come first for these, and trading inside Belize has its own. Ask our experts what your plan needs.
Off limits for this kind of company, whatever it goes on to do.
Holding
Belize charges business tax on what comes in rather than on what is left, which makes the parent of a group a question worth settling before it is formed rather than after. A company that holds equity in other companies and carries on no relevant activity of its own is charged at a zero rate, and the whole of the work is keeping it to that.
Every trading company in the group shows one Belize holder in its books, whatever country that company sits in.
Profit is paid up from every country to the parent, which holds equity alone and is charged at nil.
The buyer takes the parent's shares, so every subsidiary underneath changes hands without a transfer.
Continuation
A company whose home has become expensive, slow, or awkward to work with has one obvious option and one that is rarely put to it: wind up and start again, losing the contracts, the trading history and the date it was formed, or continue as the same legal person under Belize law. The second keeps everything that was ever signed in the company's name.
The company's constitution, its register of members and the sign-off of its own authorities are brought here.
Contracts, mandates, assets and the date the company was formed carry over. Nothing is signed again.
A company continued into Belize may continue out again, so the move is not a door that locks behind it.
Trading
A trader buying in one country and selling in another does not want either side's paperwork following the whole chain, and does not want a supplier reading the terms given to a customer. Belize will take the contracts. It charges on gross receipts rather than on margin, so a thin-margin flow is costed against the rate before the company is formed, not after the first return.
The Belize company buys in its own name, and the goods are its property before they ever reach the buyer's country.
Invoices go out under the Belize company's name, and the money arrives where the company banks, not where it sells.
They ship from supplier to customer directly. Only the contracts, the invoices and the margin run through.
Joint venture
Each partner wants the venture on ground it can live with, and neither will sit as a minority under the other side's company law. A third country that is home to neither of them settles it, and Belize forms quickly enough that the argument does not outlive the week.
Neither partner has to incorporate inside the other's country, because the venture itself is formed in Belize.
Board seats, veto rights and what happens in deadlock are written in rather than left to a side letter.
The parties choose Belize law, whose last word sits with the Caribbean Court of Justice, agreed in writing.
Investment holding
A family holding shares, funds and property in several countries answers the same questions to a different institution each time, and every holding has to be dealt with separately when it passes on. One company gathers them. The nil rate here is for equity alone, so a mixed portfolio sits on the ordinary footing, and that is worked out at the start rather than discovered at the first return.
One Belize company appears on the share registers, the fund records and the title deeds, in place of four names.
Holdings in several countries are valued, banked and reported through the same company, not one by one.
The next generation is given shares in the company, and nothing underneath it is sold, moved or re-registered.
Vessel ownership
A yacht carries its flag, its crew contracts and its cover with it, and selling the hull on its own unpicks all three in the same week. Belize runs an open register that takes yachts and small commercial craft, so the flag and the owner can be settled in one place.
The yacht is owned by the company and by nothing else, and it flies the Belize flag in that company's name.
Every agreement the boat needs, from crew to cover to berth, is made in the company's name and not the family's.
A sale hands over the company itself, so nothing attached to the boat has to be cancelled and taken out again.
Both Belize IBC packages are all-inclusive. Government fees, the first year and expert support are in the price, laid out openly so you can compare the two at a glance.
Every package above includes the government fees. Those fees are set by the Belize authorities, not by Expanship, and are passed on at cost; the rest of the price is our fee for advising you, preparing and coordinating your paperwork, and handling the incorporation on your behalf. Expanship is a private company, not a government agency. Whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by the authorities alone.
Enterprise
For Belize structures the packages above do not describe. Holding and trading arrangements built across more than one country, articles drafted to fit the deal rather than a template, the yearly filings mapped before the company is formed, and one project manager holding the whole build together.
After Year 1
Your first year is covered by the package above. From year two, one fee a year carries the government fee, your registered agent and office, that year's annual return, business tax return and economic substance declaration, custody of your accounting records in Belize, and a reminder before each date.
Pros and cons
A Belize IBC suits some plans well and others less so, which is why both sides are set out below at the same length. Ask our experts and they will tell you honestly where yours lands.
In its favour
Either can be a person or a company, living in any country, and one individual may hold both seats from day one.
Nothing has to be subscribed or paid up, any currency is allowed, and shares are issued with or without par value.
Members, directors and beneficial owners are recorded with the agent and the authorities, and none of it is searchable.
A company that only holds equity in other companies, and carries on no relevant activity, is charged at a zero rate.
English common law, English language filings, and a formation our team runs from opening the file to the register pack.
To weigh against
Business tax is charged on what comes in rather than on what is left, and costs are not deducted unless relief is given.
The business tax return, the annual return and the substance declaration go to three places on three different dates.
Ledgers, invoices and statements for the last five years are held at the agent's office, not in a drawer at your own desk.
A company formed since 2019 may not acquire or hold intellectual property, so marks and patents have to live elsewhere.
Belize has no double tax treaty network, and controlled foreign company rules at home can tax the profits as yours.
The same idea under other flags
Compliance
Here is everything a Belize IBC has to keep doing and when. Thirteen of the fourteen duties are ours to run within your annual engagement, and the remaining one comes with a reminder from us.
Registered agent
A registered agent in Belize, from the day the company is formed to the day it ends.
Registered office
A physical address in Belize, provided with the agent rather than leased by you.
Statutory registers
Members, directors and beneficial owners, written up and producible within a day of a request.
Accounting records
Ledgers, invoices, contracts and statements for five years, held in Belize rather than wherever you like.
Business tax return
Gross receipts for the calendar year, filed electronically even when the figure is nil.
Annual return
The company confirmed as it stood on 31 December, certified by a director or by us.
Annual government fee
The yearly fee that keeps the company in good standing, paid alongside the annual return.
Economic substance declaration
Which relevant activities the company carried on, signed by a director and lodged through us.
Register of Directors
Appointments, resignations and changed details, resolved by the company and then written up.
Register of Members
Transfers, allotments and cancellations, recorded with the instrument behind each movement.
Beneficial ownership
Kept current on the electronic filing system, including a change reached through a company higher up.
Nominee declarations
A nominee director or shareholder declares the role and who stands behind it, and again when it ends.
Amendments to the articles
A change to the articles is resolved by the company, then lodged before it binds anyone outside it.
Name, agent and office changes
All three take effect when the company file is updated, not on the day they were resolved.
How it runs
More than one office to answer to, and one calendar to answer from
A Belize company answers to more than one office in the course of a year. We hold every date from the day the company is formed, prepare each return and declaration, and come to you in good time for the one thing only you can give us, which is the numbers.
We hold thirteen of them, from the day the company is formed to the day you close it. The only thing we need from you is an answer when we ask for one: the figures behind the business tax return, or a confirmation when something about the company changes.
3 to 5
Business days
From the day your checks clear to the day the company exists.
1 + 1
Shareholder and director
Any nationality, resident anywhere, and they may be the same person.
US$975
Packages from
Quoted in full upfront. The government fee is part of the price, not on top.
You do not have a company yet
The vehicle described on this page, formed from wherever you are. We run the checks, reserve the name, draft the articles, obtain the tax number and hand you the register pack.
You already have a Belize company
Change the registered agent on a company you already own. It keeps its name, its number and its history, and nothing about the entity itself changes.
Neither of those yet?
Your own tax position, your banking, or whether a Belize LLC suits you better than a company with shares. Answered in writing within one business day, at no charge.
Talk to a specialistFAQ
How a Belize IBC formation runs when we handle it, and what the company can and cannot do afterwards. Ask our experts about anything that is not here.
No. A Belize IBC puts no residency or nationality test on its owners or directors, nothing has to be signed in Belize City, and the first directors are appointed by the registered agent on the day the company is formed. Your identity checks, the articles and every signature are handled from wherever you are, and the corporate kit is couriered to you. The one thing that must stay in Belize is the accounting records, and those are kept at the registered office for you.
Basic, at US$975, covers formation and the first year: the government fee for up to 50,000 shares with a par value, name checks, the articles, the registered agent and office for year one, the tax identification number, the statutory registers, your digital Certificate of Incorporation and courier delivery. Premium, at US$1,699, adds the company seal, the original incorporation paper, incumbency and good standing confirmations and authentication of the full set. Nothing essential is charged on top. From year two the renewal is US$799.
We help, and the bank decides. Every package includes help opening a multi-currency business account with Airwallex, subject to that provider's own checks. Beyond that, we advise on which banks and payment institutions take a Belize IBC with your activity and ownership, prepare the company papers and the application, and stay with it until there is an answer. The decision rests with the bank at every stage, so we describe the route and its likely questions rather than promise an account at the end of it.
Fourteen duties, thirteen of which sit inside your annual engagement with us at US$799 a year. Four filings fall yearly and not all go to the same body: the business tax return by 31 March, the annual return by 30 June with the government fee alongside it, and the substance declaration nine months after year end. The agent, the office, the registers and the change filings are standing duties we hold. Your part is the accounting records, kept in Belize for five years, and the figures behind the tax return.
Yes, either. Moving a Belize company to us is a change of registered agent: it keeps its name, its number and its history, the transfer costs US$350, and from then on the yearly engagement is US$799. Nothing about the entity itself changes. A company that has run its course is better closed properly than left to lapse, because an unfiled return or an unpaid fee leads to strike-off. We advise on the route, prepare the resolutions and paperwork, and manage the process with the authorities on your behalf.
No. Belize law requires a company with an owner or director from outside Belize and the Caribbean Community to have a registered agent at all times, and the agent appoints the first directors on formation day, so there is no route around one. What we add is the rest: advice on whether an IBC or a Belize LLC fits, preparation of the articles, management of the process on your behalf and a team that stays with the company. We are an independent corporate services provider, not a government body.
No. Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of Belize, the Belize Financial Services Commission, or the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and handle the incorporation on your behalf. Whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.
Our own work: advice on the right structure, due diligence on every member, preparing and coordinating the incorporation paperwork, handling the incorporation on your behalf, and the first year of registered agent and registered office. The government fees are set by the Belize authorities, not by us, and are passed on at cost inside the package price.
One director and one shareholder, and neither has to be in Belize or hold any nationality in particular. The same person may hold both seats, and where one individual is sole member and sole director a reserve director may be named. The first directors are appointed by the registered agent on the day the company is formed, so the board exists from hour one. The people who ultimately own or control 10% or more are identified before formation and recorded with the agent, away from public view.
Yes to both. A company from any country may take the seat of director of a Belize IBC and may hold its shares, so a parent company or a management entity can sit in either role. The look-through still applies: each holding company is traced until a natural person is reached, and anyone at 10% or more by ownership or control goes on the beneficial ownership record. Where a company or a person holds as nominee, that role and the person behind it are declared within thirty days.
Most of it. Belize sets no minimum capital and nothing has to be paid up. Shares can be in any currency, with or without par value, in one class or several with different rights. The articles state the maximum number of shares the company may issue, and most companies are set up at 50,000, the band the government fee is built around. A larger authorised capital, or shares with no par value, carries a higher fee, which we quote before anything is done. Bearer shares are prohibited.
No secretary, and no office of your own. Belize asks an international company for no company secretary and no other officer. The directors may appoint a president, a treasurer or a managing director by resolution when a counterparty expects a title. The company must have a registered agent and a physical registered office in Belize at all times, and both come with every package. Your own premises and staff are not required. The statutory registers and the accounting records live at that office.
Since 2019 a Belize IBC sits inside the tax system. Every company is registered with the Belize tax authorities, holds a tax identification number, and files a business tax return by 31 March each year, even when the figure is nil. Business tax is charged on gross receipts rather than on profit, so costs are not deducted unless relief is given. A company that holds equity alone and carries on no relevant activity is charged at a zero rate. Companies formed since 2019 may not hold intellectual property.
Contact Us
Share what you have in mind and our Belize experts will confirm whether an IBC fits, quote the cost and set out what happens next. No commitment on your side.
Expanship is a private company, not a government agency. Submitting this form requests a consultation with our advisors; it does not place an order, start an incorporation, or create a professional relationship, and nothing we reply with is legal, tax, or financial advice.
