Annual Compliance in Cayman Islands
Keeping a Cayman entity in good standing — and it is register-and-notification work, not tax work, because there is no Cayman corporate income tax, capital gains tax, withholding tax or payroll income tax and therefore no income-tax return. Four things recur. The annual government fee is payable in January and the annual return must be filed with the General Registry by the last business day of March before 5PM; late filing costs 33.33% of the annual fee from 1 April, 66.67% from 1 July and 100% from 1 October, and continued default ends in strike-off. Every in-scope entity — company, LLC or ELP — files an Economic Substance Notification with the DITC each year, even one carrying on no relevant activity and even one claiming tax residence elsewhere, and it feeds the annual return. A relevant entity that actually carried on one of the nine relevant activities (banking, insurance, fund management, finance and leasing, headquarters, shipping, holding company, intellectual property, distribution and service centre) and earned relevant income also files an Economic Substance Return, with a reduced test for a pure equity-holding company. Separately, beneficial-ownership particulars must be kept adequate, accurate and current on the register maintained by the CSP, and a Cayman entity that is a Financial Institution under CRS or FATCA registers and reports annually to the DITC.
5–15 business days
KYD
What we will need from you
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Annual return declaration and payment of the annual government fee
Filed through the CSP. The return is a confirmation of continued compliance — NOT an income-tax or accounts filing. Deadline and penalty tiers verified.ciregistry.ky/faqs/.
Economic Substance Notification (ESN) particulars for the financial year
Universal: every in-scope entity files, including those carrying on no relevant activity. Nominally due 31 January, with DITC guidance indicating no penalties accrue if submitted by 31 March — confirm the current cycle's dates on ditc.ky before relying on them.
Economic Substance Return (ESR) evidence, where a relevant activity was carried on
Only for a relevant entity that carried on one of the nine relevant activities and earned relevant income. Substance means core income-generating activity conducted in the Islands with adequate expenditure, physical premises and qualified employees, proportionate to relevant income. The 12-month-after-financial-year-end deadline is the established rule but was not confirmed word-for-word from the current DITC guidance version — confirm on ditc.ky.
Current beneficial-ownership particulars, and any change since the last update
Maintained via the licensed CSP under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (2026 Revision). Breach penalties run from CI$5,000 up to CI$100,000, with imprisonment possible for serious or repeat offences and strike-off where a fine goes unpaid — confirmed against the Act on gov.ky. HIGH-RISK, MOVING: commencement, enforcement and the legitimate-interest access regime are being amended; re-confirm on gov.ky at quote.
CRS / FATCA classification and, for a Financial Institution, reportable-account data and the CRS Compliance Form
Applies to entities that are Financial Institutions under CRS/FATCA (typically funds and other investment entities); a non-financial entity generally classifies but does not report.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Annual government fee — exempted company (banded by authorised share capital) | Confirmed before payment |
| Annual government fee — Cayman LLCone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED on the official LLC fee schedule (effective 1 Jan 2025).ciregistry.ky/fees/limited-liability-companies-act-fee-schedule/ — KYD 1,100 (about USD 1,341.46 on the schedule), flat regardless of capital. The schedule states this amount in KYD (it shows its own USD equivalent at the Registry's 0.82 rate); the client settles in the currency the Registry invoices — no conversion is applied here. | KYD 1,100Indicative — from ciregistry.ky, not confirmed on a government portal. We confirm the exact amount before you pay. |
| Annual fee — Exempted Limited Partnership, regulatedone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED.ciregistry.ky/fees/exempted-limited-partnership-act-fee-schedule/ — KYD 1,300 (about USD 1,585.37 on the schedule) for a regulated ELP. | KYD 1,300Indicative — from ciregistry.ky, not confirmed on a government portal. We confirm the exact amount before you pay. |
| Annual fee — Exempted Limited Partnership, unregulatedone line of this schedule appliesVERIFIED.ciregistry.ky/fees/exempted-limited-partnership-act-fee-schedule/ — KYD 2,100 (about USD 2,560.98 on the schedule) for an unregulated ELP. Note the counter-intuitive split: the unregulated annual fee is the higher of the two. | KYD 2,100Indicative — from ciregistry.ky, not confirmed on a government portal. We confirm the exact amount before you pay. |
| Annual fee — foreign limited partnershipone line of this schedule appliesStated on the same official ELP fee schedule as the KYD 1,500 foreign-LP registration fee:.ciregistry.ky/fees/exempted-limited-partnership-act-fee-schedule/. | KYD 1,650Indicative — from ciregistry.ky, not confirmed on a government portal. We confirm the exact amount before you pay. |
| Late-filing penalty on the annual return / annual feeonly if it appliesNot a fixed amount: a percentage of the entity's own annual fee. VERIFIED.ciregistry.ky/faqs/ — 33.33% if filed 1 April to 30 June, 66.67% if 1 July to 30 September, 100% if 1 October to 31 December, with strike-off for continued non-payment. Because the exempted-company annual fee itself is unconfirmed, the cash penalty for a company cannot be stated here. | Confirmed before payment |
| Economic Substance Notification / Return filing fee (DITC)This is NOT recorded as zero — confirm on ditc.ky. | Confirmed before payment |
| Beneficial-ownership register maintenance feeonly if it appliesNot published: the register is maintained by the licensed CSP and the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (2026 Revision) on gov.ky was read for the duty and the penalty range, not for a government fee. Confirm on gov.ky and with the CSP. | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
These are the authority’s published lines. Which of them apply depends on your filing — a schedule by headcount, capital or entity type is one line, not all of them — and the applicable line is confirmed before payment, at cost.
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Compliance Calendar Confirmed
The entity's annual fee band, financial year end, economic-substance classification and CRS/FATCA status are confirmed with the CSP for the cycle.
Economic Substance Notification Filed
The ESN is filed with the DITC for the prior financial year — every in-scope entity files, whether or not it carried on a relevant activity. It is a prerequisite to the annual return.
Annual Return & Government Fee Filed
The annual return is filed and the annual government fee paid through the CSP by the last business day of March before 5PM, avoiding the 33.33% / 66.67% / 100% late-filing penalty tiers.
Beneficial-Ownership Register Updated
Beneficial owners and reportable legal entities are re-confirmed and any change notified to the CSP, keeping the register adequate, accurate and current under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act.
Economic Substance Return & CRS/FATCA, Where Applicable
Where a relevant activity was carried on, the ES Return is filed with the DITC after the financial year end; where the entity is a CRS/FATCA Financial Institution, its annual returns and CRS Compliance Form are filed on the DITC portal.
Indicative guidance — confirmed before payment
Requirements and statutory fees are set by Cayman Islands General Registry (annual return and government fee); Department for International Tax Cooperation — DITC (economic substance, CRS/FATCA); Competent Authority under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.