Form a Belize company
Belize yearly filings 2026

Belize company annual fees and filings: three deadlines a year

Updated 11 November 2026Belize Companies Act 2022 and SI 152 of 2022About 8 minutes to read
The short answer

A Belize company files an annual return by 30 June with a US$250 fee, a business tax return and exemption claim by 31 March, and a substance report within 9 months of its year end.

Skip the exemption claim and receipts are taxed. With us: US$740 a year, plus about US$110 for the certificate when claimed.

Work out my deadlines Do I qualify?
The fixed date 30 June deadline for every Belize company's annual return, made up to the previous 31 December The fee is US$250 up to 50,000 share capital. The old January renewal of the IBC days is gone.

Belize used to be the low-effort offshore company: an IBC, a renewal each January, nothing else. That company no longer exists. Since the Belize Companies Act 2022 every Belize company files an annual return, pays tax on receipts unless it claims an exemption, and reports on substance, each on its own date. None of it is hard. All of it is dated. Here are the dates and the costs, worked out for your company.

Key takeaways

  • The annual return and its US$250 fee are due by 30 June, made up to the previous 31 December.
  • The tax exemption has to be claimed, with the business tax return due by 31 March; without it, receipts are taxed.
  • The certificate costs US$60 plus BZD 100 each claim year, about US$110.
  • An economic substance report is due within 9 months of the year end.
  • Late filings carry administrative penalties from US$500 plus US$250 a day.
  • With Heirson: US$740 a year, all of it filed for you.
Chapter 1

Three Belize deadlines every year

A Belize company, each year2026
Annual return feeUS$250
Agent, office, three filingsUS$490
Your yearly totalUS$740
Exemption certificate, only if you claim it, on topAbout US$110
Belize shares the claim with owners' tax offices. You live in: pick it
  1. By 31 MarchBusiness tax return and exemption claimUnder the FSC's tax exemption guidelines, the claim lists the company's tax residence and every owner of 5% or more.
  2. By 30 JuneAnnual return and annual feeDirectors, shareholders and share capital as at 31 December, with US$250 or US$1,000.
  3. Within 9 months of the year endEconomic substance report30 September for a 31 December year end, under the Economic Substance Act.
  4. Within 15 days of any changeRegisters updated with the agentDirectors, members and beneficial owners.
  5. Monthly, by the 15thBusiness tax return, if no exemptionOnly for a company that pays business tax on its receipts under the Income and Business Tax Act.
1
Key takeaway

Tax return by 31 March, annual return by 30 June, substance within 9 months.

Chapter 2

Belize company deadline calculator

3,762
Share capital
The company claims the tax exemption

    Assumes a 31 December year end. The annual return and fee follow the calendar, not your anniversary.

    2
    Key takeaway

    The calendar sets the annual return, not your anniversary.

    Chapter 3

    What a Belize company costs each year

    US$250Belize's annual return fee on the Registry's fee schedule, invoiced before each 30 June, at cost
    US$490Our part, invoiced on your anniversary: agent, office, the three filings, reminders
    US$110The exemption certificate at cost, only in years the claim is made
    Inside the US$740
    • Licensed registered agent and registered office in Belize
    • Annual return and fee by 30 June
    • The yearly tax exemption claim
    • The economic substance report
    • Register changes filed, and reminders
    Outside it
    • Monthly business tax returns, for a company that doesn't qualify for the exemption
    • Certificates: good standing US$15, incumbency US$50, at cost
    • Bookkeeping and accounts
    • Share capital over 50,000, at Belize's US$1,000 fee
    3
    Key takeaway

    US$250 to Belize, US$490 to us, and about US$110 when the exemption is claimed.

    Chapter 4

    The yearly exemption claim, in plain terms

    The company is tax resident in another country that is not on the EU blacklist
    It has an office, staff or a manager in Belize
    That country's tax office will confirm residence in writing

    The full rules are in our Belize tax guide. What matters here is that the claim is yearly: miss it and that year's receipts fall under business tax.

    4
    Key takeaway

    The exemption is claimed each year, or that year's receipts are taxed.

    Chapter 5

    Belize penalties for late or missing filings

    Three laws set the penalties. Regulation 55 of the Belize Companies Regulations, SI No. 152 of 2022 grades filing breaches as minor, serious or very serious. Section 109 of the Income and Business Tax Act prices late tax returns, and section 17 of the Economic Substance Act sets the substance fines.

    US$500 + US$250 a dayA minor breach of the companies regulations, capped at US$50,000
    US$1,000 + US$500 a dayA serious breach
    US$2,000 + US$1,000 a dayA very serious breach
    10% a monthOf the tax due on a late business tax return, for up to 24 months, plus 1.5% interest a month
    BZD 10,000Maximum fine for failing to file a monthly return at all
    BZD 150,000Failing the substance test and not remedying it; BZD 300,000 if it continues
    5
    Key takeaway

    Administrative penalties run by the day.

    Chapter 6

    Records a Belize company must keep

    Every company
    • Records that explain each transaction and the financial position
    • Minutes and resolutions at the registered office, copied to the agent
    • Registers of members, directors and beneficial owners, filed with the Registrar
    If records are kept abroad
    • Quarterly accounts and returns at the registered office in Belize
    • The agent told where the records are
    • Kept at least six years, also after a strike-off

    6
    Key takeaway

    Records abroad mean quarterly accounts lodged in Belize.

    Chapter 7

    How to close a Belize company, or bring one back

    APOSTILLE
    Where things stand

    Struck off and dissolved both show as a status in the free registry search. Our Belize company search guide explains each one.

    7
    Key takeaway

    Dissolution is US$100; restoration US$1,000 within ten years.

    Chapter 8

    Belize annual fees and filings: questions, answered

    ?!
    When is the Belize annual return due?
    By 30 June each year, made up to 31 December of the year before, under the Belize Companies Act 2022. It is filed through your registered agent.
    How much is the Belize annual fee?
    US$250 a year with the annual return for share capital up to 50,000, and US$1,000 above that, on the Registry's fee schedule for companies using an agent.
    Does a Belize company pay tax?
    Belize taxes gross receipts, wherever they are earned, unless the company claims the exemption each year: tax resident in a country not on the EU blacklist, no permanent establishment in Belize, and a claim listing owners of 5% or more.
    What does the exemption certificate cost?
    US$60 to the Financial Services Commission and BZD 100 to the Tax Service, about US$110 in total, each year the claim is made.
    Does a Belize company have to file economic substance?
    Every company reports within 9 months of its year end. One managed and tax resident abroad, with proof, is outside the substance test itself.
    What if a Belize company files late?
    The regulations set administrative penalties from US$500 plus US$250 a day, and the Registrar can strike the company off. Late tax returns cost 10% of the tax a month plus interest.
    How do I close a Belize company?
    By dissolution through the registered agent, US$100 at the Registry, once its debts are settled. A struck-off company can be restored by the Registrar for up to ten years under the Belize Companies (Amendment) Act 2025, for US$1,000 plus arrears.
    What does Heirson charge each year for a Belize company?
    US$740: the US$250 annual return fee and our US$490, with the annual return, the exemption claim, the substance report and the agent included. The exemption certificate is US$110 at cost when it is claimed.

    Changelog

    • 11 November 2026: first published.
    • 13 November 2026: official sources linked inside the text.
    Your Belize company

    A Belize company with all three dates kept.

    We file the return, the exemption claim and the substance report, for US$740 a year.

    See the Belize company Belize bank accounts