Form a Cayman company
Cayman yearly filings 2026

Cayman annual fees and filings: the January rule

Updated 11 November 2026Registry fee schedule from 1 January 2027About 9 minutes to read
The short answer

A Cayman exempted company files an annual return and pays its annual fee every January, from the January after registration. For most companies the fee is CI$1,025 (US$1,250) from 2027.

Pay after March and it costs a third more, rising to double by October. With us the year comes to US$1,929.

Work out my fee My first January
The doubling date 100% penalty on the annual fee when it is paid between 1 October and 31 December 33.33% from April, 66.67% from July. Nothing extra before 1 April.

Cayman runs its company year on a single month. Every exempted company files its return and pays its fee in January, whatever month it was formed, and the penalties start in April, not February. Know your January and your capital band, and you know your bill. The amounts below are the General Registry's own schedule, including the rise that takes effect on 1 January 2027.

Key takeaways

  • The annual fee for the smallest company rises from CI$925 to CI$1,025 (US$1,250) on 1 January 2027.
  • It is due in January, with the annual return, starting the January after registration.
  • Paid late, it grows by 33.33% from April, 66.67% from July and 100% from October.
  • Most companies file only an economic substance notification; a full report is for the nine relevant activities.
  • Closing costs from CI$75 for a strike-off request; moving abroad costs three times the annual fee.
  • With Heirson the yearly total is US$1,929, the government fee inside it.
Chapter 1

The Cayman calendar: one January, three penalty dates

Cayman exempted company, each yearFrom 2027
Annual fee, smallest bandUS$1,250
Office, return, notificationUS$679
DueEvery January
Your yearly totalUS$1,929
Where you manage it from matters for tax. You live in: pick it
  1. JanuaryAnnual return, annual fee, substance notificationThe notification goes first; the return and fee follow in the same month.
  2. February and MarchLate, but no penalty yetSection 169(3) of the Companies Act (2026 Revision) charges nothing extra until 31 March has passed.
  3. From 1 April33.33% addedUS$416.63 on the smallest company at 2027 rates.
  4. From 1 July66.67% addedUS$833.38 on the same company.
  5. From 1 October100% addedThe fee doubles, and the Registrar can treat the company as defunct.
  6. All yearBeneficial ownership kept currentYour licensed registered office files ownership data on the Registry platform, and under the Registry's beneficial ownership guidance a change must be confirmed within 30 days.
1
Key takeaway

Everything happens in January; penalties start on 1 April.

Chapter 2

Cayman annual fee calculator: your band, your payment date

3,762

The fee depends on the company's authorised share capital, not its profit, in the bands of the General Registry fee schedule from 1 January 2027 and the schedule in force until then. Most founders' companies sit in the first band. US dollar figures use the Registry's fixed rate of CI$0.82 to US$1.

Authorised capital
For the year
Paid
2
Key takeaway

Capital band and payment date set the fee, not profit.

Chapter 3

When your first Cayman fee falls due

Financial year ends on

    A company registered late in the year meets its first January within weeks. That is normal, and it is why our year one price already counts it.

    3
    Key takeaway

    Your first fee falls in the January after registration, sometimes weeks later.

    Chapter 4

    What keeping a Cayman company costs each year

    US$1,250Cayman's annual fee for the smallest band, from 2027, paid at cost
    US$679Our part: licensed registered office, annual return, substance notification, reminders
    US$1,929The yearly total, the same in year one and every year after
    Covered every year
    • The registered office the law requires to be a licensed provider
    • The January return and the fee, paid in January
    • The economic substance notification
    • Dates in your dashboard, with reminders ahead of each
    Charged only if you need it
    • Certificates of good standing or incumbency, CI$150 each at cost
    • Nominee director or shareholder, US$525 a year each
    • A full substance report and local substance, for relevant activities
    • Larger capital bands, at Cayman's higher fee
    4
    Key takeaway

    US$1,250 to Cayman and US$679 to us: US$1,929, every year the same.

    Chapter 5

    Economic substance: a notice for most, a report for a few

    Notification only
    • Your company trades, consults, sells software or invests in funds
    • Or it is tax resident in another country
    • One yearly notice, before the annual return
    • Nothing else to show
    Notification and a full report
    • Banking, insurance, fund management, financing and leasing, headquarters, shipping, distribution and service centre, intellectual property, or pure equity holding
    • Report within 12 months of the year end, through the tax authority's economic substance portal
    • Late report: CI$5,000 plus CI$500 a day
    • Failing the test: CI$10,000, then CI$100,000

    5
    Key takeaway

    A notice for most companies; a report only for the nine relevant activities.

    Chapter 6

    Other Cayman penalties worth knowing

    CI$500Not filing a change of directors or officers within 30 days (US$609.76)
    CI$5,000A beneficial ownership breach, plus CI$1,000 a month, capped at CI$25,000
    CI$10 a dayBeing without a registered office in Cayman
    CI$5,000A director who knowingly signs a false annual declaration, and the company can be dissolved
    $100 a dayAn exempted company trading inside the Islands, and it can be dissolved
    90 daysAn unpaid ownership fine after which the Registrar can strike the company off

    The ownership fines are set by the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (2026 Revision). The rest, including the power to strike off a company that leaves an ownership fine unpaid for 90 days, sit in the Companies Act.

    6
    Key takeaway

    Directors, owners and the registered office each carry their own fines.

    Chapter 7

    How to close, strike off or move a Cayman company

    APOSTILLE
    Your situation

    Whichever route you choose, finish it before January. Otherwise the next year's return and fee fall due first, and the deregistration fee on a move is set by that January's fee.

    7
    Key takeaway

    Strike off, liquidate or continue abroad, and finish before January.

    Chapter 8

    Cayman annual fees and filings: questions, answered

    ?!
    How much is the Cayman annual fee for an exempted company?
    CI$925 (US$1,128.05) in 2026 for the smallest capital band, rising to CI$1,025 (US$1,250) on 1 January 2027. Larger authorised capital pays more: up to CI$2,893 (US$3,528.05) from 2027.
    When is the Cayman annual return due?
    In January each year, starting the January after the company was registered. The annual fee is paid with it, and the economic substance notification goes in first.
    What happens if I pay the Cayman annual fee late?
    Nothing extra in February or March. From 1 April the penalty is 33.33% of the fee, from 1 July 66.67%, and from 1 October 100%. The company can also be treated as defunct after a month's notice.
    Does a Cayman exempted company need an audit?
    Not if it is an ordinary, unregulated company. It keeps proper books for at least five years and tells its registered office where they are.
    Does every Cayman company file an economic substance report?
    No. Every company files a yearly notification. Only a company carrying on one of the nine relevant activities, and not tax resident elsewhere, files a full report within 12 months of its year end.
    How do I close a Cayman exempted company?
    A company that has stopped doing business can ask the Registrar to strike it off for CI$75. One with assets or creditors is usually wound up by a liquidator, with CI$200 for each document filed.
    How much does it cost to move a Cayman company to another country?
    The Registry charges three times the last January annual fee to deregister a company that continues abroad: CI$3,075 (US$3,750) for the smallest band at 2027 rates.
    What does Heirson charge each year for a Cayman company?
    US$1,929 a year: Cayman's US$1,250 fee from 2027 plus our US$679 for the registered office, the annual return, the substance notification and reminders.

    Changelog

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

    A Cayman company whose January is already handled.

    We file the return and pay the fee in January, for US$1,929 a year.

    See the Cayman company Cayman bank accounts