Scope and Fees for a Dormant Cyprus Company: What Is Actually Included in an Audit, Tax and Secretarial Quote

(real client enquiry)

Dear CYAUSE,

Thank you for your reply to our July enquiry, and apologies for coming back to you this late. We are choosing providers now, and we want to know exactly what is included before we decide, so we have a few questions about your fees.

Some background first, so your quote can be realistic:

• The company has been dormant since February 2026. No sales, no employees. The corporate card still pays for 10–12 software subscriptions each month, about €430, so 2026 will end with roughly 100–150 card transactions. We plan to move those subscriptions to a personal card in the next month or two, so from 2027 there should be almost no movement on the account.
• The accounts show an interest-free shareholder’s current account with no fixed repayment date, €22,000 as at 31 December 2025, disclosed as a related party transaction. Another €2,000 went in during 2026.
• The subscriptions are in the director’s own name but paid by the corporate card, so most vendor invoices are not in the company’s name. We would like the auditor’s view on how to treat them.
• FY2025 was audited by our previous accountant. Those accounts carry a VAT provision on 2025 EU sales and a tax loss carried forward.
• We keep the records ourselves and file our own VAT and OSS returns through the portals. At year end we would hand over a full pack: transaction register, trial balance, bank statements with reconciliation, all invoices, minutes.

Our questions:

1. Does your €450 per year accounting and audit package for dormant companies apply to a profile like this? If not, what fixed fee would you quote for FY2026?
2. Does that fee include the tax computation and the TD4/IR4 preparation and filing? If not, how much is it?
3. The shareholder’s account, the invoices not in the company’s name, the VAT provision: are these covered by the quoted audit, or billed on top?
4. What do you charge for the audit alone, without bookkeeping?
5. Once the card activity stops, would FY2027 qualify for a review engagement instead of a full audit, and at what fee?
6. On the secretary and registered office service at €800 per year: what is included? What does year two cost, is there a one-off transfer-in or KYC charge, and is there an exit fee?
7. Do you hold a licence for company secretarial and registered office services? If so, who issued it?

We plan to appoint the new secretary before the end of August.

Kind regards,

Dear Client,

Thank you for setting the position out so clearly — it makes a considered answer possible.

Before anything else, one point on methodology. For a firm fee quote we would need the 2025 audited financial statements, the company’s turnover, and a short description of its activities. What follows is therefore indicative, based on the profile you have described, and we would confirm it once we have seen those documents.

1. Does the €450 dormant package apply?

No. That package is designed for a company with no movement at all. Yours is not dormant in the accounting sense: 100–150 card transactions, an active shareholder’s current account and a VAT provision carried forward all require real work. For FY2026 we would expect a fixed fee in the region of €1,000–€1,300 + VAT, covering the bookkeeping review, the statutory financial statements and the audit.

2. Does that include the tax computation and the TD4/IR4?

Yes. The tax computation and the preparation and filing of the corporation tax return are included in the fee above, not billed separately.

3. Are the shareholder’s account, the third-party invoices and the VAT provision covered?

Included. None of the three attracts a separate charge.

They do, however, deserve comment, because each carries a risk you should be aware of:

• The shareholder’s current account. An interest-free balance with no fixed repayment date, owed by or to a shareholder, is a related party transaction requiring disclosure — and depending on its direction, deemed interest provisions may apply. It should be documented properly rather than left to sit on the balance sheet.
• Invoices in the director’s name. This is the most common weakness we see in small companies. An expense invoiced to an individual is, strictly, that individual’s expense. It is not automatically deductible for the company, and the VAT on it is not automatically recoverable. Where the subscriptions are genuinely for the company’s benefit, the cleanest fix is to move the contracts into the company’s name. Where that is not possible, a documented reimbursement policy is the fallback. Since you are moving these to a personal card anyway, this is worth resolving before the year end rather than after.
• The VAT provision on 2025 EU sales. We would want to understand how it was arrived at before signing anything.

4. The audit alone, without bookkeeping?

€800–€1,200 + VAT, depending on the state of the records handed over. Given that you maintain a transaction register, trial balance and bank reconciliation yourselves, you would sit at the lower end of that range.

5. Would FY2027 qualify for a review engagement instead of a full audit?

Quite possibly, and it is worth planning for. Under the Companies Law, Cap. 113, a company may have a review engagement rather than a full statutory audit where turnover is below €300,000 and total assets are below €500,000 — and both conditions have been met for the two preceding consecutive financial years. The turnover threshold was raised from €200,000 to €300,000 for financial years beginning on or after 6 February 2026.

On the profile you describe, both tests look comfortably satisfied. Our fee for a review engagement would be €800–€1,000 + VAT.

Two cautions. The two-year condition means eligibility is assessed on history, not intention. And a review is not a lighter-touch audit — it remains subject to regulatory inspection, and the file still has to stand up.

6. The secretary and registered office service at €800 per year

Included: provision of the registered office address, receipt and forwarding or scanning of incoming correspondence, filing of statutory documents on your instruction, maintenance of the statutory registers, and the keeping of statutory minutes.

Year two is charged at the same rate. Where a company’s activity is genuinely minimal, we can look at a modest reduction.

Our standard transfer-in and KYC charge is €400 + VAT, which we would consider waiving for a small operation of this kind.

There is no exit fee. If a transfer out ever required significant correspondence, time would be charged, but in practice that rarely arises.

7. Do you hold a licence for company secretarial and registered office services?

Yes. Our licence is issued by the Cyprus Bar Association. We would encourage you to verify any provider’s licence before appointing them — it is a question too few prospective clients think to ask, and the answer matters.

A closing observation

The most valuable thing in your enquiry is that you asked what is included rather than only what it costs. Quotes for small Cyprus companies are frequently compared on headline price while the scope underneath differs considerably — a €450 package and a €1,200 package are rarely doing the same work. Comparing on scope will serve you better than comparing on the number.

We would be glad to confirm firm figures once we have seen the 2025 audited financial statements.

Kind regards,

Summary of indicative fees

Indicative only, for one specific set of facts. Firm quotes require the latest audited financial statements, turnover and a description of activities.

This enquiry has been anonymised. All names, company details and contact information have been removed with the client’s interests in mind.

This article is provided for general information only. It does not constitute investment, tax, legal or audit advice, and the fees quoted are indicative figures given for one specific set of facts — they are not an offer and will differ for your company. Interested parties should enquire with us at enquiries@cyprusaccountants.com.cy or on +357 22 336 309 for a quote based on their own circumstances.