The corporate income tax is the main tax applicable to businesses operating in a certain country. Other taxes will apply to this, however, its value and whether or not reduced rates are available, represent key factors when choosing the location to base a company.

Our team of offshore company formation agents presents the values of the corporate income tax rates in a number of EU countries. For more detailed information you can always reach out to one of our specialists.
 

Tax rates across European countries

The table below includes the corporate income tax rates across nine different countries in Europe.
 

Country	Corporate Tax Rate
Hungary	With a 9% corporate income tax rate, this country has one of the lowest taxes on corporate income in Europe.
Cyprus	12.5% is the standard corporate income tax rate and income from rent is subject to a 3% rate while other types of income can be subject to different rates.
Bulgaria	One of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe, 10%.
Lithuania	The standard corporate income tax rate is 15% and micro companies can be exempt from tax on their first taxation period as well as have a preferential lower rate for the subsequent periods.
Poland	The standard rate is 19%, however, a lower rate of 15% is available for small companies (this is subject to certain conditions).
Ireland	One of the EU countries with an advantageous corporate income tax rate of 12.5% for trading income and larger for non-trading income (25%).
Luxembourg	The corporate income tax has a standard value of 18% and a reduced one of 15% for companies with an annual income that is below 25,000 €; other municipal business taxes can apply (with values from 6 to 12%).
The Netherlands	The corporate tax is 20% for the taxable profit of up to 250,000 EUR and 25% for profits that exceed this amount.
Romania	The standard profit tax for companies is 16% and lower ones are available for small businesses, either 1% or 3% depending on whether or not the business has employees.

Other countries in the EU have higher corporate income tax rates. Examples include: 

• Austria: The standard corporate income tax is 25% and a minimum corporate income tax applies in case of limited liability companies and joint stock companies.
• Belgium: Corporate taxation in Belgium has a rate of 29%, (reduced in 2018) to which a surcharge can apply; a reduced rate is available for small and medium companies on the first 100.000 (subject to conditions).
• Germany: The corporate income tax rate ranges according to the local trade taxes and can have values of 33%.
• France: The standard rate for companies is 33.33%, with a reduced rate of 28% for the first 500,000 € taxable income for 2018.

This table illustrates the corporate taxation rates in several countries across the EU. However, our team of offshore company formation specialists can give you more detailed information about these jurisdictions and others in Europe.
 

Offshore company setup according to corporate taxation

The value of the taxes for corporations in a certain country in Europe or elsewhere can have a significant impact on how that company runs the business and its profit rates. Investors who are interested in offshore company setup will often choose a country that has low corporate rates. In Europe, this is possible in a number of jurisdictions among which we can mention Ireland (12.5%), Isle of Man (0%), Hungary (9%) and others.

Entrepreneurs interested in knowing more about the corporate income tax rates across Europe can contact our offshore incorporation agents.