Cost of Setting Up a Company in Hungary in 2026: Full Kft. Price Breakdown
The cost of setting up a company in Hungary is one of the lowest in the EU on paper — registering a Kft. (private limited company) carries no court duty and no publication fee at all. What catches foreign founders out is the second number: the cost of keeping that company alive for twelve months, which is where the real money goes. This guide separates the two, in forints, with a worked first-year budget.
Rates and amounts below are for the 2026 tax year. Where we show euro equivalents, they use the National Bank of Hungary mid-rate of roughly 363 HUF/EUR (31 July 2026) — the forint moves, so treat the euro figures as indicative only.
What you pay on day one
| Item | 2026 amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Company court registration duty | HUF 0 | Kft., Bt., Kkt. and sole-trader companies are exempt (Itv. § 45) |
| Publication fee | HUF 0 | not charged in the simplified (template) procedure |
| Lawyer’s fee (mandatory) | approx. HUF 50,000 – 150,000 | market price; drafting, countersignature, e-filing |
| Chamber of commerce contribution | HUF 5,000 | due within 5 working days of registration |
| Bank account opening | HUF 0 – 20,000 | bank-dependent, often free |
| Company gateway (Cégkapu) | HUF 0 | mandatory but free |
So the actual cash leaving your pocket on incorporation day is typically HUF 55,000 – 175,000 (roughly €150 – €480), and the lawyer is nearly all of it. That fee is a deductible company expense once the entity exists.
The HUF 3,000,000 share capital is not a cost
A Kft. needs minimum share capital of HUF 3,000,000 (about €8,300), with each member’s quota at least HUF 100,000. This is the single most misread line item in every Hungarian formation quote.
The capital is not a fee and not a deposit held by the state. It is your company’s own money. Once paid into the corporate bank account it can be spent the next day on salaries, equipment or marketing — it simply stays on the balance sheet as registered capital. Two further reliefs:
- it can be contributed in kind (equipment, vehicles, software) where the value is credibly established;
- the cash portion can be contributed in instalments if the articles of association say so.
For the full remote-setup mechanics, see our guide to opening a Kft. as a non-resident.
How fast is registration, legally?
In the simplified (template articles) procedure, the company court must decide on the application within one working hour of receipt (Ctv. § 48). If that deadline passes without a decision, the company is deemed registered by operation of law on the following working day, with the content requested in the application.
In practice a clean file gets its company registration number and tax number the same working day. Delays are almost never the court’s doing — they come from missing paperwork: an unapostilled signature, an unclear registered-seat consent, or an unresolved TEÁOR’25 activity code.
Three obligations that start immediately
These are cheap but sanctionable, and foreign owners routinely miss them:
- Chamber of commerce. Every company must register with the territorially competent chamber and pay the HUF 5,000 annual contribution — first within 5 working days of becoming an entrepreneur, then by 31 March each year.
- Hungarian payment account. A Hungarian legal entity must open at least one domestic payment account within 15 days of receiving its tax number. The default penalty for failing this can reach HUF 500,000. Practicalities are covered in our Hungarian business bank account guide.
- Cégkapu (company gateway). Electronic communication is mandatory; NAV, the company court and the municipality all deliver there.
The cost nobody quotes you: the managing director’s contributions
This is where a “€400 company” becomes a real budget. If a member of the Kft. also acts as managing director outside an employment relationship, Hungarian social security treats that person as a company entrepreneur (társas vállalkozó). For a full-time company entrepreneur there is a monthly minimum contribution base — payable even in a month with zero revenue.
For 2026 the base is the minimum wage: HUF 322,800 per month, or the guaranteed wage minimum: HUF 373,200 where the activity requires a qualification. One genuine 2026 improvement: the social contribution tax minimum base is now 100% of the minimum wage, down from the old 112.5% multiplier.
| Charge | Base (minimum wage) | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Social security contribution 18.5% | HUF 322,800 | HUF 59,718 |
| Social contribution tax (szocho) 13% | HUF 322,800 | HUF 41,964 |
| Total | HUF 101,682 |
That is HUF 1,220,184 a year — several times the entire incorporation cost.
The non-resident exception matters here. If the managing director is not insured in Hungary — for example an EU national who remains covered in their home Member State under an A1 certificate, or someone in a qualifying employment relationship elsewhere — the Hungarian minimum-base rule does not apply in the same way. Getting this classification right before incorporation is worth far more than shopping around on the lawyer’s fee. Our overview of employer costs in Hungary sets out the wider payroll picture.
Worked example: a foreign-owned Kft.’s first 12 months
A single-member service Kft., non-resident owner, no Hungarian office, no staff, HUF 18,000,000 (≈ €50,000) turnover. Two scenarios, depending on whether the managing director triggers the Hungarian contribution minimum.
| Item | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Lawyer’s fee (one-off) | HUF 90,000 |
| Chamber contribution | HUF 5,000 |
| Registered office service | HUF 96,000 |
| Accounting (English-language, monthly) | HUF 600,000 |
| Bank account maintenance | HUF 48,000 |
| Local business tax (2% on an estimated HUF 15m base) | HUF 300,000 |
| Subtotal — director insured abroad | ≈ HUF 1,139,000 (≈ €3,140) |
| Managing director’s minimum contributions, if Hungary-insured | HUF 1,220,184 |
| Total — director insured in Hungary | ≈ HUF 2,359,184 (≈ €6,500) |
On top of that sits 9% corporate tax on profit, and — if you distribute — 15% personal income tax plus a capped 13% social contribution on the dividend. We break that down in taking profit out of a Hungarian company.
The headline: budget €3,000–€6,500 a year to run a Hungarian Kft. properly, not the €400 that the incorporation quote implies.
What else to price in
- VAT status. Small businesses under HUF 20,000,000 annual turnover can elect VAT exemption (alanyi adómentesség), rising to HUF 22m in 2027 and HUF 24m in 2028. It saves administration but blocks input VAT recovery — see Hungarian VAT rates.
- Registered seat. If you have no Hungarian premises, a registered office service is the standard solution and is expressly permitted.
- Invoicing and reporting. Real-time invoice reporting to NAV is mandatory; NAV’s free invoicing tool is sufficient for many small companies.
- Statutory accounts. Filing the annual report itself is free; the accountant’s work is not. See Hungarian company accounting requirements.
Hungary vs. the alternatives on cost
Hungary’s competitive edge is not the setup fee — most EU jurisdictions have cut those too. It is the 9% corporate tax rate, the lowest headline rate in the European Union, combined with full EU market access and a functioning double tax treaty network. A company clearing meaningful profit recovers the running costs quickly; a dormant shell does not. We compare the tax side in Hungary’s corporate tax against the rest of the EU.
FAQ
How much does it cost to register a company in Hungary in 2026? Nothing to the state — the court duty and publication fee are HUF 0 for a Kft. Real out-of-pocket cost is the mandatory lawyer, typically HUF 50,000–150,000, plus the HUF 5,000 chamber contribution.
Do I really have to pay in HUF 3,000,000? The capital must be made available to the company, but it is not a fee — it stays the company’s money and can be spent on the business, contributed in kind, or paid in instalments if the articles allow.
How long does registration take? The company court must decide within one working hour in the simplified procedure; with a complete file, same-day registration is normal.
What is the biggest hidden cost? The managing director’s minimum social security base if that person is insured in Hungary — HUF 101,682 per month in 2026, regardless of revenue.
Can I do all of this without visiting Hungary? Yes. Incorporation is done by power of attorney; some banks require a short video call for account opening rather than an in-person visit.
Updated: 2026-08-05 · Tax year 2026. Lawyer, accounting and registered-office fees are market prices and therefore indicative. Social security classification depends on the managing director’s legal relationship and on any applicable EU coordination rules, so confirm your own position with an accountant before incorporating.
Want a fixed, transparent quote covering the lawyer, the registered seat and English-language accounting? See our Hungarian company formation service, or get in touch.