Register a German GmbH, Europe's engine room.

Yes. Since 2022 the notarial deed for a cash-formed GmbH signs online by video with identity checks, and the POA route through our notaries covers cases the video procedure can't. Registers, tax numbers and fintech banking all run remotely. Traditional banks may still want a meeting; we route around them where possible.

Turnkey registration starts from €2,900 including notary, court and register fees and the first-year address. With the capital account and banking arranged, packages start from €5,400. The €12,500+ paid-in capital stays the company's money. Renewals with a Steuerberater run from €2,800 a year. German accounting is real, and we price it accordingly.

Roughly 30% combined: 15.825% federal (corporate tax plus solidarity) and municipal trade tax of 7-17% depending on the seat. Dividends to you personally carry 26.375%; to qualifying EU parents, zero. VAT is 19%. We model your combined rate, including the municipality choice, before you commit.

Yes, legitimately. Trade tax is set by each Gemeinde through its multiplier, and the spread between a big-city seat and a well-chosen municipality can be several points of combined rate, worth real money at scale. The seat must be genuine: a mailbox in a low-tax village that manages from Munich invites challenge. We structure it properly or not at all.

The GmbH is the credential: €25,000 capital, half paid in, instantly respected. The UG (haftungsbeschränkt) starts from €1 but must retain a quarter of profits until it converts, and German counterparties read «UG» as «not yet». Testing quietly: UG. Selling to the Mittelstand: GmbH from day one. We advise per case.

Because traditional German banks dislike opening blocked accounts for companies in formation with non-resident founders. Compliance overhead they don't want. The practical answer is knowing which institutions and fintechs do it reliably, and starting that application before the notary date. That knowledge is a large part of what you hire us for, and we say so plainly.

Real: German-language filings, a mandatory tax-office questionnaire, published annual accounts, letters answered by letter. The system is slow but consistent, and it rewards doing things right the first time. A good Steuerberater is not optional, ours is included, and English reporting sits on top of the German machinery so you always know where things stand.

German gross salaries are high but employer on-costs are moderate, around 21% in split social contributions, which is why total employment cost often lands below France despite bigger paychecks. Labour law is protective and predictable; works-council rules start at scale. We model per role before you build the team.

Austria offers the same weight with CEE reach and group taxation at 23%. The Netherlands is lighter, English-first and holding-friendly at 25.8%. Germany's case is unmatched demand and the GmbH credential. If your customers are German, there is no substitute, and we say when they aren't.

Plan two to four weeks: days for drafting, the online notary inside a week, the capital account one to two weeks (started early), then the HRB entry and tax numbers. A fintech operating account can be live in days once registered. Slower than France, faster than its reputation, if the sequence is right.