Family Office in Liechtenstein: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
Liechtenstein has no family office regime: no family office licence or family exemption was found. The FMA says firms that provide securities services commercially for third parties need its licence, and the Asset Management Act (version of 1 February 2026) exempts services provided only for a parent company or its subsidiaries, or only within a board mandate. Its civil-law vehicles include the foundation, the establishment (Anstalt), the trust enterprise and the trust, the Tax Act levies no inheritance or gift tax, and companies pay 12.5% corporate income tax with a minimum of CHF 1,800 a year, which is all a private asset structure pays (Tax Administration). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Best for: Families who want to hold wealth through a Liechtenstein foundation, establishment or trust in an EEA state with no inheritance or gift tax and a 12.5% corporate tax (or only the CHF 1,800 minimum tax for a private asset structure), and who do not need residence for the family, which Chambers says is granted very selectively.
At a glance
| Licence | No family office regime; FMA licence for commercial services to others; group exempt |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | No wealth minimum in the rules checked; no family office regime |
| Who counts as family | No legal definition of family; exemptions only for group companies and board mandates |
| Serving several families | FMA asset management licence (EUR 75,000 capital); no multi-family office licence |
| Law and courts | Civil law (ABGB, PGR); EEA, not EU; Hague trusts since 2006 (reported) reported |
| Substance | No rule for single family offices; foundation council needs a domestic trustee (reported) |
| Holding vehicles | Foundation, establishment (Anstalt), trust enterprise, trust, AG, GmbH |
| Corporate tax | 12.5%, CHF 1,800 minimum tax; holding dividends and gains generally exempt (reported) |
| Family office tax | No family office regime; private asset structure pays only the CHF 1,800 minimum tax |
| Personal income tax | 1% to 8% national tax plus 150% to 250% municipal surcharge; 4% notional return on wealth |
| Inheritance tax | No inheritance, estate or gift tax; 3.5% tax on some transfers to non-exempt entities |
| Wills and succession | Descendants and spouse or partner get half their intestate share (since August 2024) |
| Residence | No investor visa; non-EEA non-workers must be of special interest; EEA permits by lot |
| Time to set up | No official figure for an SFO; FMA decides on an asset manager licence within 6 months |
| Official fees | CHF 700 to register an AG, GmbH or foundation; CHF 300 to deposit a foundation notice |
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Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in Liechtenstein?
No family office licence, registration or family exemption was found. The FMA's guidance (last amended 1 February 2025) says firms that provide securities services 'gewerbsmässig ... für Dritte' (on a commercial basis for third parties) in or from Liechtenstein need an FMA licence before starting business (Article 5 of the Asset Management Act, VVG). The VVG (version of 1 February 2026) exempts persons who provide these services only for their parent company, its subsidiaries or other subsidiaries of the parent (Article 2(2)(f)), or only within a board mandate for legal entities, trusteeships or similar bodies (Article 2(2)(d)); it names no exemption for family members, and no law or FMA statement was found that says whether an office managing only one family's assets needs a licence. A family office that founds entities for others, takes administrative mandates under Article 180a PGR or trusteeships, or gives financial, business or tax advice as a business (independently, regularly and for payment) needs an FMA licence under the Trustee Act (TrHG, version of 1 June 2026). [1, 2, 8, 9]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Liechtenstein?
No minimum family wealth in the rules checked: there is no family office regime, and the licence test in the Asset Management Act and the FMA's guidance turns on providing services commercially for third parties, not on wealth. The minimums found are capital rules for vehicles and providers: CHF, EUR or USD 30,000 for a foundation or an establishment (50,000 if the establishment's capital is divided into shares), according to Chambers, and initial capital of at least EUR 75,000 for an FMA-licensed asset management company (FMA guidance). [1, 2, 7]
Who counts as family?
No legal definition of 'family' applies, because there is no family office regime. Under the Asset Management Act (version of 1 February 2026) what matters is whether services are provided commercially for others: it exempts services provided only for a parent company, its subsidiaries or other subsidiaries of the parent, and services provided only within a board mandate for legal entities, trusteeships or similar bodies, and it names no exemption for family members. [1, 2]
Can one office serve several families?
No dedicated multi-family office licence was found. An office that provides securities services under the Asset Management Act, such as portfolio management or investment advice, for several families on a commercial basis needs an FMA licence as an asset management company (Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft), with its seat and head office in Liechtenstein, initial capital of at least EUR 75,000 paid in before business starts and a licence fee of CHF 15,000 (class 2) or CHF 10,000 (class 3), according to the FMA's guidance. Trustee services for others (founding entities for others, administrative mandates under Article 180a PGR, trusteeships, financial, business or tax advice) need an FMA licence under the Trustee Act. [1, 2, 8]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Liechtenstein is a civil-law country: succession follows its General Civil Code (ABGB), whose compulsory share rules were reformed from 1 August 2024, and foundations, establishments and trusts are governed by the Persons and Companies Act (PGR), with trusts in Article 897 and following. Chambers (Ospelt & Partner, 2026) says foundation and trust disputes go to the Princely Courts (a court of first instance, a High Court and a Supreme Court), that Liechtenstein is an EEA/EFTA state and not an EU member, has not adopted the EU Succession Regulation, and that the Hague Trusts Convention has been in force there since 1 April 2006. [7, 10, 11]
Reported by the sources named, not confirmed by an official source.
What substance is required?
No office, staff or spending rule for a single family office was found. An FMA-licensed asset management company must have its seat and head office in Liechtenstein, at least two members on both its board and its management, and a qualified manager with at least three years of full-time relevant experience, and one person may manage no more than two such companies (FMA guidance, 2025). Grant Thornton (2023) says a Liechtenstein foundation needs at least two council members, one of whom, authorised to manage and represent it, must be a domestic trustee or an equivalent person. [1, 12]
Which holding vehicles are available?
The foundation (Stiftung), the establishment (Anstalt), the trust enterprise (Treuunternehmen) and the trust (Treuhänderschaft, Article 897 and following PGR), alongside the company limited by shares (AG) and the limited liability company (GmbH), all appear in the commercial register fee schedule. Grant Thornton says entry in the register is required for charitable foundations and for private-benefit foundations that run a commercially organised business, and the fee schedule also sets a fee for depositing a foundation's formation notice instead of entering it. Chambers (2026) gives a minimum capital of CHF, EUR or USD 30,000 for a foundation (which needs at least two council members, according to Grant Thornton) and for an establishment (50,000 if divided into shares), and says the Hague Trusts Convention entered into force in Liechtenstein on 1 April 2006. [3, 7, 11, 12]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
Corporate income tax is 12.5%, with a minimum income tax of CHF 1,800 a year (Tax Administration, 2026). Chambers (2026) says dividends and capital gains on holdings are generally exempt, subject to a switch-over rule for distributions from low-taxed foreign companies whose income is more than 50% passive. A deduction for a notional return on modified equity can be claimed (Office of Statistics, 2025) and the Tax Act as of 1 July 2026 still refers to it (Article 54); PwC (last reviewed 9 June 2026) gives its rate as 4%, set by the annual finance law, and no official 2026 rate was found. Groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more pay a top-up tax to a 15% minimum for tax years from 1 January 2024 (Chambers), a supplementary tax reserved in Article 1(2) of the Tax Act. [4, 5, 7, 13, 14]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
No tax regime specific to family offices was found. The Tax Administration says private asset structures (PVS) are not subject to income tax and pay only the minimum income tax of CHF 1,800 a year (Article 64 of the Tax Act). Its guidance note (version of April 2024) says a PVS may only hold its assets passively, with no economic activity, may not place its shares publicly, advertise for investors or take fees from them, may have as investors only individuals managing their private wealth, structures acting solely in their interest or intermediaries for them, and may not control the companies it holds (board seats are generally not allowed); status is granted on application, and the structure must confirm every year that it meets the conditions. A Tax Administration form lets private asset structures, trusts and revocable foundations declare values for proxy wealth taxation on behalf of beneficiaries or settlors. [4, 6, 15, 16]
Is there personal income tax?
Residents pay a combined wealth and income tax (Vermögens- und Erwerbssteuer): their wealth is turned into income by a notional return (Sollertrag) of 4%, fixed in the Tax Act from tax year 2026, which the Government must review every four years. The national tariff rises from 1% to 8%, with 8% on taxable income from CHF 211,401 for a single person (CHF 422,801 for married couples assessed jointly; the first CHF 15,855 is tax free for a single person and CHF 31,710 for a couple), and the Tax Administration says each municipality adds a surcharge of 150% to 250% of the national tax. Foreign nationals who take up residence for the first time or after at least ten years away, do not work in Liechtenstein and live on income from their assets or other foreign income can apply to be taxed on expenditure, at 25% of their total expenditure. [4, 17, 18]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
There is no inheritance, estate or gift tax: Article 1 of the Tax Act lists only the wealth and income tax, the expenditure-based tax, the real estate gains tax, the corporate income tax, the formation duty and the insurance premium duty (plus a supplementary minimum tax for large groups under a separate act), Article 15 exempts one-off inheritances, legacies and gifts from income tax, and Chambers (2026) confirms that Liechtenstein levies neither gift nor inheritance tax. Real estate gains tax is deferred when property passes by inheritance, as an advance on inheritance or as a gift. Under Article 13 (Widmungsbesteuerung), a person who transfers assets to a legal entity or special dedication of assets that is not tax-exempt pays 3.5% of the wealth-tax value of the transfer when the beneficiaries' benefits or shares cannot be valued, unless proxy wealth taxation under Article 9(3) has been requested. [4, 7]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
Since 1 August 2024 (Act of 16 May 2024 amending the General Civil Code, LGBl. 2024 No. 259), only descendants and the spouse or registered partner are entitled to a compulsory share (Pflichtteil), which is half of their intestate share and is payable in money; Chambers notes that ascendants, siblings and unmarried partners have none. Lifetime gifts are added back, including transfers of assets to a foundation and being made a foundation beneficiary to the extent the deceased endowed it (a genuine discretionary beneficiary position does not count), while gifts to persons without a compulsory share count only if made in the two years before death. The new rules apply to deaths from 1 August 2024, and Chambers says assets endowed to a foundation are generally not part of the founder's estate. [7, 10]
Can the family get residence?
No investor visa or residence-by-investment programme was found. Under the Foreign Nationals Act (AuG), which covers people who are not EEA or Swiss nationals, a person who will not work can get a residence permit only if they are of special interest to the country, have suitable housing, full health insurance and enough money to avoid social assistance, backed by a guarantee from a bank based in Liechtenstein, and have no conviction for a crime or misdemeanour; the Act sets no amount and leaves details to a government ordinance. Residence permits are as a rule for one year, a settlement permit with no time limit generally needs five years of uninterrupted residence, a civics test and German, and the spouse or registered partner and unmarried children under 18 can join. For EEA nationals, half of the residence permits must be allocated by a procedure giving every applicant an equal chance, a draw held twice a year (the November 2023 draw gave 4 permits for residence without gainful activity), and Chambers says permits are granted very selectively, with high-net-worth individuals generally favoured. [7, 19, 20, 21]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
No official time for registering a company or foundation was found. For an asset management company licence, the FMA says it usually responds within three weeks once the documents for the first part of the application are complete, and must decide within six months of receiving a complete application. [1]
What are the official fees?
Indicative, from the Land Register and Commercial Register Fees Ordinance (version in force since 1 August 2024): CHF 700 to register an AG, GmbH, establishment or trust enterprise, plus 0.2 per mille of capital above CHF 200,000 (CHF 10,000 at most in total); CHF 700 to register a foundation, or CHF 300 to deposit its formation notice; CHF 300 to register a trust or to deposit a trust deed. No family office fee exists because no family office regime was found; the FMA licence fee for an asset management company is CHF 15,000 (class 2) or CHF 10,000 (class 3). [1, 3]
Pros and cons
Pros
- No inheritance, estate or gift tax: the Tax Act levies none, and inheritances, legacies and gifts are exempt from income tax.
- A flat 12.5% corporate income tax with a CHF 1,800 minimum, and a private asset structure that only holds its assets passively pays just that CHF 1,800 minimum tax (Tax Administration).
- Its own civil-law vehicles (foundation, establishment, trust enterprise and trust) with low official registration fees: CHF 700 to register a foundation or CHF 300 to deposit its formation notice.
Cons
- No family office regime or express family exemption: the FMA says commercial securities services for third parties need its licence, and the Asset Management Act exempts only services for group companies and within board mandates.
- No investor visa: a non-EEA foreign national who will not work must be of special interest to the country and show funds backed by a Liechtenstein bank guarantee, and EEA nationals' permits are partly drawn by lot.
- Descendants and the spouse or registered partner keep a compulsory share of half their intestate share, and transfers to a foundation can count as gifts when it is calculated.
