Form a Company in Croatia — Fixed-Price

Last updated: April 2026.

Croatia joined the eurozone on 1 January 2023 and the Schengen Area on the same date, making it the only EU member to gain both statuses in a single step. The standard corporate tax rate is 18%, but companies with revenues below €1 million pay 10% — one of the lowest small-business CIT rates in the EU. The dominant legal form is the d.o.o. (društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću), with minimum share capital of €2,500, of which at least €625 must be paid in before the Commercial Court will register the company. Foreign founders can own 100% of shares and serve as the sole director without residing in Croatia. End-to-end formation runs two to four weeks.

We form Croatian d.o.o. companies end to end: OIB tax numbers, notarised articles of association, HITRO.hr filing, Commercial Court registration, Tax Administration and social-security enrolment, Fiscalisation 2.0 e-invoicing setup, and a business bank account introduction. Fixed price, Croatian-speaking coordination, all government fees and notary costs included.

Quick facts	Value
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) — standard	18%
CIT — small taxpayer (revenue ≤ €1M)	10%
VAT (PDV)	25% standard / 13% / 5% reduced
VAT registration threshold	€60,000 annual turnover
Minimum share capital (d.o.o.)	€2,500 (min €625 paid before registration)
Minimum share capital (j.d.o.o.)	€1.00
Minimum directors / shareholders	1 director, 1 shareholder (can be the same person, can be foreign non-resident)
Residency requirement	None
Standard formation time	2–4 weeks (court decision usually within 5 working days of filing)
Government fees	Included in our packages
Language of filings	Croatian
Currency	Euro (EUR)

Why Form a Company in Croatia

Croatia is the newest eurozone member and the only EU state bordering both the Balkans and the Adriatic. Three reasons foreign founders pick it over its neighbours.

The 10% small-taxpayer rate. Below €1 million of annual revenue, Croatian corporate tax falls to 10%. Most early-stage and mid-sized operating companies qualify. That is two points under Ireland's headline, two-and-a-half under Cyprus, and equal to Hungary's flat 9% only on pure headline terms — Croatia's VAT and social-contribution mix still differs. Above the €1 million threshold the rate climbs to 18%, which is still below the EU average.

Eurozone access without western-European cost. Since adopting the euro in January 2023, Croatian companies invoice and hold capital in EUR without conversion friction. SEPA payments clear domestically. Combined with Schengen membership, a Croatian d.o.o. is a fully integrated EU vehicle — Single Market, free movement, EU VAT, Parent-Subsidiary Directive, Interest and Royalties Directive — at operating costs closer to Hungary or Bulgaria than to Austria or Italy.

A Balkans bridgehead with EU standing. Croatia's geography sits at the EU's southern edge, facing Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro. Many groups incorporate in Zagreb specifically to run regional operations across the former Yugoslav markets while keeping contracts governed by EU law and disputes in EU courts. Tourism, maritime trade, and IT services dominate inbound FDI.

The trade-offs: filings are in Croatian (we handle this), the Commercial Court requires notarised founding documents — there is no online-only shortcut like Poland's S24 — and Fiscalisation 2.0 mandatory B2B e-invoicing went live on 1 January 2026, adding compliance work every company must plan for.

Company Types Available in Croatia

Croatian corporate law recognises six principal forms. For the overwhelming majority of foreign founders, the d.o.o. is the right answer.

d.o.o. (Društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću)

The Croatian limited liability company. Shareholder exposure is capped at the contributed capital. Minimum share capital is €2,500, split into business shares of at least €10 each. At least €625 — or 25% of subscribed capital, whichever is greater — must be paid in cash to a temporary deposit account before the Commercial Court registers the company. One shareholder and one director are sufficient; both can be the same person, a non-resident, and a foreign national. Annual filings go to the Commercial Court and to Porezna uprava (the Tax Administration). Statutory audit applies only when two of three thresholds are crossed (revenue above €15m, assets above €7.5m, 50+ employees).

j.d.o.o. (Jednostavno društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću — Simple LLC)

Created in 2012 to lower the entry barrier. Minimum share capital is €1.00. Capped at five shareholders and one management-board member. Must allocate 25% of annual profit to a statutory capital reserve until the company's capital reaches €2,500 — at which point it can convert to a standard d.o.o. Useful for very early-stage ventures and solo founders, but the cap on shareholders and the profit-allocation rule make it unsuitable for anything with external investors.

d.d. (Dioničko društvo — Joint-Stock Company)

For larger businesses and any company planning to list on the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Minimum share capital is €25,000, with nominal share value of at least €1. Mandatory supervisory board and statutory audit. Use d.d. if you need freely transferable shares or regulated capital-market access.

Obrt (Sole Trader / Craft)

A registered sole proprietorship. No separate legal personality, unlimited personal liability. Common for freelancers and small service providers with revenue below the VAT threshold, but unsuitable for foreign investors seeking limited liability.

j.t.d. and k.d. (General and Limited Partnerships)

Javno trgovačko društvo is a general partnership with unlimited liability for all partners. Komanditno društvo is a limited partnership with at least one general partner and one limited partner. Rare in foreign-founder structures.

Podružnica (Branch)

A Croatian branch of a foreign company. Not a separate legal entity — the parent's balance sheet and liabilities extend to the branch. Used where a foreign group needs Croatian presence without a separate sub.

Form	Min capital	Liability	Tax	Common use
d.o.o.	€2,500	Limited	CIT (18% / 10% small)	Default — SMEs, holdings, foreign subs
j.d.o.o.	€1.00	Limited	CIT	Solo founders, pre-seed ventures
d.d.	€25,000	Limited	CIT	Listed cos, large unlisted
Obrt	None	Personal	PIT	Freelancers, small traders
j.t.d. / k.d.	None	Personal/mixed	PIT (partners)	Small partnerships
Podružnica	n/a	Parent's	CIT on HR-source income	Foreign group presence

Step-by-Step Formation Process

A typical d.o.o. formation through HITRO.hr and a Croatian notary follows these steps.

Name reservation and Commercial Court check. We verify the proposed name is available in the Court Register and carries the mandatory "d.o.o." suffix. Names cannot contain protected terms (bank, insurance, the Republic) without authorisation. Two alternatives is standard.

OIB (personal tax ID) for all founders. Every shareholder, director, and member of the management board needs a Croatian OIB issued by the Tax Administration. Non-residents can obtain it through a power of attorney — we submit the application on the founder's behalf and typical issuance is 1–3 working days.

Notarised articles of association. Croatian law requires the founding deed, articles of association, and founders' minutes to be drawn up and certified by a javni bilježnik (public notary). The notary verifies identity, reads the deed aloud, and issues the certified founding package. Remote signing is possible for directors who cannot travel — we coordinate via power of attorney legalised with an apostille.

Share capital deposit. We open a temporary deposit account at a Croatian bank and pay in the minimum cash contribution (€625 for a €2,500 d.o.o.; €1 for a j.d.o.o.). The bank issues a certificate that goes into the incorporation file.

Filing via HITRO.hr. The notarised package, share-capital certificate, and founders' OIB numbers are filed with the Commercial Court through the HITRO.hr one-stop-shop. The Court reviews the documentation and issues the Decision on Incorporation and the company's OIB within five working days of a complete filing.

Post-incorporation registrations. Within 15 days we register the company with the Tax Administration for profit tax, VAT (if the €60,000 threshold is met or voluntary registration is elected), the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO), and the Health Insurance Institute (HZZO). The business bank account moves from the temporary deposit account to a full operating account, and we enrol the company in Fiscalisation 2.0 for mandatory B2B e-invoicing.

End-to-end timeline from KYC clearance to an operating company with an open bank account is typically 2 to 4 weeks. The court registration itself lands around day 5–7 after notarisation; the bank is usually the longest step, and Croatian banks generally require the director to attend a branch in person at least once.

Required Documents

For each shareholder, director, and ultimate beneficial owner:

Passport or EU national ID (certified copy if signed under remote power of attorney)
Proof of residential address dated within three months
OIB number (we obtain this from Porezna uprava for non-residents)
Signed specimen signature, to be filed with the Court Register
Confirmation of no outstanding tax debt in the home jurisdiction (for certain nationalities)

For corporate shareholders:

Apostilled certificate of incorporation
Apostilled extract from the home-country register of directors / certificate of incumbency
UBO declaration identifying the ultimate natural-person owner
Apostilled board resolution approving the Croatian investment and appointing the representative
Certified Croatian translation of all foreign documents (we arrange via a sworn court interpreter — required for the Court Register)

You also confirm the registered office address (we provide one in Zagreb if you do not have your own Croatian address), the share capital allocation, and the NKD activity codes describing the business activity.

Costs and Timeline

Croatian formation costs depend on whether you use a standard d.o.o. or a j.d.o.o., whether the founders travel to Zagreb or sign under apostilled power of attorney, and whether you need ongoing accounting (mandatory monthly filings for VAT-registered companies, annual CIT return for all).

Our packages cover full incorporation through HITRO.hr, notary fees for the founding deed, OIB applications, sworn Croatian translation of foreign documents, Commercial Court registration, share-capital deposit handling, Tax Administration and social-security registrations, Fiscalisation 2.0 e-invoicing setup, registered office for year one, and a business bank account introduction. Contact us for a fixed-price quote — no hourly bills, no surprise extras.

If your timeline cannot absorb two to four weeks, our sister brand offers ready-made Croatian d.o.o. — pre-incorporated and transferable in days rather than weeks.

Typical timeline from KYC clearance:

Day	Milestone
0	Engagement, KYC submitted
1–3	KYC cleared, OIB applications filed for non-resident founders
4–6	Articles drafted, notary appointment, founding deed certified
6–8	Share-capital deposit at Croatian bank, incorporation file assembled
8	HITRO.hr filing to Commercial Court
12–13	Court Register decision issued, company OIB generated
13–18	Tax Administration and HZMO/HZZO registrations, VAT if applicable
14–28	Operating bank account opened (variable per bank, typically requires director branch visit)

Tax Overview for Croatian Companies

Croatian corporate taxation has a simple two-tier headline and a surprisingly generous small-business rate.

Standard CIT: 18% on taxable profits. Applies to any company whose annual revenue in the tax period exceeds €1 million.

Small taxpayer CIT: 10% for any company with annual revenues (including VAT) at or below €1 million in the tax period. New companies qualify in their first year automatically. The 10% rate applies to all taxable income, including capital gains.

VAT is 25% standard, 13% for hospitality, accommodation, and certain cultural/media supplies, 5% for basic foodstuffs, books, medicines, and scientific publications. The mandatory VAT registration threshold is €60,000 in annual turnover — raised from €40,000 on 1 January 2025. Most B2B-cross-border businesses register voluntarily from day one to reclaim input VAT.

Fiscalisation 2.0 became mandatory on 1 January 2026. All VAT-registered companies must issue and receive structured electronic invoices in UBL 2.1 / CIUS-HR format and submit both fiscalisation and e-reporting data to Porezna uprava in real time. Non-VAT-registered entities follow from 1 January 2027. We include Fiscalisation 2.0 software setup in our accounting packages.

Withholding tax on outbound payments to non-residents:

Dividends: 10% standard, reduced to 5% for qualifying EU parents holding ≥10% for 2+ years and to 0% under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive for full qualifying EU structures
Interest: 15%, reduced under the EU Interest and Royalties Directive and under most of Croatia's 60+ double-tax treaties
Royalties: 15% on standard royalties, 5% on industrial/commercial/scientific-equipment royalties
A penalty rate of 25% applies to payments to jurisdictions on the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions

Capital gains are included in the standard CIT base — there is no separate capital-gains regime for corporate taxpayers. Transfer pricing follows OECD principles, with contemporaneous documentation required above set materiality thresholds.

Banking for Croatian Companies

Croatian business banking is dominated by Italian and Austrian parent groups, which brings western-EU compliance standards to an emerging-market setting. Non-resident-controlled companies are welcome but all major banks require at least one in-person director meeting.

Zagrebačka banka (ZABA) is Croatia's largest bank and part of the UniCredit Group. Its Centre for Non-Residents in Zagreb runs a dedicated multilingual desk for foreign founders and cross-border corporate structures. Strong English, German, and Italian support. The default mainstream choice for cf24 clients.

Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) is the Croatian subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo and the country's second-largest bank. Its non-resident services arm handles account opening for hybrid resident/non-resident structures with EU passporting experience inherited from the Italian parent.

Erste & Steiermärkische Bank — the Croatian arm of Austria's Erste Group — is the easy choice for DACH-region clients. Austrian compliance standards, strong Austrian and German B2B payment integration, and direct relationship onboarding for founders already banking with Erste Austria.

Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. (RBA Croatia) and OTP banka d.d. (Hungarian-parent) round out the tier-one corporate bench. Both are comfortable with non-resident shareholders but require certified translations of all foreign corporate documents for onboarding.

Wise Business and Revolut Business are the leading EMI alternatives. Since Croatia joined the eurozone in 2023, SEPA flows between Croatian banks and pan-EU EMIs settle same-day with no FX. Wise is suitable for cross-border e-commerce, SaaS, and consulting businesses without heavy domestic Croatian payment volume. EMIs do not yet fully integrate with Croatian tax direct-debit mandates — most operating companies pair an EMI with a domestic bank for Porezna uprava and HZMO/HZZO payments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreigner open a d.o.o. in Croatia?

Yes. Croatian company law imposes no residency, citizenship, or work-permit requirement on shareholders or directors of a d.o.o. A non-resident foreigner can be the sole shareholder and sole director from day one. The only prerequisite is a Croatian OIB tax identification number for every founder and director, which we obtain from Porezna uprava under power of attorney on the founder's behalf.

How long does it take to register a Croatian d.o.o.?

The Commercial Court typically issues the Decision on Incorporation within five working days of a complete filing through HITRO.hr. Including KYC, OIB applications, notary appointment, sworn translation of foreign documents, and share-capital deposit, our end-to-end timeline is 2 to 4 weeks from first contact to a fully operational company with a bank account opened.

What is the minimum share capital for a Croatian d.o.o.?

The statutory minimum is €2,500, divided into business shares of at least €10 nominal value each. At least €625 — or 25% of subscribed capital, whichever is greater — must be paid in cash to a temporary deposit account before the Court will register the company. Founders preferring a lower entry threshold can use the simple LLC (j.d.o.o.), which requires only €1.00 of share capital.

What is the corporate tax rate in Croatia?

The standard rate is 18%. A reduced rate of 10% applies to small taxpayers — companies with annual revenues (including VAT) at or below €1 million in the tax period. Newly formed companies qualify for the 10% rate in their first year automatically. There is no separate capital-gains regime — gains are taxed at the applicable CIT rate as ordinary income.

Does Croatia use the euro?

Yes. Croatia adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2023, replacing the Croatian kuna (HRK) at a fixed rate of 7.53450 HRK to 1 EUR. All share capital, company filings, tax payments, and financial statements are now denominated in EUR. Croatia also joined the Schengen Area on the same date, giving Croatian d.o.o. companies fully integrated EU standing.

What is Fiscalisation 2.0 and does my company need it?

Fiscalisation 2.0 is Croatia's mandatory e-invoicing and real-time transaction reporting system. From 1 January 2026 every VAT-registered Croatian company must issue and receive structured electronic invoices in UBL 2.1 / CIUS-HR format and submit fiscalisation data to Porezna uprava in real time. Non-VAT-registered entities follow from 1 January 2027. We include compliant software setup in our accounting packages.

Do I need a Croatian bank account for my company?

Yes, in practice. Croatian law does not technically mandate a domestic bank account, but Porezna uprava, HZMO, and HZZO will only accept direct-debit payments from accounts linked to the company's OIB. Most operating d.o.o. companies use either Zagrebačka banka, PBZ, Erste, RBA, or OTP for domestic obligations, paired optionally with an EMI (Wise or Revolut Business) for cross-border flows.

Get Started — Form Your Croatian Company

A fixed-price quote in 60 seconds. Commercial Court registration typically in five working days once the notarised file is in. Bank account introduction included. Fiscalisation 2.0 e-invoicing enrolment handled as standard.

Call +48 2222 5 2222 or email [email protected] to start. Most Croatian formations are complete and operating with a bank account within 2 to 4 weeks.

Content prepared by Julia Thompson, Corporate Client Service Specialist. Approved by Tomasz Bielski, Managing Director.

Company Formation in Croatia