EU Inc cost: the €100 cap and no minimum capital
All EU Inc figures are from the proposal (COM(2026) 321) and not yet law. The regime is expected to apply around 2028; ongoing costs are not specified in the proposal.
Proposal figures only. Every cost below is from the proposal (COM(2026) 321). EU Inc is not yet law; the regime is expected to apply around 2028. Nothing here is billable today.
The cost pitch of EU Inc is deliberately simple: a hard cap of €100 on the registration fee and no minimum share capital. Both are core features of the proposal and both are subject to change in negotiation.
The €100 registration cap
The proposal caps registration at €100, paired with the 48-hour target and a fully digital, “digital-by-default” procedure. What makes that plausible is the standardised EU template articles of association: using bilingual model statutes removes the bespoke drafting and, in several national systems, the notarial deed that push national formation costs higher.
What the €100 does cover: the registration act itself — producing the single EU registration certificate and, via the “once-only” principle, the automatic linking to tax, VAT, social security and beneficial-ownership registers.
What it does not cover: everything after formation. The proposal does not specify ongoing costs, so accounting, annual filings, audit where required, and tax compliance are out of scope of the cap and depend on the member state of the registered office. Treat any specific ongoing figure as indicative — it is not in the proposal.
No minimum share capital
The proposal sets no minimum share capital. This removes the up-front cash lock-up that several national forms impose. National minimum-capital benchmarks below are indicative, for context, and should be checked against current national rules:
| Form | Minimum share capital | Note |
|---|---|---|
| EU Inc (proposed) | €0 (no minimum) | From the proposal; not yet law. |
| GmbH (Germany) | ~€25,000 | Notarised formation typically required. |
| SA (France) | ~€37,000 | Standard SA minimum; far higher than startup forms. |
| SAS (France) | €1 in principle | Low capital, but national formalities apply. |
The takeaway holds regardless of the exact national numbers: EU Inc’s no-minimum-capital posture matches the cheapest national forms on paper, while its template articles + €100 cap + 48h target aim to undercut the ones that require notarisation or higher capital.
Ongoing costs: not yet specified
The proposal fixes the formation economics, not the running economics. There is no harmonised figure for accounting, filing or tax compliance, and tax itself stays national (only EU-ESO option timing is harmonised, deferred to sale). Anyone modelling total cost of ownership should treat post-formation costs as an open item pending the final text and national implementation.
Cost posture vs Delaware / Stripe Atlas
On headline formation cost, the proposal is aggressive: under €100 and no minimum capital, versus the roughly $500 plus a registered agent typical of a Delaware C-Corp set up through a service like Stripe Atlas (Delaware figures reflect current market practice, shown for context). But price is not why founders pick Delaware. Its value is investor recognition and decades of legal certainty — advantages EU Inc cannot claim until it exists and is tested. Cost is where EU Inc can win; certainty and familiarity are where Delaware still does.
→ Full breakdown: EU Inc vs Delaware C-Corp · procedure: how to register · conditions: eligibility.