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Cayman exempted companies file an annual return and pay their fee each January. The 2027 fee rises to CI$1,025. Penalties and other filings explained.
Every Cayman Islands exempted company must file an annual return with the Registrar of Companies and pay its annual fee in January each year after the year it was registered, so the 2027 return and fee are due by 31 January 2027. From 1 January 2027, the fee for a company with registered capital up to CI$42,000 rises by CI$100 to CI$1,025 (about US$1,250). Paying from 1 April onwards adds a penalty of a third, two thirds or the whole fee, and a company that never complies is struck off.
If you hold a Cayman company through a family office, a fund structure or a deal vehicle, January is the month that matters. The filing itself is short. What causes trouble is the paperwork that has to happen around it, and the fact that the people who know about changes in the company are rarely the people who file.
What the Cayman annual return is and which companies must file it
The annual return is a short declaration under section 168 of the Companies Act (2026 Revision). It confirms four things:
the memorandum of association has not changed, except as already reported
the nature of the company's business
the company's operations have been carried on mainly outside the Cayman Islands
section 174, which restricts exempted companies from trading in the Islands, has been complied with
Under section 169, the return is filed together with the annual fee. The obligation applies to exempted companies that do not hold a local trade licence, which covers most holding companies, SPVs and fund vehicles owned by non-residents.
Two other groups also pay January fees: ordinary non-resident companies and foreign companies registered in Cayman (figures below). LLCs and exempted limited partnerships have their own annual returns under separate laws, and they sit outside this guide.
The 2027 annual fee: what exempted companies pay from 1 January 2027
The fee depends on the company's registered (authorised) share capital.
Registered capital | Annual fee 2026 | Annual fee from 1 January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
Up to CI$42,000 | CI$925 | CI$1,025 |
Over CI$42,000 to CI$820,000 | CI$1,225 | CI$1,325 |
Over CI$820,000 to CI$1,640,000 | CI$2,209 | CI$2,309 |
Over CI$1,640,000 | CI$2,793 | CI$2,893 |
The change comes from the Companies (Amendment of Schedule 5) (No. 2) Order, 2026, made by Cabinet on 14 October 2026 and gazetted on 16 October 2026. It replaced an earlier 2026 order. The government had floated a CI$200 rise in November 2025, but the rise actually made is CI$100 in every band.
In US dollars, CI$1,025 is about US$1,250 at the General Registry's published rate of US$1 = CI$0.82. The common US$50,000 authorised capital falls in the lowest band, because CI$42,000 is roughly US$51,200.
For other entities from 1 January 2027, non-resident ordinary companies pay CI$1,000 with capital up to CI$42,000, or CI$1,240 above that. Foreign companies registered in Cayman pay CI$1,750.
The January checklist: annual return, fee, economic substance and beneficial ownership
The return and fee are only part of what your registered office needs from you each January. Work through these in order:
Economic substance notification. Your registered office files this on the General Registry's online portal. The annual return cannot be filed until the notification is in.
Annual return declaration. The section 168 confirmations described above.
Annual fee. Paid at the correct rate for your company's capital band.
Beneficial ownership. Your registered office keeps the beneficial ownership register and reports it to the Registrar. Tell it about any change of owner, director or controller promptly. Under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (2026 Revision) and administrative fines rules gazetted on 29 October 2026, fines can reach CI$5,000 per breach plus CI$1,000 a month while the breach continues, capped at CI$25,000.
Economic substance return, if relevant. A company carrying on a "relevant activity" under the economic substance law, such as holding company business, fund management or intellectual property, also files an economic substance return with the Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) within 12 months of its financial year-end.
From the 2025 notification year, the DITC no longer sends email reminders for economic substance filings, so nobody will prompt you. If you are unsure whether your company has a relevant activity, read what economic substance looks like in practice.
Late payment penalties and how a company gets struck off
Miss January and the cost climbs quarter by quarter. Section 169(3) sets the penalty as a share of the annual fee:
Date paid | Penalty |
|---|---|
1 April to 30 June | 33.33% of the fee |
1 July to 30 September | 66.67% of the fee |
1 October to 31 December | 100% of the fee |
Take a lowest-band company that pays in August 2027. It owes CI$1,025 plus a penalty of CI$683.37, so CI$1,708.37 in total (about US$2,083). That is a high price for a forgotten email.
Under sections 170 and 171, a company that fails to file its return or pay its fee is treated as defunct and struck off, after the Registrar gives one month's notice. Putting the default right within that month counts as compliance. Once struck off, the company is dissolved and can only come back through restoration.
Beneficial ownership fines carry the same risk. Under section 156A, a company with a beneficial ownership fine left unpaid for 90 days can also be struck off.
There is a practical cost too. A company with unpaid fees or penalties may not be able to get a certificate of good standing, which banks, counterparties and buyers often ask for. Check with your registered office before you promise one in a transaction timetable.
What keeping a Cayman company in good standing costs each year
The government fee is the only fixed number. The rest depends on what your company does and who needs to see its records. Expect these components:
Government annual fee: exactly as set out in the table above.
Registered office and corporate services fee: set by the provider and dependent on what is bundled, such as economic substance and beneficial ownership filings or director services.
Economic substance return preparation: only if the company has a relevant activity.
Accounting: if the company itself, its bank or its investors require accounts.
Audit: only where a regulator or the company's own constitutional documents require it, for example a regulated fund.
Provider fees are indicative and vary with the number of entities and the services included, so compare like with like when you get quotes. For context on what the absence of local tax does and does not mean for these costs, see what zero tax in the Cayman Islands actually means. If you are still choosing a jurisdiction, our comparison of Cayman or BVI for a holding company sets the running costs side by side.
Who files it for you, and how Cosmos helps
You do not file the Cayman annual return yourself. Your registered office, a licensed Cayman corporate service provider, files the return, the economic substance notification and the beneficial ownership information on the General Registry's portal. Your job as owner or director is to give it accurate information and the funds in time.
Two habits prevent most problems. First, send funds and confirm any changes by early January, not on 30 January. Second, check your capital band after any change to share capital. An increase that pushes you above CI$42,000 moves you into the CI$1,325 band, and an underpaid fee is still a default.
In groups, the usual risk is fragmentation. The Cayman deadline lives in one person's inbox while Delaware, UK and Singapore filings live elsewhere. Our guide to running filings across a multi-entity group covers how to fix that.
How Cosmos helps: Cosmos arranges your Cayman registered office through a licensed service provider, puts the January deadlines for your Cayman entities on the same calendar as your other group filings, and chases the information before the deadline. Get in touch and we will arrange it.
FAQ
When is the Cayman annual return due? In January each year after the year of incorporation, so by 31 January 2027 for the 2027 return. A company incorporated during 2026 files its first return in January 2027.
How much is the Cayman annual fee in 2027? For an exempted company with registered capital up to CI$42,000, it is CI$1,025 (about US$1,250). Higher bands pay CI$1,325, CI$2,309 or CI$2,893.
What happens if I pay the Cayman annual fee late? Payment from 1 April adds a penalty of 33.33%, rising to 66.67% from 1 July and 100% from 1 October. A company that never complies is struck off after one month's notice.
Does a dormant Cayman company still pay the annual fee? Yes. The return and fee are due every January while the company is on the register, whether or not it trades. The way to stop paying is to wind the company up or have it struck off voluntarily, so take advice before you simply stop.
Is the economic substance notification the same as the economic substance return? No. The notification is filed by your registered office on the General Registry portal before the annual return. The return goes to the DITC within 12 months of year-end, and only companies with a relevant activity file it.
Who files the beneficial ownership information? Your registered office keeps the register and reports it to the Registrar. You must tell it promptly about any change of owner, director or controller, because fines run up to CI$25,000 per breach.
Do I need to file accounts or a tax return in Cayman? Cayman has no corporate income tax, so there is no corporate tax return. The January filing for an ordinary exempted company is the annual return and fee. Whether you need accounts depends on your bank, investors, regulator or constitutional documents, so confirm this with your registered office.
The Cayman January cycle is cheap and simple when it runs on time, and surprisingly expensive when it slips. Get your information and funds to your registered office early, check your capital band, and keep economic substance and beneficial ownership on the same list. If you want those deadlines held alongside the rest of your group's filings, Cosmos can set that up before next January.
