Company formation in Hungary

Who does company formation in Hungary

Under the courts’ rules, company proceedings require a legal representative, who is authorised to found the company and submit the application. In practice the work splits between two kinds of professional.

• The attorney drafts the articles of association or deed of foundation, countersigns them and files them electronically with the court of registration.
• The accounting firm or corporate services provider advises on the company type and the tax regime, often supplies the registered seat, and takes over the tax registrations, bookkeeping, payroll and annual reports once the company exists.

Many firms offer the whole package by working with a partner attorney. That’s fine, as long as you know who the attorney is and who is responsible for what.

What a formation provider in Hungary does

A good provider turns your instructions into a registered, working company. Expect the package to cover:

• Advice on the legal form. The Kft. is the form the formation firms on Accountanty name most often, followed by the Bt. partnership. A provider should also say when a Zrt. or a branch fits better.
• Name check against the national company register.
• The founding documents, the managing director’s acceptance and specimen signature, and the seat documents.
• Translations and certification of anything signed abroad, such as passports, powers of attorney or a parent company’s resolution.
• Paying the fees and filing electronically with the court of registration.
• The tax number, which NAV issues through the same filing.
• The registered seat, if you don’t have premises yet.
• The bank account and the beneficial owner data the bank collects.
• Local business tax registration with the municipality.

Each of these rests on a legal requirement; our Hungary company setup guide sets them out with official sources.

Accounting firm or corporate services provider?

In Hungary, 63 firms on Accountanty offer company formation. Of those, 50 are accounting firms and 13 are corporate services providers. Small practices dominate at 50, followed by 9 medium-sized firms and 4 belonging to larger networks.

Each type has a natural strength:

• An accounting firm suits founders who want one firm for formation and then the monthly bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and annual report. Ask which attorney files for them and whether that fee is in the quote.
• A corporate services provider often bundles the seat, the formation, bank introductions and sometimes residency support. Ask which parts it does itself and which it passes to partners.
• An attorney instructed directly suits structures with several shareholders, a shareholders’ agreement, regulated activities or a foreign parent company. Ask whether the attorney’s office also arranges the accounting, or whether you’ll need to find an accountant yourself.

Size matters less than fit. A small firm that works in your language and replies the same day can serve a one-person Kft. well, while a group with several companies may need a firm that handles audits and consolidated reporting.

What the provider needs from you

How quickly a provider can work depends on how soon you supply your documents. Expect to be asked for:

1. Passports of every founder and of the managing director, and residential addresses.
2. For a corporate founder: a recent register extract and a resolution approving the Hungarian company, translated and certified.
3. A description of the business: activities, the countries you’ll trade with, expected turnover and the source of the capital.
4. Your preferred company name, plus one or two fallbacks. The government’s guide says a name must differ by at least 3 characters from registered names.
5. The capital amount and how and when it will be paid in.
6. A power of attorney, if you won’t sign in Hungary.
7. Details of any earlier Hungarian companies the managing director or members were involved in. NAV checks their tax records before it issues a tax number, and an old debt can block it.

Providers also run identity checks on new clients, so detailed questions about you and your money are a sign the firm is doing its job.

Items to look for in a Hungarian formation quote

Fees differ between providers, so set the quotes side by side item by item and ignore the headline total. Only 24 of the 63 formation firms on Accountanty publish any prices. A clear quote separates:

Item	What to check
Official fees	The courts list no registration duty for a Kft., while a Zrt. pays a duty. A quote that adds a large “court fee” for a Kft. needs explaining.
Attorney’s fee	Drafting, countersigning and filing. Ask whether the simplified procedure with the model contract is used and whether a refiling costs extra.
Translations and certification	Certified translations into Hungarian and apostilles for documents signed abroad.
Registered seat	The seat service for the first year, and the renewal price.
Chamber contribution	The government’s guide lists a chamber contribution of HUF 5,000.
Bank	Help opening the account, and whether a second bank costs extra if the first says no.
Post-registration	VAT status, local business tax registration, payroll set-up and the first months of bookkeeping.

Watch for a low headline price that leaves out the attorney, the seat or the bank step. Ask for the monthly accounting fee at the same time, because a low formation price paired with a high accounting fee isn’t a saving.

Checks to run on a formation firm before signing

A few checks take minutes and save trouble later.

• Look the firm up in the company register. The Ministry of Justice’s company information service gives free access to basic company data, including the registered office, activities and representative.
• Ask who the attorney is. Get the name of the attorney who will countersign and file, and check that the engagement letter covers the attorney’s work.
• Ask about professional credentials. Ask whether the person keeping your books is a registered accountant, and whether the firm’s tax staff are registered tax advisers. If you need an audit, ask for the auditor’s registration with the Chamber of Hungarian Auditors.
• Request a sample engagement letter showing the scope, the fees and how either party can terminate.
• Check languages. On Accountanty, 38 of the firms offering company formation work in English, 6 in Italian and 5 each in French, German and Russian. For Italian speakers there is also our page on Italian-speaking accountants in Hungary.
• Ask about foreign clients. A focus on foreign clients is stated by 27 of the formation firms. They are gathered in our list of accountants for foreign clients in Hungary.

Accountanty doesn’t rank firms. What a listing here does and does not signal is explained on our how we select firms page.

Working with a provider from abroad

Much of company formation in Hungary can run without you in the country, because the attorney files electronically with the court of registration. Two things make remote formation work:

• A power of attorney drafted by the provider, so the wording matches what the court and the bank accept, then signed before a notary in your country with an apostille.
• Clear signing instructions for the founding document and the managing director’s specimen signature, agreed before anyone signs.

Opening the bank account is the step where you are most likely to be needed in person. Each bank sets its own rules for foreign founders and directors, so ask at the first call which bank the provider works with and whether you’ll need to travel. A few firms run a separate bank account assistance service for this.

Keep copies of everything filed. The register and its documents are in Hungarian, and your own bank, auditors or tax adviser abroad may ask what was signed.

Services after incorporation

Registration is the start of the relationship. Most firms that form companies also run them: of the 63 firms offering formation on Accountanty, 63 offer tax compliance, 62 accounting, 58 payroll and 35 VAT services. Fewer cover the specialist work: 24 offer a virtual office, 19 bank account assistance, 19 corporate secretarial services, 14 residency and visa support and 13 audit.

After registration, expect to agree:

• Bookkeeping and the annual report. See accounting in Hungary and tax compliance in Hungary.
• VAT, including whether the company is VAT-liable or chooses an exemption. The VAT in Hungary page covers what to put to a firm.
• Payroll, when you hire. See payroll in Hungary.
• Company changes such as new members, a new managing director or a new seat, handled through corporate secretarial services.
• A registered seat, through a virtual office in Hungary, if you have no premises.
• Your own residence, should you plan to live in Hungary. See residency and visas in Hungary.

Red flags when choosing a provider

• Guarantees about your tax outcome. Rates are public and a provider can quote them, but what you actually pay turns on where the company is managed and where you live.
• No named attorney. If nobody can tell you who will file, you can’t check who is responsible.
• No questions about who you are or where the money comes from. A firm that waives identity checks may be careless about its other duties.
• A quote with one number and no breakdown, or no written engagement terms.
• Urging you towards a ready-made company without disclosing its past, any debts or earlier filings.

Finding a provider in Budapest

Nearly all the formation firms on Accountanty in Hungary are in Budapest: browse accountants in Budapest, or compare firms by language and service on each profile. Because the filing is electronic, the firm’s location matters less than its experience with clients like you.

If you are short of time, one free quote request through Accountanty reaches several firms at once. We review it and forward it to firms that fit your company type, language and needs, and they reply to you directly.

Picking a firm for company formation in Hungary

The filing is the quick part. The decision that shapes the next few years is who you choose for company formation in Hungary: an attorney who files correctly and an accounting firm that explains each fee, handles the seat and the bank step, works in your language and keeps your books once the company exists. Get two or three itemised quotes, check the firm in the company register, and agree the post-registration work before you sign.