Register a Company in Frankfurt: The Honest 2026 Guide

If you want to register a company in Frankfurt, the process is rigid but predictable: the same law and the same order as anywhere in Germany, with one local number that decides your tax bill. Frankfurt applies a trade tax multiplier of 460 percent, unchanged for 2026. This guide covers GmbH versus UG, the notary step nobody can skip, entry in the Handelsregister, the Gewerbeanmeldung, and the tax questionnaire you file through ELSTER. It is general information and not legal or tax advice, so run your case past a Steuerberater before you sign.

Why Founders Pick Frankfurt

Frankfurt is where German finance lives. The European Central Bank, the Deutsche Boerse and most of the banking sector sit inside a few square kilometres, which pulls in the notaries and tax advisers who handle foreign founders every week. That density is the practical reason people register a company in Frankfurt rather than in a cheaper town an hour away: an English-speaking notary, an accountant who has filed for non-resident shareholders, and a bank that does not blink at a foreign passport. The trade-off is cost: rents and that 460 percent multiplier are both high. You also need a real German address before the paperwork works, and rental platforms such as housinganywhere.com list places whose landlords issue the Wohnungsgeberbestaetigung the city asks for.

GmbH or UG: Pick the Legal Form First

Almost everyone who sets out to register a company in Frankfurt lands on one of two forms. The GmbH is the standard German limited company and needs 25,000 euros of share capital, though not all of it up front: at least a quarter of each cash contribution must be paid in, and the payments together must reach 12,500 euros before registration. The UG, formally the Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschraenkt), is the same structure with a one euro minimum, but must hold back 25 percent of annual profit as a reserve until equity reaches 25,000 euros, when it can convert into a full GmbH. The UG is cheaper to start and harder to explain, because German suppliers and landlords read the abbreviation as a company that could not fund itself.

The Formation Process, Step by Step

The order below is fixed by law when you register a company in Frankfurt, and reordering it is how founders lose a month.

1. Sanity-check the name. The IHK will say informally whether a name is likely to clear the register: Boersenplatz 4, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, +49 69 2197-0.
2. Book the notary. The articles must be notarially recorded. With up to three shareholders, one director and cash only, the Musterprotokoll template is faster and cheaper.
3. Sign in person or by video. Online formation covers GmbH and UG cash formations, and since 1 August 2023 contributions in kind. You need a laptop with a camera, a phone with NFC on, the notary app and an electronic ID.
4. Open the account and pay in the capital. The bank confirms the deposit, which your notary needs before filing.
5. File with the Handelsregister. The notary submits electronically to Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Gerichtsstrasse 2, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, +49 69 1367 01. The company exists in law from the day of entry; until then you are personally liable for what you do in its name.
6. Register the trade, then the tax. Gewerbeanmeldung at the Ordnungsamt, then the questionnaire through ELSTER.

One warning on banking, the step where plans to register a company in Frankfurt usually slip. The capital deposit needs an account that will hold funds for a company in formation, and not every app-based provider does that. n26.com/en-eu and revolut.com open in minutes and are good for freelancers and daily spending, while wise.com is the cheapest way to invoice in other currencies, but get written confirmation that your provider accepts a GmbH in Gruendung. The deed is read aloud in German, so bring a sworn interpreter; courses at lingoda.com repay themselves the first time a Finanzamt letter lands.

Trade Registration, Your Tax Number and the IHK

The register entry is not the finish line when you register a company in Frankfurt. Every business also files a Gewerbeanmeldung with the city, which here means the Ordnungsamt Gewerberegister at Kleyerstrasse 86, 60326 Frankfurt am Main. Visits are by appointment only. The fee is set by the city, so confirm it when you book or by calling +49 69 212-32999 rather than trusting a figure online. The office passes your details on to the tax office and the IHK.

Within one month of starting you must file the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung. Since 2021 it goes electronically through ELSTER, with paper allowed only on request in hardship cases. The Finanzamt Frankfurt am Main, Gutleutstrasse 118-124, 60327 Frankfurt am Main, +49 69 2545 2545, issues your tax number from it. IHK membership is automatic and compulsory, with the contribution scaled to your trade income. Every GmbH and UG must also report its beneficial owners to the Transparenzregister without undue delay; reporting is free and being listed costs 19.80 euros a year. As managing director you need health insurance from day one, and English-language private cover such as ottonova.de/en suits many founders, though it is far easier to join than to leave.

What It Costs and What You Pay in Tax

Keep two budgets apart. The official fees to register a company in Frankfurt are small: first entry in the Handelsregister is 150 euros under the national fee schedule, the trade registration is a modest city fee, and the Transparenzregister costs 19.80 euros a year. Notary fees are fixed nationally by the GNotKG, so nobody can discount them; a Musterprotokoll formation simply costs less than a bespoke deed. The recurring spend is your accountant, since a German company must keep proper books and file annual accounts.

Tax is where you feel the postcode. In 2026 corporation tax is 15 percent, plus a solidarity surcharge of 5.5 percent on that tax, giving 15.825 percent. Trade tax is 3.5 percent times the local Hebesatz, and Frankfurt’s is 460 percent, so 16.1 percent. Together that is roughly 31.9 percent on profits. Corporation tax is legislated to fall a point a year from 2028 until it reaches 10 percent in 2032. VAT is 19 percent standard and 7 percent reduced.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to register a company in Frankfurt?

Plan for roughly two to four weeks to register a company in Frankfurt end to end. The notary appointment can often be had within days, but the capital payment and the bank’s confirmation are the usual bottleneck, and the Handelsregister entry follows once the notary has filed.

Do I need to live in Germany to register a company in Frankfurt?

There is no residency requirement for shareholders or directors, and non-residents form German companies routinely. You do need a genuine German business address for the register. Living in Germany and working in your own company is a separate immigration question.

How much tax will my Frankfurt GmbH pay in 2026?

About 31.9 percent on profits: 15 percent corporation tax plus the 5.5 percent surcharge on it, which is 15.825 percent, and trade tax of 3.5 percent times the 460 percent Hebesatz, which is 16.1 percent.

Can I do the whole formation online?

Most of the steps to register a company in Frankfurt are digital: the notarial part is done by video conference, and the tax questionnaire is online-only through ELSTER. The Gewerbeanmeldung sits with the Ordnungsamt, which sees people by appointment only.

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Written by FinePassport team