Start your business
in Panama

No. You see the full invoice one more time on the payment screen, and nothing is charged until you confirm it there. One-time items are billed once, and recurring items renew on the cadence shown next to them. Everything is priced in US dollars, which is also how Panama runs: the local balboa is pegged 1:1 to the dollar and US dollars circulate as legal tender.

We open your file and send you the forms we need signed, then collect the identity documents for your directors and shareholders. Once the complete set is back with us we file the incorporation, produce your corporate documents, and register the company for tax (RUC and NIT). You get a single point of contact for the account rather than a ticket queue, and each document lands in your entity record as it is issued.

Three forms we provide and you sign: an Order Form, a Due Diligence Form, and an Accounting Records Form. A Beneficial Owner Declaration for each beneficial owner. For each of the three directors, a passport copy and proof of address such as a utility bill; for each shareholder, a passport copy, proof of address, and a bank reference. Authorized share capital for a Panamanian S.A. is USD 10,000, which is the figure your articles authorize, not a fee you pay us.

Around 20 days for registration, corporate documents, and tax registration (RUC and NIT). That clock starts when we hold your complete document set, not when you pay, and the notary and the registry control the pace once we file. Incomplete documents are the usual cause of delay. If nobody on your side can sign in Panama, the power of attorney ($160) lets our local representative sign and file for you instead of couriering originals back and forth.

Yes, for the formation itself. The $970 covers the original Articles of Incorporation, up to four stock certificates, registration of shares, notarial fees, stamp duties, your first year's annual franchise tax (tasa unica), and Commenda acting as your registered agent for year 1. Panama's own formation costs are low, which is the whole reason this is the least expensive country in our self-serve range. Government fees for the optional local registrations, the Operation Notice and the municipal registration, are separate line items and you see them before you pay.

The $970 is formation plus your first year as a registered Panamanian company. Everything else is optional and priced separately: Operation Notice $325 one-time (regulated industries are quoted separately), municipal registration $435 one-time in government fees, power of attorney $160 one-time, apostille legalization $140 one-time, bank account opening $860 with an interview or $2,605 remote and expedited, virtual address $515/year, nominee director $860 per seat per year, annual maintenance $785/year from year 2, annual DGI tax return $535/year, annual municipal tax return $214/year, and Panama Basic Compliance (accounting plus payroll for up to 10 employees) $859.50/month. Employer registration with the Social Security Fund (CSS) is required before you hire, and its fee is not in the published schedule, so we quote it before you pay. Your answers in the questionnaire decide which of these get added, so you only pay for the ones that apply to you.

No resident director is required. Directors can be of any nationality and live anywhere, but Panamanian law requires three individual directors, so all three seats must be filled to incorporate. If you cannot fill them yourself, we appoint professional nominee directors at $860 per seat per year, and you can swap them for your own people later. The company does need a resident agent, a Panamanian lawyer or law firm acting as its official local representative, and your first year of that is inside the $970.

Yes, and in Panama it is optional, the company can operate without a local account. There are two routes: $860 in intermediation fees with an in-person interview at some point in the process, or $2,605 fully remote with no interview and capped at 30 days, where the regular timeframe is 2 to 4 months. Either route also requires a Panamanian virtual address ($515/year, covering the business address, mail handling, a dedicated phone number, and voicemail), and both exclude third-party costs such as legalizations, translations, and document issuance. The account opening itself is the bank's process, which we help you navigate.

Because some obligations are structural. Every Panamanian corporation must keep a resident agent and pay the annual franchise tax (tasa unica) whatever its revenue, and dropping either puts the company out of good standing and can eventually get it struck off the registry. From year 2 that is the $785/year maintenance package: registered agent $359, franchise tax $300, due diligence $100, VAT $31.50. Activity-based work is different, so monthly accounting, ITBMS declarations, and the DGI return only start once the company is trading, and a dormant or pure holding entity skips them. If you already retain your own Panamanian law firm as resident agent, tell us and we leave the maintenance package out.

Panama taxes on a territorial basis, so only Panama-source income is taxed there and foreign-source income earned by a Panamanian entity is not taxed in Panama. That is about what you owe Panama. It says nothing about what you or your shareholders owe where you are tax resident, so take that side to your own adviser. It also does not remove paperwork: an active company still keeps monthly books and files an annual return with the DGI, and if you sell to customers inside Panama you need an Operation Notice ($325) and municipal registration ($435) before trading locally.

Yes. The questionnaire sets your starting package, and you can add accounting, payroll, banking help, or an apostille afterwards, or stop a recurring service. Recurring items keep renewing on their stated cadence until you tell us otherwise. Nominee directors can be replaced with your own people once you have three of your own.

Your entity gets a compliance calendar built from its jurisdiction, entity type, and fiscal year end, listing every filing it owes with status tracking so you can see what is upcoming, what is done, and what is overdue. Reminders go out automatically ahead of due dates, so you are told instead of having to check. The platform holds the calendar and your documents, and an in-house team does the filings and the dealings with the Panamanian authorities. You get one point of contact for the account rather than a ticket queue for every question.