What is a Lebanese offshore company?

A Lebanese offshore company is a joint stock company (SAL) registered in Lebanon under Decree-Law No. 46 of 24 June 1983, whose activity must be directed entirely outside Lebanese territory. It is exempt from the 17% corporate income tax and the 10% withholding tax on dividends, and instead pays a flat annual lump-sum tax of LBP 50,000,000, about US$560.

Can a Lebanese offshore company be run from inside Lebanon?

Yes. The company may have its head office in Lebanon and be managed from there. Law 19/2008 expressly permits administering companies located abroad from Lebanon and exporting professional, administrative and IT services to non-residents. What is restricted is who the clients are, not where the work is done.

Can a Lebanese offshore company have a single shareholder?

Yes. Law No. 85 of 2018 permits a sole shareholder, who may be a natural person or a legal entity, Lebanese or foreign. Before that amendment, three shareholders were required.

Can a Lebanese offshore company employ people in Lebanon?

Yes. Employing staff resident in Lebanon is permitted. Those salaries are subject to ordinary Lebanese payroll tax and National Social Security Fund contributions. The payroll exemption under Article 7 of Law 19/2008 applies to employees working abroad, not to staff in Lebanon.

What tax does a Lebanese offshore company pay?

A flat annual lump-sum tax of LBP 50,000,000, approximately US$560 at the official rate, regardless of profit. It is exempt from corporate income tax on profit and from withholding tax on distributed dividends. It must still file annual accounts certified by an auditor.

What is the minimum capital for a Lebanese offshore company?

LBP 30,000,000, about US$335 at the official rate, the same as an ordinary SAL. Capital may be denominated in a foreign currency provided the accounts are kept in that currency.

How long does it take to register a Lebanese offshore company?

Six to ten weeks is typical when documents are returned promptly. The legal drafting takes days; the calendar is set by notarisation, the Commercial Registry, the bank and how quickly the client returns signed originals.

Can a Lebanese offshore company open a bank account?

It can, but Lebanese banks classify offshore companies as higher-risk clients and assess each file individually. A capital deposit certificate from a Lebanese bank is required to complete registration. Approval is at the bank's discretion.

Reference

Lebanese offshore companies

A Lebanese offshore company is a joint stock company. It is registered in Lebanon under Decree-Law No. 46 of 24 June 1983. Its business must be directed entirely outside Lebanese territory. It pays no corporate income tax on profit. It pays no withholding tax on dividends. It pays a flat annual lump-sum tax of LBP 50,000,000, about US$560 instead. This applies whatever it earns. One shareholder can own it. You can manage it from inside Lebanon.

By Gracia Hobeich, lawyer, Beirut Bar Association Last reviewed 23 September 2026

Legal basis

Decree-Law No. 46 of 24 June 1983 governs Lebanese offshore companies.

Law No. 19 of 5 September 2008 amended this decree. It widened permitted activities. You can now administer companies abroad. You can export services and software to non-residents.

Law No. 85 of 2018 introduced another amendment. A single shareholder can now form an offshore company.

An offshore company must be a joint stock company. This is an SAL (societe anonyme libanaise). It follows the Lebanese Code of Commerce rules for joint stock companies. Decree-Law 46/1983 provides the exceptions. You register the company in a dedicated section of the Commercial Register.

Permitted activities

The law defines permitted activities. You cannot choose them freely. They include:

Negotiating and concluding contracts concerning goods and products located outside Lebanon. This includes goods in a Lebanese free zone.
Managing and administering companies and institutions located outside Lebanon. This includes exporting professional, administrative, organisational and IT services and software to non-residents.
Three-sided and multi-sided trade operations conducted outside Lebanon. This includes re-invoicing.
Maritime freight operations.
Holding shares and participations in companies outside Lebanon.
Opening branches and representative offices abroad.
Acquiring or leasing real property in Lebanon required for its own activity. This remains subject to the rules on foreign ownership of Lebanese real estate.
Borrowing from Lebanese banks and opening credit facilities to finance permitted operations.

The second item matters most for modern users. Software development fits here. Consulting and design fall squarely within it. This covers other professional services delivered from Lebanon to clients abroad.

Prohibited activities

An offshore company faces strict limits. It may not:

Serve clients resident in Lebanon. This is the defining restriction. All commercial activity must target parties outside Lebanese territory.
Carry on banking or financial institution activity.
Carry on insurance operations.
Receive or invest funds belonging to third parties.

Notice what is missing from this list. You can employ people resident in Lebanon. These local staff pay ordinary Lebanese payroll tax. They pay National Social Security Fund contributions. Article 7 of Law 19/2008 exempts payroll tax for employees working abroad. That is a different rule entirely.

Tax treatment

This is the core of the regime. An offshore company pays no corporate income tax on profit. It pays no withholding tax on dividends. It pays a single fixed amount instead.

Charge	Ordinary Lebanese company	Offshore company
Corporate income tax on profit	17%	Exempt
Withholding tax on distributed dividends	10%	Exempt
Annual lump-sum tax	None	LBP 50,000,000 about US$560
Payroll tax on staff working abroad	Applies	Exempt (Law 19/2008, art. 7)
Payroll tax and NSSF on staff in Lebanon	Applies	Applies
Annual audited accounts	Required	Required

The lump-sum tax has been LBP 50,000,000, about US$560, since fiscal year 2022. It was raised from LBP 1,000,000, about US$11. Sources published before 2022 still quote the old figure. They are wrong. The amount does not vary with revenue or profit. This is the entire point of the structure. A company invoicing US$30,000 owes the state the same as one invoicing US$300,000.

Tax exemption does not mean exemption from filing. The company must keep proper accounts. An auditor must certify them. The company must file annually with the Ministry of Finance.

Capital and ownership

Feature	Details
Minimum capital	LBP 30,000,000, about US$335. May be denominated in a foreign currency if the accounts are kept in that currency.
Shareholders	One is sufficient since Law 85/2018. May be a natural person or a legal entity, Lebanese or foreign.
Foreign ownership	Permitted in full. No Lebanese participation requirement.
Bank guarantee	A bank guarantee is lodged in favour of the Treasury, renewable.

The capital figure was set in Lebanese pounds. It has not moved. The statutory floor is now nominal in real terms. You deposit capital into the company's own account. It remains the company's money. It is not a fee.

Governance and audit

An offshore company is an SAL. It has a board of directors and a chairman. The chairman can be a non-Lebanese national resident abroad. They do not need a Lebanese work permit in that case. You can hold board meetings outside Lebanon. You can hold general assemblies outside Lebanon.

You must appoint an auditor. This is typically a Lebanese chartered accountant. They certify the annual accounts. They are named in the incorporation file. You must agree on this appointment before registering the company.

Registered address

An offshore company must register at a physical address in Lebanon. A virtual office is not enough. A mail-forwarding address fails the registry requirements.

The address file normally comprises:

A real estate certificate for the property. You obtain this from the land registry.
An undertaking signed by the owner. This permits the company to use the address as its head office.
A copy of the owner's identity document.

The property can belong to a family member. They simply provide a signature and an ID copy. The company can also lease or purchase property in Lebanon for its own use.

Documents required

Document	From	Notes
Passport or identity card copy	Each shareholder	Valid, legible
Judicial record extract	Each shareholder	Recent. Known locally as a sijill adli.
Proposed company name	Client	Checked for availability at the registry
Real estate certificate	Property owner	Land registry extract for the registered address
Head office undertaking	Property owner	Signed, with an ID copy
Auditor's name and acceptance	Client or introduced	Named in the incorporation file
Articles of association	Lawyer	Drafted, then notarised
Capital deposit certificate	Bank	Issued once capital is deposited
Power of attorney	Shareholder abroad	Legalised at a Lebanese consulate if signing from outside Lebanon

Registration process

Name check and structure confirmation. The proposed name is checked at the registry. The activity is tested against the permitted list.
Drafting. Articles of association are prepared. The head office undertaking and bank letter are drafted.
Signature. Documents are signed in wet ink. You must use blue pen. You need three originals. Each page is initialled. Lebanese commercial registration does not accept digital or electronic signatures.
Notarisation. The articles are legalised before a notary public.
Capital deposit. Capital is placed with a Lebanese bank. The bank issues a certificate.
Commercial Registry. The file is submitted to the Commercial Registry of Beirut. The registry issues the company's registration number.
Ministry of Finance. The company is registered for tax. It receives its tax number.

Typical duration is six to ten weeks. This assumes you return documents promptly. The legal work itself takes days. The calendar depends on the notary, the registry, and the bank. It relies heavily on how fast signed originals come back.

Common misconceptions

Offshore means the company is registered abroad

It does not. A Lebanese offshore company is a Lebanese company. It is registered in Beirut. It is taxed in Lebanon. It follows Lebanese law. The word offshore describes where it can do business. It does not describe where it exists.

You cannot run it from Lebanon

You can. You can manage foreign entities from Lebanon. You can export services to non-residents. The law expressly permits these activities. The restriction applies only to the location of the clients.

You cannot hire anyone in Lebanon

You can. Lebanon-resident employees pay ordinary payroll tax. They pay NSSF contributions. People often claim offshore companies cannot employ locally. This is wrong. They confuse the payroll tax exemption for staff abroad with a ban. That ban does not exist.

The annual tax is LBP 1,000,000, about US$11

That figure, about US$11, changed for fiscal year 2022 onward. It is now LBP 50,000,000, about US$560. Much of the material online is out of date.

Three shareholders are required

That was true before Law 85/2018. A single shareholder is now enough.

Sources

Decree-Law No. 46 of 24 June 1983 on offshore companies.
Law No. 19 of 5 September 2008 amending Decree-Law No. 46/1983.
Law No. 85 of 2018, sole shareholder companies.
Lebanese Code of Commerce, Legislative Decree No. 304 of 24 December 1942, as amended by Law No. 126 of 29 March 2019.
Lebanese Income Tax Law and successive budget laws setting the offshore lump-sum tax at LBP 50,000,000, about US$560, from fiscal year 2022.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Lebanese law and the figures set under it change. Confirm the position for your own circumstances before relying on it.