Cook Islands company (Companies Act 2017, Form A-1)Cook Islands
What it takes to form, own and run a private limited company in Cook Islands, and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.
This company type
At a glance
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A shareholder is not liable for an obligation of the company by reason only of being a shareholder.
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company must have at least one issued share to at least one shareholder (Section 20)
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or at least 1 director (if there are more than 1) must live in the Cook Islands or in New Zealand
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a share must not have a nominal or par value. Thus, the concept of nominal capital is redundant
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A-1 | Application for incorporation of a Cook Islands Company NZD 75.00
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The basic rate of tax on all income assessable to a company (not being income included in any other clause of this Part of this Schedule) shall be
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Formed online
- Yes
What it takes to form
- A notary
- Not required
- A resident director
- Required
- Paying up the capital
- Shares cannot be partly paid: a share must not be partly paid or impose any liability on its holder to make a payment to the company (Companies Act 2017 s22), so there is no unpaid-capital rule. The company accepts payment for new shares in cash, other property or bartered services on terms set by the directors (s27).
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Clause 22 prohibits a company from issuing a partly paid share (clauses 22(2)).
Own it
Who may own and run it
- Directors
- At least 1 · one must live there · individuals only
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or at least 1 director (if there are more than 1) must live in the Cook Islands or in New Zealand
- Shareholders
- At least 1 · a company may be one
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company must have at least one issued share to at least one shareholder (Section 20)
- Members
- At least 1 · one person may form it alone
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company must have at least one issued share to at least one shareholder (Section 20)
- A local company secretary
- Not required
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The company must have a name, and the rules governing company names are found in clauses 11-14.
- A local registered agent
- Not required
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a company must always have a registered office and postal address in the Cook Islands
Each year, at the registry
- Annual registry fee
- NZD 50 (about €25)
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AR-1 | Annual return NZD 50.00
- Accounts on the public record
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Audit for a small company
- Not required
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financial statements only if it has 10 or more shareholders. A company that is required to prepare financial statements must ensure that they are audited (clause 162).
- Audit
- Not in our records
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
- Annual return
- Not in our records
With Ministry of Justice, Companies and Incorporated Societies Registry
Not stated on registry.justice.gov.ck/public/howto.aspx when checked
What is public
- Directors
- Public
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disclose this information to the Registrar
- Shareholders
- Public
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disclose this information to the Registrar
- Beneficial owners
- To the authorities only
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disclose this information to the Registrar
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
Flat · 20%
Income Tax Act 1997, First Schedule Part A clause 3: 20c in the dollar on a company's assessable income
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The basic rate of tax on all income assessable to a company (not being income included in any other clause of this Part of this Schedule) shall be
Work it out on a profit figure: the company’s tax, the owner’s, and what is left.
- CFC rules in Cook Islands
- Not in our records
Close it
Closing it
The other end, which most guides leave out.
- Route
- Voluntary removal from the Cook Islands register: a shareholder, or a director if the constitution allows, files a request for removal with the Registrar on the grounds that the company has ceased doing business, paid its debts and distributed its surplus assets; public notice is required and any person may object to the Court before removal is completed; the company is removed when the Registrar files a notice of removal, and its remaining assets vest in the Crown (Companies Act 2017 ss337-340). A company in difficulty is liquidated, the liquidator being appointed under s202.
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Clause 339 allows certain persons to request removal from the register, including a shareholder or a director if the constitution allows.
- Statutory fee
- Free
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Request for removal 339 None None from Cook Islands register
Every business in Cook Islands
VAT
- The tax
- VAT (value added tax)
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It is charged and accounted for at a rate of 15%.
- Standard rate
- 15%
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It is charged and accounted for at a rate of 15%.
- Other rates
- 0% zero-rated supplies listed in the Third Schedule of the Value Added Tax Act 1997
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the rate of tax will be 0% of the value of the supply in the case of a supply in the Cook Islands by a registered person which is one of the zero-rated supplies listed in the Third Schedule
- Registration threshold
- NZD 40,000 · about €20,269
turnover from taxable activities (taxable supplies), including certain imported services received; last 12 months, or expected next 12 months
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was over $40,000 for the last 12 months,
- A foreign company
- See the note
The Revenue Management Division's VAT guide sets one $40,000 threshold for anyone carrying on a taxable activity and states no separate rule for businesses with no establishment in the Cook Islands; nothing was published on the pages read.
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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Your returns can be filed monthly online or manually.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Payment and banking services
None of the services whose lists we hold names Cook Islands. Each provider, and what a listing means.
Reference
Its name and code
- Kind
- Private limited companyDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- Cook Islands company (Companies Act 2017, Form A-1)
- Identifier
- CK-COMPANYA form ISO 20275 does not list.