Create your holding company online

When you create a holding company without Qonto, you are likely to face bureaucratic delays and costs:

• You risk waiting times of up to three months for commercial register (Handelsregister) entry for the parent and subsidiary companies as well as additional delays and costs in the case of any application form errors. You will also need to organize all appointments with notaries, banks, trade offices, and tax authorities by yourself.
• Missed appointments at the notary or bank are not uncommon. The process is paper-heavy, complex, and prone to coordination errors between the various offices involved.

Creating a holding company with Qonto spares you unnecessary delays and admin hassle:

• You start with an all-in-one incorporation package from €99 per company, receive personal support throughout the entire holding procedure, and benefit from a fully digital, transparent process.
• Qonto coordinates all steps with the relevant authorities, arranges notary appointments within 7 days (online or on-site) and submits the commercial register (Handelsregister) entry within a few days; registration typically takes 1–3 weeks from beginning to end.

With Qonto, you avoid making application form errors, you save time, and you receive tailored referrals to experienced tax advisors nationwide upon request.

Here's how you create your holding company with Qonto in a lean, digital, structured process:

1. First, you define your holding structure and draft your articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag). Our experts will guide you through the specific steps for parent and subsidiary companies. You draft the articles of association online in about 10 minutes – including the essential information on holding purposes, participation objectives, and corporate services. 

2. Qonto then handles the formalities: we check the availability of the company names of both entities, coordinate notary appointments (online or on-site if desired), and prepare all documents for the holding structure – typically within 7 business days.

3. Open business accounts and pay in share capital. Open Qonto business accounts for the parent company and each subsidiary, pay in the respective share capital (at least €1 for a UG; at least €25,000 for a GmbH, of which €12,500 must be paid in immediately upon incorporation), and receive the deposit certificates.

4. Qonto handles the Handelsregister. Qonto arranges the commercial register entries for both parent and subsidiary companies and prepares the trade registrations, so your holding company is legally compliant from the start.

Yes, you can create a holding company as a private individual – typically as a GmbH or UG holding that holds shares in an operating subsidiary. You need share capital (at least €1 for a UG; at least €25,000 for a GmbH, of which €12,500 must be paid in immediately upon incorporation), notarized articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag), commercial register (Handelsregister) entry, and tax registration.

Economically, this makes sense especially if you hold participations, reinvest profits, or if you're planning an exit. Without participations and with purely freelance activity, a holding company usually offers few advantages compared to a single corporation.

The greatest advantage is the tax-privileged receipt of dividends and capital gains at the holding level, leaving more capital available for reinvestment. Additionally, you improve liability protection and risk separation between assets and operating business.

You can secure Intellectual Property (IP) or real estate separately, simplify succession and investor structures, and centralize corporate services. Especially for growth-oriented companies and investment portfolios, a holding company creates flexibility in structure, financing, and exit strategies.

The downside is additional complexity and ongoing costs. You manage at least two companies with separate accounting, financial statements, tax returns, and reporting obligations. This increases administrative effort and advisory costs and requires proper allocation of services between the companies.

For small ventures without subsidiaries, the complexity of the structure may outweigh the benefits, because the tax advantages only truly take effect with distributions, reinvestments, or exits.

The annual financial statement of a single holding company typically costs between €1,500 and €3,000 per year, depending on scope, transaction volume, group interrelations, and additional tax returns. If subsidiaries are added, costs arise separately for each company. Consolidation, transfer pricing documentation, or tax grouping further increase the effort.

Business owners who standardize processes early, harmonize charts of accounts, and use digital accounting can reduce annual financial statement and advisory costs.