Uruguay Company Formation & Entity Choice

Entity types, capital & incorporation

• SAS — Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada — Flexible stock company; can have a single shareholder; largely digital incorporation; cannot be formed by an SA (Ley 19.820 (Sociedades por Acciones Simplificadas))
• SRL — Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada — Limited liability company; 2 to 50 partners; quotas not freely tradeable (Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales))
• SA — Sociedad Anonima — Stock corporation; minimum 2 shareholders (individuals or entities, any nationality); shares freely transferable (Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales))
• SAS minimum capital — No fixed legal minimum — must be consistent with the company's purpose ((approx — confirm)) (Ley 19.820 (Sociedades por Acciones Simplificadas))
• SRL minimum capital — No fixed statutory minimum; partners must pay at least 50% of cash contributions at incorporation, balance within ~2 years ((approx — confirm contribution timing)) (Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales))
• SA minimum capital — No high statutory floor; at least 25% of subscribed capital must be paid in at incorporation ((approx — confirm paid-in/subscription minimums)) (Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales))
• Commercial registration — Register the constitutive statute with the Registro Nacional de Comercio (and publish in the Diario Oficial and a newspaper for SA/SRL) (Ley 16.060 (Ley de Sociedades Comerciales))
• Tax & social security registration — Register with DGI (RUT tax number) and BPS before commencing activity; notary involvement is required for the statute (Direccion General Impositiva / Banco de Prevision Social)
• Incorporation timeline — SAS can be set up in days via the digital platform; SA/SRL with publication and registry approval commonly take around 30 days ((approx — varies with notary and registry workload)) (Ventanilla Unica de Inversiones (VUI) / Registro Nacional de Comercio)
• Beneficial owner / shareholder registry — Companies must report ultimate beneficial owners and bearer/registered shareholdings to the Banco Central del Uruguay registry (Ley 18.930 y Ley 19.484 (registro de titulares y beneficiarios finales))
• Core annual compliance — Annual IRAE return, monthly IVA and IRAE advances, monthly BPS payroll filings, annual Impuesto al Patrimonio (net wealth tax) return, and statutory accounting records (Texto Ordenado 1996 (DGI) y Ley 16.060)
• Financial statement filing — Larger entities must file audited/reviewed financial statements with the Registro de Estados Contables (AIN) within set deadlines after year-end ((approx — thresholds and deadlines vary by size)) (Auditoria Interna de la Nacion (AIN) - Registro de Estados Contables)

The common vehicles are the SAS (simplified stock company), SRL (limited liability company) and SA (stock corporation). The SAS is the modern default for SMEs with a largely digital incorporation process. New companies must register with the Registro Nacional de Comercio, DGI and BPS.