Lithuanian tax rules do not change on a fixed monthly schedule, but they do change often enough that a rate remembered from last year can be wrong this year. On 1 January 2026 a large reform took effect. This guide maps the taxes a normal Lithuanian company deals with, shows where to verify each one, and explains how often the numbers move.
The main taxes in 2026
| Tax | 2026 rate | Rhythm | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT (PVM) | 21% standard; 12% for accommodation, passenger transport and tickets to cultural events; 5% for books and non-periodical publications. The general 9% rate was abolished. Registration above €45,000 annual turnover. | Monthly VAT return, plus the monthly i.SAF invoice register | VMI |
| Corporate income tax | 17% (was 16%). Small companies (under 10 employees, revenue under €300,000): 7% (was 6%). New small companies: 0% for two years (was one). | Annual | VMI |
| Personal income tax (GPM) on salaries | 20% up to 36 average wages (€83,237.40), 25% up to 60 (€138,729), 32% above. Dividends are taxed separately. | Withheld on every payroll; declared monthly | VMI |
| Sodra — employee | 19.5% (12.52% state social insurance + 6.98% health), plus an optional 3% for second-pillar pension. | Withheld on every payroll; reported monthly | Sodra |
| Sodra — employer | 1.77% for permanent contracts, 2.49% for fixed-term contracts. The ceiling is 60 average wages a year. | Monthly | Sodra |
| Individual activity (sole traders) | VSD 12.52% + PSD 6.98% on 90% of taxable income, capped at 43 average wages (€99,422.45); PSD minimum €80.48 a month. | Quarterly | Sodra, VMI |
| Real estate tax | New system from 2026, with a defence component for commercial property. | Annual | VMI |
The 2026 reform also introduced a sugar excise tax and a security contribution on insurance companies, which most companies never see but which show how wide a single package can be.
Where to check them
- VMI (State Tax Inspectorate, vmi.lt) — rates, guidance, forms and the electronic services, including the i.MAS system for i.SAF and i.VAZ.
- Sodra (sodra.lt) — contribution rates, the average wage used each year and the ceilings, and the SAM and SAV notices.
- e-TAR (e-tar.lt) — the official register of legal acts, with the consolidated text of each law.
- e-Seimas (e-seimas.lrs.lt) — bills and adopted amendments, useful because changes are visible here months before they take effect.
- Ministry of Finance (finmin.lrv.lt) — tax policy and announcements.
- AVNT (avnt.lrv.lt) — the business accounting standards and model forms.
Commercial blogs and calculators are useful for orientation, but they lag. A Lithuanian law firm lists "relying on outdated rates of 16% and 5% from pre-2026 sources" among the most frequent errors (TET). Always confirm on the official source.
How often they change
Rates and rules: usually once a year, on 1 January
The 2026 package was adopted by the Seimas in autumn 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026: corporate tax 16% to 17%, small-company rate 6% to 7%, the 0% start-up period extended to two years, the 9% VAT rate abolished, personal income tax moving from two bands to three, and a higher Sodra floor for minimum-wage earners (combined contributions rising from €220.78 to €245.24) (Eurofast, Grant Thornton, KPMG).
Indexed numbers: every year
The minimum wage (€1,153 in 2026) and the average wage (VDU, €2,312.15 for 2026) are reset each year, and the income-tax bands and Sodra ceilings are defined as multiples of the VDU: 36, 60 and 43 times. Even if no law changes, these thresholds move every January.
Forms, formats and interpretations: any time
Declaration layouts, XML formats and the tax authority's guidance can change during the year without a change in rates. Something as simple as which month a payment belongs to — the month work was done or the month wages were paid — decides which monthly filing a figure goes into.
Change is also on the horizon: a B2B e-invoicing obligation is expected around 2028, though the design is not final (VATupdate).
Why this is hard to do by hand
A single rate change touches many places at once: the VAT tables, the payroll formulas, the declaration forms and the thresholds. In a spreadsheet or a locally installed program, someone has to notice the change, understand it and update every place it applies — in every company they look after. The risk is not that accountants do not know the rules; it is that the update reaches some files and not others.
How FiscFort stays up to date
FiscFort keeps the rules in one engine, the same for Lithuania and Belgium, and applies changes centrally. A defined process and several AI agents check the official sources for both countries and, every early morning at 3 AM, update each client's Odoo with the current rules, so every client starts the working day on the current rules without installing or configuring anything. The declarations themselves — GPM313, SAM, i.SAF and the employee-event forms — are generated by fixed rules from the booked data, so a corrected rule changes every future figure consistently. The accountant still reviews and files.
Sources
- Sodra — rates for self-employed persons from 1 January 2026 (VDU €2,312.15)
- Eurofast — Lithuania's 2026 tax reform
- KPMG — tax changes in Lithuania from 2026
- Grant Thornton — payroll changes from 1 January 2026
- 1Office — VAT and CIT rates 2026
- Work in Lithuania — tax system 2026
- Centro apskaita — 2026 salary calculator (bands and Sodra rates)
- Teamed — Lithuania tax and payroll 2026 (employer Sodra rates)
- TET — corporate tax rate in Lithuania 2026
Figures checked on 28 September 2026. Tax rules change; confirm on VMI and Sodra before relying on any number.