Cost of an Accountant in Latvia: Fees and What They Include

The cost of an accountant in Latvia depends largely on whether you outsource the work or employ an accountant. We ran one small company through five published price lists. The lowest figure is a starting price of EUR 50 and the highest EUR 700, and three of the five lists do not publish everything needed to work out the final fee. A full-time accountant on your payroll costs the employer at least EUR 964.36 a month in 2026, if the accountant is insured for all types of state social insurance: that is the minimum wage plus the employer's contributions and the business risk fee.

The prices come from the price lists that nine Latvian accounting firms publish on their websites, as we read them on 7 October 2026. Six of the nine state their prices excluding VAT and three do not mention VAT, so we note which is which for every price. A price list is not a quote: eight of the nine say that their figures are indicative or that the price is set for each client individually. We do not name the firms: what matters here is how each list builds its price. The minimum wage, contributions and licensing rules are taken from the Latvian laws and Cabinet regulations in force on 7 October 2026. We name the acts in English for convenience; their Latvian texts are the binding ones and prevail over any English translation.

The same small company, priced five ways

The first figure on a price list tells you little, because each list counts something different. So we took one company and ran it through five lists, applying each list's own rules. The example SIA, a Latvian limited liability company, issues 10 invoices and receives 10 a month, makes 30 payments through its bank account and has one employee on the payroll. It is not registered for VAT and has no cash register.

The highest figure is fourteen times the lowest starting price, and two things account for the gap. The first is what each list counts: list B puts the example company in its lowest band with 20 documents and one employee, while lists D and E count every bank payment and arrive at 51 units each. The second is each firm's price for the same work: list E asks EUR 700 for its 51 operations, while list D shows EUR 190 for its 51 entries and then takes turnover and the balance sheet into account when agreeing the fee. List E's lowest band alone is EUR 350 a month for up to 10 operations.

The cheapest bands are not comparable either. In one list the lowest band is for fewer than five entries a month and no turnover; in another, the starting package already includes payroll for one employee and 50 transactions. The table prices one particular company. For your own figures, ask for a quote.

Get a quote based on your own figures

What a monthly fee may leave out

Two quotes worked out on the same figures can still cover different work. Before you compare the totals, check these items in each offer.

• Payroll. In list A, payroll for up to five employees is part of the package; list C charges EUR 25 per employee on top. If you outsource payroll alone, list B charges EUR 45 per employee, with a minimum of EUR 120 a month plus VAT.
• The annual report. Three of the nine lists charge roughly one month's fee for it, one includes it in the package, and another lists it, unpriced, among services that are often charged extra. The questions at the end give the details.
• Issuing your invoices. If the accountant also prepares your sales invoices, one list charges EUR 8.50 to 10 per invoice and EUR 12 to 15 per structured electronic invoice, excluding VAT. From 1 January 2028, the Accounting Law (Grāmatvedības likums) requires an invoice issued for payment to another undertaking registered in Latvia, other than a budget institution, to be a structured electronic invoice, except in the cases listed in Section 11(16) (transitional provisions, paragraph 8).
• Anti-money laundering checks. One list prices an "AML/KYC compliance procedure" as a separate item, at EUR 300 every six months, without saying what it covers. Ask before you sign. The checks themselves are a legal duty of an outsourced accountant, as the questions at the end explain.
• VAT on the fee. Where a firm adds VAT, the standard rate is 21% (Value Added Tax Law (Pievienotās vērtības nodokļa likums), Section 41(1)(1)). For a company that is not registered for VAT, the tax is part of the cost: list B's EUR 125 becomes EUR 151.25.

Before you sign, check how the fee will change as the company grows. In lists B and D the bands are strict. If the example company takes on two more employees, list B moves it from EUR 125 to EUR 250 a month, although the number of invoices stays the same. In list D, when your entries fall into one band and your headcount into another, the dearer band applies. Agree in the contract from which month a new band applies and how you will be notified.

What an accountant on your payroll costs in 2026

No law sets what an accountant earns; it only sets the minimum wage. In 2026 the minimum monthly wage for normal working hours is EUR 780 (Cabinet Regulation No. 656 of 24 November 2015 (Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 656), paragraph 2). On top of gross pay, the employer pays state social insurance contributions of 23.59% (Law on State Social Insurance (Par valsts sociālo apdrošināšanu), Section 18(1)) and the business risk state fee of EUR 0.36 a month for each employee (Cabinet Regulation No. 651 of 4 November 2025 (Ministru kabineta noteikumi Nr. 651), paragraph 2). The 23.59% rate applies to an employee insured for all types of social insurance; for other groups of employees, the rates are set by the Cabinet of Ministers (Section 18(2)).

Full-time employment in 2026; the employee is insured for all types of social insurance. The rows for EUR 1,200, 1,500 and 2,000 only show the arithmetic and are not market salaries for accountants.

Personal income tax and the employee's own 10.50% contribution are withheld from gross pay, so they do not add to the employer's cost. They do matter when you negotiate the salary: if you agree a net (take-home) figure, the gross pay has to be well above it, and the employer's contributions rise with it; only the EUR 0.36 fee stays the same.

Part-time work may not cut the cost in proportion. The law sets a minimum contribution base of three minimum monthly wages a quarter. If the bases declared for an employee in that quarter, added up across all employers and any self-employment, come to less, the employer pays the contributions on the difference out of its own funds. The amount is split in proportion to the days of employment and, where there are several employers, to the base each of them declared (Law on State Social Insurance, Section 20.⁴(1) to (3)). The same section lists exceptions, for example people who have reached state pension age or receive an old-age pension, people with a disability, and people under 24 studying in general, vocational or special education, or full-time in higher education (Section 20.⁴(4)). The minimum base is also reduced in proportion for days the employee spends on, for example, unpaid leave or parental leave (Section 20.⁴(5)).

The table leaves out the running costs: a workplace, accounting software, training and cover while the accountant is on leave. Annual paid leave may not be shorter than four calendar weeks, not counting public holidays (Labour Law (Darba likums), Section 149(1)), and the filing deadlines do not move in the meantime. For a company the size of the example, a full-time employee on the minimum wage, with the employer's contributions and fee, already costs more than list E's EUR 700, the highest band price in the first table. Hiring may make sense when the work fills a full-time role or someone needs to be at the company every day.

An accountant on your payroll does not need a licence from the State Revenue Service (VID). The Accounting Law requires one from an outsourced accountant, defined as a person who provides accounting services under a written contract other than an employment contract (Sections 34(2)(2) and 38(1)). For an employed accountant the law sets its own test of competence: a diploma or other education certificate, or else relevant experience or a certificate of accounting knowledge (Section 34(2)(1)).

This is where a cheaper-looking arrangement can turn out to be unlawful. If someone keeps your company's books under a contract for services (uzņēmuma līgums) rather than an employment contract, the law treats that person as an outsourced accountant, who may not provide the service without a valid licence. The VID took the same view in a published answer on the LV portāls consultation service on 23 January 2024. The licence requirement does not apply to someone who only does the work of an accounting clerk, such as entering data from source documents or scanning invoices (Section 34(2)(3) and (4)). If someone other than the board keeps the books, the two safest routes are an employment contract or a licensed outsourced accountant. The licensed accountant can even be the same person, if that person registers with the VID as an individual performing economic activity (saimnieciskās darbības veicējs) and obtains a licence.

When the owner or a board member lives abroad

For a Latvian company whose owner or board member lives in another country, the questions are less about the fee than about what the owner can hand over and what stays with the company. The table sets out what the Accounting Law says on four points that matter to an owner abroad.

Even under that exception, the entries go into the registers in Latvian and by double entry. Whoever keeps the books, the board remains responsible for them.

Ask for a quote for a company run from abroad

What to check before you sign with an accountant

An outsourced accountant needs a valid licence from the VID (Accounting Law, Section 38(1)). Licensed outsourced accountants are entered in the VID's public register, which lists each of them with the firm's registration number or, for an individual, the taxpayer registration code (Section 39(1) and (3)). The register also carries details of the professional liability insurance that every outsourced accountant is required to have (Sections 39(3) and 40(1)). Our article on how to check an outsourced accountant's licence shows where to look. A licence confirms that the accountant meets the requirements of the law; the price and the scope of the work are set by the contract.

The law requires a written agreement setting out the accountant's duties, rights and responsibility (Section 34(1)). It says nothing about how the fee is worked out, so settle these points before you sign:

• what the price list counts as one unit of work, and whether bank payments count;
• whether payroll, VAT returns and the annual report are in the monthly fee, and what the rest costs;
• from which month a higher band applies when your documents or headcount grow;
• the date each month by which you send documents, and what happens when they arrive late;
• who files the returns with the VID, and whether you see them before they go;
• whether the anti-money laundering checks and one-off advice are charged separately;
• how documents and access to the systems are handed back if the contract ends. The company remains responsible for keeping its accounting records for the periods in Section 28: registers for 10 years, payroll records for 10 years (for leave pay, counted from the end of employment), other source documents for at least five years, and annual reports until the company is reorganised or wound up.

For a longer list of questions to put to an accountant, including software and cover during holidays, see our checklist for choosing an accountant.

SIA Lex & Finance is entered in the VID register of outsourced accountants under licence No. AGL0001078. Our own fees are not in this article: we quote once we have seen your company's volume of documents and payments, its headcount and its VAT status. We can take on all of your bookkeeping or only part of it, as described on our page about full or partial bookkeeping. Payroll, tax returns, the annual report and the rest of our bookkeeping work are set out on our accounting services in Latvia page.

Other questions about accounting fees in Latvia

What does an accountant charge for a Latvian company with almost no activity?

From EUR 30 a month, but each list defines an inactive company differently. One charges EUR 30 a month excluding VAT for fewer than five entries and no turnover. Another charges EUR 50 a month excluding VAT for filing nil returns for a company that does not trade, and the same list also offers a yearly fee: EUR 500 excluding VAT for a small company with no more than five operations a year. A regional firm lists EUR 70 for nil returns, stating neither VAT nor the period the price covers. A fourth list starts at EUR 50 a month for an inactive company with up to 10 operations, without mentioning VAT.

What does the annual report cost if it is not in the monthly fee?

In three of the nine lists, roughly one month's fee. One says the report usually costs an extra month's fee; another charges one month's fee or, if the fee changed during the year, the 12-month average; the third prices it in line with the monthly service amount. A fourth list includes the annual report in its package. When you budget for the year, ask whether the report is a thirteenth payment.

What is an accountant's hourly rate in Latvia?

Four of the nine lists publish an hourly rate, each for something different. One charges anyone who is not a client EUR 40 an hour for a consultation, without mentioning VAT, and advises its own clients free of charge. Another charges EUR 50 an hour for a consultation and EUR 80 an hour for work at weekends and on public holidays, excluding VAT. A third charges EUR 100 an hour, excluding VAT, for work outside the services it lists. A fourth bases its monthly prices on a rate of EUR 25 an hour plus VAT and prices its top band by the time spent. One more list publishes no rate but also advises its existing clients free of charge.

Why does an accountant ask about the company's owners before signing?

Because the law requires it. An outsourced accountant is an obliged entity under the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism and Proliferation Financing (Noziedzīgi iegūtu līdzekļu legalizācijas un terorisma un proliferācijas finansēšanas novēršanas likums), Section 3(1)(3). The accountant has to carry out customer due diligence: identify the client, find out who the beneficial owner is and, for a company, its ownership structure, and understand the purpose and intended nature of the relationship (Section 11.¹(1)). As a rule this happens before the business relationship starts (Section 11(1)(1)). Where a documented risk assessment finds the risk low and enhanced due diligence is not required, verification of the client's identity and confirmation of the stated beneficial owner may be completed when the relationship begins, as soon as possible after first contact and before any transaction (Section 11(3)). The accountant keeps this information up to date in line with the risk, and at least once every five years, so expect the same questions again later.

Can the company reclaim the VAT on the accountant's invoice?

Yes, if the company is registered for VAT, uses the service for its taxable transactions and holds a VAT invoice from a VAT-registered supplier: that VAT is then input tax (Value Added Tax Law, Section 92(1)(1)). For a company that is not registered for VAT, it stays a cost.

Do accountants in Latvia charge more for working in English?

None of the nine price lists we read shows a separate charge for English, and one of them says it communicates with clients in Latvian, Russian and English. Ask which reports and letters you will receive in English and whether the fee covers them.