Can I retire early in Lithuania?

Yes, and after the recent rewrite the investment account is the safe route: tax waits until withdrawals exceed deposits, then takes a flat 15%. Costs run about 17% cheaper than the EU average, and while one detail of the new law is still settling, the account sidesteps it.

How does Lithuania tax a foreign listed-share dividend?

A listed-share dividend carries tax at 15%. Tax already taken abroad can reduce the Lithuanian bill, but only up to that bill.

Can an American or a Brit retire early in Lithuania?

No passive route and no nomad visa: the doors are genuinely running a Lithuanian company, a job, or study. An EU or EEA passport skips the visa question entirely: freedom of movement covers the move itself. Confirm with the immigration authority: routes open and close.

How long until a Lithuania passport?

10 years of legal residence is the general naturalisation rule, with Lithuanian at A2 + a constitution exam. Dual citizenship is generally not allowed. Permanent residency usually comes at 5 years.

The Europe atlas

Lithuania.

A flat 15% for long holds and the account; quick sales now climb.

Lithuania just rewrote its investing taxes, and the safe path now runs through the investment account. Inside it, tax waits until your withdrawals pass your deposits, then a flat 15%; sell quickly outside it and the gain can climb a progressive scale instead. Life is about 17% cheaper than the EU average. The reform is new and one question is still open (whether a long-held ETF earns the flat rate on its own), so let the account answer it for you.

Price it in your money

Tell me where you live now and what you spend a month, and every cost here becomes your number: the same life, priced country by country, in your own currency.

Where you live now

You spend, per month

Shown in

A guide, not a quote. I move your monthly spend by each country’s official price level (Eurostat and the World Bank, whole-economy, EU-27 = 100). No exchange rates, so it stays in your own currency. But averages hide rent and the city you pick, and changing country is rarely a straight swap. Read these as the right ballpark, then price the real thing.

Cost of living

EU-27 = 100 · 2025. Living in Lithuania runs about 17% cheaper than the EU average.

63EU 100174

Eurostat (prc_ppp_ind) / World Bank, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Whole-economy price level. Country averages hide big regional and rent spread.

No wealth tax

The same life, priced here

A €2,500 a month reference life runs about €2,070 a month here, roughly €24,840 a year, and a ×30 number near €745,000.

Price your own exit

The reference life the calculators use, scaled by the index above: the same whole-economy figure, a guide not a quote.

Where in Europe

The country, in one line

Verified 9 July 2026

Where it stands

EU · Schengen · the euro

The money

The euro

no FX risk on a euro budget

Language

Lithuanian

Capital

Vilnius

Continental Baltic: cold winters, warm short summers.

Housing

Vs the EU

−40%

a roof here, against the EU-27 average

In Lithuania, buy prices are up 158% since 2015 (+9.8% last year); rents up 83% since 2015.

Deloitte's Property Index doesn't price this country, so there's no per-m² tag here: the comparative level and the trend above are the official read.

Read these as the shape, not the price. Housing is the most divergent cost in Europe, and a national average buries the thing that actually decides it: the city, the street, new-build against old. Treat it as a ballpark, then price the real place. Not property or mortgage advice.

One home, two paths

Price buying against renting in Lithuania.

Bring the purchase price and rent for one genuinely comparable home. I will not carry the Atlas averages into the calculator.

The calculator still works for Lithuania, but it has no automated country rule yet. Choose Custom / anywhere and enter the local purchase costs yourself.

Open Buy or Rent?

Compare housing across the map

Level vs the EU: Eurostat comparative price level for housing (prc_ppp_ind, EU-27 = 100, 2024). Trend: Eurostat house price index and actual-rentals index (2015 = 100, 2025).

What prices did here

Prices here rose 5.4% in the year to June 2026, faster than the euro area’s 2.8%. Since 2020 they’re up 49% in total, about 6.9% a year.

The €24,840 reference life this page prices today took about €16,719 in 2020 money.

Eurostat’s HICP, data through June 2026.

Your own number, restated at today’s prices in Lithuania

How the money you live on is taxed

Lithuania does not give every payment the same tax answer. Start with the asset or income source, then add the arrival-year and treaty rules.

The full income picture

These are the usual rules for a resident unless a case says otherwise. A new-resident rule, tax wrapper or treaty may change one case without changing the others.

Securities and funds

15% after more than five years, otherwise 15% then 20 / 25 / 32%

From 2026, the answer depends on the asset and account. A declared investment account defers tax until withdrawals exceed contributions, while directly held assets use the ordinary gain rules.

Listed shares 15% after more than five years, otherwise 15% then 20 / 25 / 32%: Shares held more than five years outside an investment account use a flat 15% rate. Other gains use 15% up to the first statutory threshold, then the 20–32% bands.
Fund and ETF units Different rules apply: Fund and ETF units can qualify for investment-account deferral. Outside that account, they use the ordinary 15%-then-progressive treatment. The five-year share rate does not extend to them.
Holding period and allowances Reduced rule: Shares acquired more than five years before sale and outside an investment account use a flat 15% rate. A separate €500 annual exemption can apply to qualifying financial-instrument gains.
Losses Taxable under the ordinary rule: Taxable gain on financial instruments is computed net. Losses on financial-instrument disposals offset gains of the same category in the tax period.
Foreign and US listings Different rules apply: A foreign or US-listed share follows the same share rule as a Lithuanian holding. A foreign ETF follows the fund-unit path, including investment-account deferral where eligible.
Accumulating funds and annual tax No separate rule: For this case, accumulating fund income is not taxed until the units are sold. The new investment account goes further.

Worth checking

The aggregate progressive treatment began in 2026. A longer-held stake or a declared investment account can follow a different rate or timing rule.

Dividends

15% plus tax taken abroad

A listed-share dividend carries tax at 15% at any holding size. Tax already taken abroad can reduce the Lithuanian bill, but only up to that bill.

Lithuanian company dividend 15% flat: A Lithuanian company withholds 15% personal income tax on the dividend to a resident individual. It is final and not aggregated with other income.
Foreign listed-share dividend 15% plus tax taken abroad: A resident pays 15% Lithuanian personal income tax on the gross foreign dividend. The source country may withhold (treaty-limited).
Third-country company dividend No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Fund or ETF distribution 15% (dividend) on receipt: A distribution characterised as distributed profit carries tax at 15% on receipt like a dividend and is excluded from the investment-account wrapper. Accumulating funds defer tax until the units are sold.
New-resident treatment No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

There is no separate rule here. Use the general foreign-income case, then check what the treaty says about the country paying the money.

Crypto

Different rules apply

A private crypto sale, exchange or spend is a taxable property disposal. Non-regular annual gains of no more than €2,500 can be exempt.

Sale for money Different rules apply: The sale to fiat is a disposal of property taxed on the difference between sale and acquisition price. Non-regular sales are exempt up to €2,500 of gain per calendar year.
Crypto-to-crypto exchange Taxable disposal (same 2,500 or 15%-then-progressive rule): Swapping one virtual currency for another is treated as selling the first and acquiring the second.
Spending crypto Taxable disposal at market price of goods or services: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Holding relief and losses Reduced rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
Staking and lending No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Mining, validation and airdrops Different rules apply: A resident's own produced (mined) virtual currency is not personal income when produced. Income arises only on its later sale, taxed like other asset sales.
Private investor or business Different rules apply: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the relevant tax event occurs.
Wealth tax and departure tax No separate rule: Lithuania has no net-wealth tax and no individual exit tax. A crypto holding is not reached by any annual wealth charge and emigrating with crypto triggers no deemed disposal.
New-resident treatment No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

All 34 crypto rules, side by side

Pensions

Conditional exemption by product and statutory route

Foreign pension income can be exempt when it comes from a state fund or a qualifying pension-accumulation arrangement. Private pensions and annuities must meet their own conditions.

Lithuania pension Different rules apply: Lithuanian state social-insurance old-age pensions are effectively outside personal income tax. Some funded or voluntary pension benefits instead use a flat 15% carve-out.
Foreign state or social-security pension Exempt under the ordinary rule: A pension or annuity from a foreign state fund is exempt under the ordinary-law category. The treaty still decides any source-state taxing right.
Foreign occupational or private pension Conditional exemption by product and statutory route: A foreign occupational/private pension, annuity or accumulation payout must be matched to the correct category. For this case, qualifying payouts under foreign laws analogous to Lithuania's pension-accumulation law are exempt from 2026, and other pension-fund or annuity exemptions have their own conditions.
Foreign government or civil-service pension Usually source-state taxed: A government or civil-service pension follows the relevant treaty's government-service article, not the ordinary foreign-state-pension category.
Foreign pension lump sum No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Special foreign-pension rule No separate rule: For this case, Lithuania has no destination pensioner or newcomer regime. That does not erase the ordinary-law exemptions for foreign-state-fund pensions and qualifying foreign pension-accumulation payouts.

Worth checking

The payment label is not enough. Confirm whether the payer is a foreign-state fund and whether any foreign accumulation law is analogous to Lithuania's.

If you own a company

15% plus tax taken abroad

A Lithuanian company pays 17% company tax, with separate small-company rules. A dividend to the resident owner then carries 15% personal tax.

Company profit Taxable under the ordinary rule: A Lithuanian company pays 17% company tax from 2026, with separate small-company conditions. Lithuania's corporate-residence rule is based on incorporation/registration.
Distribution from a Lithuanian company 15% flat dividend (integrated about 29.5% with 17% company tax): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
Distribution from a foreign company 15% plus tax taken abroad: A dividend from the owner's foreign company carries flat 15% tax, with no individual participation exemption. Tax taken in the source country can receive treaty credit.
Foreign entity type No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Ownership threshold Taxable under the ordinary rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the relevant tax event occurs.
Sale of your company stake Different rules apply: Sale of the owner's shares follows the securities rule. A flat 15% if the stake was held more than five years and bought outside an investment account.
Salary or director fee 20 / 25 / 32% progressive plus social contributions: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
Social contributions and remuneration risk No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Running the company from Lithuania Taxable under the ordinary rule: For this case, moving the owner does not by itself move a foreign company's residence because the domestic residence rule is incorporation/registration based. A dependent agent or other facts can create a Lithuanian permanent establishment taxable on attributable profit.
Controlled foreign company rules Positive income of a controlled low-tax entity attributed currently: Lithuania's controlled-foreign-company rules can attribute some undistributed low-taxed foreign income to a controlling resident.
New-resident treatment No separate rule: A new resident's dividends and controlled foreign companies attribution are taxed from the start of residence.

Worth checking

For a moving owner, keep three tests separate. The foreign company's incorporation-based residence, any Lithuanian taxable business presence or dependent-agent exposure created by local activity, and the individual's controlled foreign companies consequences.

Review the company and your personal position together before the move.

Interest and cash

15% then progressive (€500 exemption)

Interest normally carries 15% up to the first statutory threshold, then 20–32%. A declared investment account instead defers tax until withdrawals exceed contributions.

Lithuania bank or bond interest 15% then progressive (€500 exemption): Bank-deposit and bond/security interest is taxable, with a €500 annual exemption for interest on deposits and on non-equity (government) securities acquired from 2014. Above the exemption, interest is other non-employment income.
Foreign bank or bond interest Different rules apply: Foreign interest is taxed the same as domestic (15%-then-progressive, or deferred flat 15% inside an investment account) with a credit for any tax taken in the source country. Many treaties reduce source interest withholding tax to zero, but that is pair-specific.
Allowances and extra charges Reduced rule: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
New-resident treatment No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

Rent

Different rules apply

For this case, 2026 domestic residential rent enters the 15%-then-20–32% structure, with a separate business-certificate route where its conditions are met. No Lithuanian social contribution on passive rent.

Property in Lithuania Different rules apply: For this case, rent from Lithuanian immovable property is other non-employment income on the 15%-then-progressive rule from 2026. Alternatively, immovable-lease income up to €50,000 in a tax period may be taxed under a fixed income tax (business certificate).
Property abroad Different rules apply: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received. The treaty can change source-country tax and relief.
EU or EEA property branch No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.
Rental deductions No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

Property gains

Exempt if declared residence 2 years (or rollover into new EEA home)

Housing that was your declared residence for 2 years before sale is exempt. Other immovable property in the EEA held more than 5 years is exempt (reduced from 10 in the 2026 reform).

Lithuania main home Exempt if declared residence 2 years (or rollover into new EEA home): This case is exempt when the stated conditions are met. The holding period, asset type or treaty can change that result.
Lithuania investment or second property Different rules apply: A non-residence (investment/second) immovable property in the EEA is exempt if acquired more than five years before sale. The gain is other non-employment income at 15%-then-progressive.
Foreign property Different rules apply: In EEA property, Lithuania's domestic two-year residence and five-year holding exemptions can apply. For this case, non-EEA property does not receive those exemptions merely because the owner is Lithuanian-resident. Check the treaty for source tax and Lithuania's relief.
Foreign EU or EEA property branch Same EEA exemptions as domestic (2-year residence or 5-year hold): This case is exempt when the stated conditions are met. The holding period, asset type or treaty can change that result.
Foreign third-country property branch Different rules apply: Immovable property outside the EEA does not qualify for the residence/holding-period exemptions. The gain is taxable in Lithuania (15%-then-progressive) with a credit for source-country tax. Check the treaty for source tax and Lithuania's relief.
Main-home conditions Declared residence 2 years, or rollover within 1 year: This case is exempt when the stated conditions are met. The holding period, asset type or treaty can change that result.
Starting value after a move Different rules apply: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the asset is sold or otherwise disposed of.
New-resident treatment No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

Royalties

Main 20 / 25 / 32 (copyright-agreement income excluded from the 15% band)

Royalties to a resident are taxable income. Copyright-agreement income is taxed on the main progressive scale (it is carved out of the 15%-first-12-average-wages band), so substantial royalties can reach 25%/32%.

Lithuania royalties Main 20 / 25 / 32 (copyright-agreement income excluded from the 15% band): Income received under copyright agreements is expressly excluded from the 15%-on-first-12-average-wages non-employment band, so it is taxed on the main progressive scale.
Foreign royalties Income-tax bands: A foreign royalty is worldwide income taxed on the same basis as a domestic royalty. Tax taken in the source country can receive credit under the relevant treaty.
Which rights qualify Taxable under the ordinary rule: Royalties cover income under copyright agreements (creative works, software) and licensing of intellectual property. This key domestic fork is whether the royalty is passive income under a copyright agreement (main progressive scale) or part of a continuous individual activity (individual-activity rules).
Passive or active Different rules apply: A one-off passive copyright royalty uses the progressive scale without social contributions. Continuous, autonomous, profit-seeking creative or licensing work follows the individual-activity rules.
Social contributions and value-added tax Taxable under the ordinary rule: Individual-activity royalties attract social and health contributions and, above the value-added tax registration threshold (€45,000 turnover), value-added tax registration. Passive copyright royalties do not attract social contributions.

If you still work

20 / 25 / 32% progressive plus 19.5% employee social contributions (incl 6.98% health)

Employment income is on the main progressive scale (20% to about 36 average wages, 25% to about 60, 32% above) plus employee social contributions of 19.5% (including 6.98% health). Director fees have their own treaty article.

Employment in Lithuania 20 / 25 / 32% progressive plus 19.5% employee social contributions (incl 6.98% health): The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
Remote work for a foreign employer Income-tax bands: A resident working remotely for a foreign employer uses the main progressive income-tax scale. Lithuanian social contributions normally apply, subject to EU coordination for a qualifying posting.
Self-employment and consulting Different rules apply: Social and health contributions of 19.5% (including 6.98% health) apply, computed from 90% of taxable income. The business-certificate route offers a fixed tax for certain small activities.
Director fees Income-tax bands: The rate line above gives the resident result. The rule is tested when the income is received.
New-resident worker rule No safe answer yet: No safe answer is shown for this exact case yet. Check the facts and treaty before relying on a result.

One layer stays off this page: the tax taken inside a fund before its dividend ever reaches you. Everything above is the tax after it.

The withholding guide explains that layer The Domicile Tax prices it on your pot

One term that matters in Lithuania

Investment account

A declared account that delays tax until withdrawals exceed contributions. Dividends remain taxable when received.

Your first tax year and starting values

Two dates matter: when your new country starts taxing you, and which value it uses to work out a later gain. Check both before you move.

When residence starts: Residence can begin through a Lithuanian home, centre of interests, 183 days in the year, or the two-year 280-day test. The tests are applied by calendar-year tax period.
The arrival year: The statute frames residence per calendar-year tax period rather than a formal split-year mechanic. The 183-day test is counted within the tax period, and worldwide liability attaches for the period in which a test is met.
Dual residence: If the former country still claims residence, the treaty tie-breaker decides. It looks at the permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode and nationality.

Shares, funds, crypto, an owner-company stake and property: Original purchase cost
The original purchase cost continues after the move. A later taxable gain can therefore include growth from before residence began.

These answers carry dates because the rules move.

See what changed in the atlas changelog Look up a term in the glossary

Plain-language key

Withholding tax: Tax taken before the money reaches you, usually in the country where the payment comes from.
Tax credit: Tax already paid abroad can reduce the bill where you live. The reduction is usually capped at the local tax on that same income.
Original purchase cost: What you paid for the asset. A market-value reset replaces that figure with the asset's value when you move.
Income-tax bands: The income is added to your other taxable income. Higher total income can push part of it into a higher band.
Permanent establishment: A taxable business presence. Running a foreign company from your new home can create one even if the company remains registered abroad.

This gives you the starting rule, not your final bill. The country paying the money, your treaty, account, holding period, residence dates and activity can change the result.

The system around it

The €500 shield and the account

The first €500 of financial-instrument gains each year is exempt outright. And the investment account is the clean route: hold shares, funds and ETFs inside it and tax is deferred until your withdrawals pass what you paid in, then a flat 15%. Dividends are a flat 15% too, but taxed as they land; the account doesn't defer those.

Wealth & exit tax

No wealth tax, and no exit tax on individuals leaving.

Inheritance & gifts

On paper 5–10%, but spouses, children, parents, grandchildren and siblings are all exempt, and there's no gift tax.

Worth watching

The reform is brand new (in force since January 2026) and its euro thresholds are still preliminary, so date-check the bands. The thing to confirm for an index investor is whether a long-held ETF earns the five-year flat rate, or only the account does.

Same pattern elsewhere

The terms, defined

Entry rules

Your passport

Can you actually move here?

Hold an EU or EEA passport and the door isn't the question: freedom of movement covers the move itself. The clocks and the tax-residency rules below still run for you.

With your passport, skip the doors: the clocks and the tax-residency rules are what matter for you.

No EU passport means one of the doors on the left: each checked against the authority that issues it.

The route in

No passive-income route

No passive route and no nomad visa: the doors are genuinely running a Lithuanian company, a job, or study.

Golden visa

Never had one

Never: no property or fund route at any price; the only 'investment' door is actively operating a real local company.

The passport

10 yrs

permanent residency at 5 yrs · no dual, generally · Lithuanian at A2 + a constitution exam

When you become tax-resident

183 days in the tax year, or 280 across two; a permanent home or your interests here also count

Lithuania is the strictest of the Baltics for a FIRE mover: no savings route, no nomad visa despite what relocation sites advertise, and a company route that demands real operations, not parked capital. Citizenship takes ten years and your old passport. The 2024 referendum on dual citizenship won the vote but failed the constitutional turnout bar. The health catch bites too: a non-working temporary resident cannot buy into the state system at all until permanent residence.

Worth watching

Dual-citizenship politics stay live after the failed May 2024 referendum; the state-insurance self-payer bill re-prices every January (€80/month in 2026, at permanent residence).

Check it yourself: Migration Department: naturalisation · PwC: Lithuania tax residence

Getting-in rules checked July 2026. They move faster than tax law: confirm the current rule with the authority before you plan a move around it. Education, not immigration advice.

Health

Compulsory state insurance covers permanent residents and working temporary residents: a non-working temporary resident cannot pay in at all, and lives on private cover until permanent residence; with it, the self-payer rate is about €80 a month (2026).

Private cover: permits want private cover (a €6,000 minimum per the EU portal).

Healthcare access checked July 2026. Systems are stable but details shift: confirm before you rely on them. Education, not health-insurance advice.

Your pension, the official number

This country’s official, free place to check where your pension stands: Sodra projected pension calculator .

What it’s worth to an early exit: The Pension Bridge

Common questions

Can I retire early in Lithuania?: Yes, and after the recent rewrite the investment account is the safe route: tax waits until withdrawals exceed deposits, then takes a flat 15%. Costs run about 17% cheaper than the EU average, and while one detail of the new law is still settling, the account sidesteps it.
Does Lithuania have an investment account that defers tax?: Yes. Hold shares, funds and ETFs inside the investment account and tax is deferred until your withdrawals pass what you paid in, then a flat 15%. Dividends are a flat 15% too, but taxed as they land; the account doesn't defer those.
How does Lithuania tax a foreign listed-share dividend?: A listed-share dividend carries tax at 15%. Tax already taken abroad can reduce the Lithuanian bill, but only up to that bill.
Can an American or a Brit retire early in Lithuania?: No passive route and no nomad visa: the doors are genuinely running a Lithuanian company, a job, or study. An EU or EEA passport skips the visa question entirely: freedom of movement covers the move itself. Confirm with the immigration authority: routes open and close.
How long until a Lithuania passport?: 10 years of legal residence is the general naturalisation rule, with Lithuanian at A2 + a constitution exam. Dual citizenship is generally not allowed. Permanent residency usually comes at 5 years.

Run your own numbers.

The Exit Calculator

Years to your number, at your savings rate.

Open

Where You Live

What an annual wealth tax does to the maths, deliberately simplified.

Open

The Geoarbitrage Map

The same life, priced across 58 countries.

Open

The brokers

Seven of the nine brokers on the broker guide advertise accounts here.

None of them does your tax paperwork here: every row means filing yourself; the guide shows what that involves.

This country runs the investment account, and none of the nine offers it. It lives with domestic brokers. Check it before you pick from this list.

The broker guide: all nine, and your bank The Broker Bill: your yearly bill, filtered to this country

The whole system (wrappers, funds, withdrawal, the blank page) is in the guide: The European FIRE guide

None of this is tax or investment advice: it's education, kept deliberately at the level that survives fact-checking. Rules shift with every budget round; the specifics of your situation belong with a licensed adviser in your country. I'm happily not one.

This page was last verified against official sources on 9 July 2026. What's changed on the map

Sources: check it yourself

Income and cross-border tax (13)

Open the sources behind each topic

How the money you live on is taxed

Your first tax year and starting values

EU - Your Europe: Double taxation

Securities and funds

Keep it honest

Know a figure here that’s wrong or out of date? Point me to the line and a source: every correction gets checked, and it’s how the map stays right.

Report a correction

Bring me a challenge.

The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.

See how it works →

Ninety minutes, online, €600. The Exit Audit included.