The network covers Luxembourg within the Western Europe region. Payslips there are drawn up in EUR, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in Luxembourgish, French and German.
The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Differdange, Dudelange.
The country is a member of the European Union. An employee posted from another member state remains attached to the scheme of origin under the conditions set by the European coordination regulations, and the A1 certificate issued by the institution of the sending country is the proof of this. That document is called for during on-site inspections: it is applied for before departure, never afterwards.
The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.
In Luxembourg, running payroll on behalf of third parties is a regulated activity. It is carried on under the title of Expert-comptable, and a registration in force must be produced to you before any engagement.
L'établissement des salaires (« administration des salaires ») fait partie du périmètre légal de l'expert-comptable luxembourgeois. Exercer suppose une autorisation d'établissement délivrée par le ministère de l'Économie, conditionnée à un diplôme en économie/finance/droit, trois ans d'expérience dont un chez un expert-comptable établi, et une certification de l'Université du Luxembourg ; puis l'inscription obligatoire au tableau de l'OEC.
A substantial share of Luxembourg's workforce lives in neighbouring countries, so cross-border affiliation arises from the very first hire. The country belongs to the European Union and the European Economic Area: EU coordination applies, and it is the place of work rather than the place of residence that determines which system applies. Social security is administered by the Centre commun de la sécurité sociale (CCSS), a single point of entry handling employer registration, employee affiliation and contribution assessment across all risks.
Salaries are paid in euros. Contractual documentation may be drafted in French, German or Luxembourgish; French remains the customary language of contracts and instruments, but an employee must be able to understand what they sign.
Payroll here is a regulated activity: wage administration falls within the statutory scope of the Luxembourg expert-comptable, which requires a business licence from the Ministry of the Economy and registration with the Ordre des Experts-Comptables.
How working time divides between Luxembourg and the country of residence is the decisive factor for a cross-border worker, and the spread of remote working has made this a matter to follow role by role rather than settle once for all staff. Residence, nationality and the actual place of work together determine the country of affiliation.
Then comes employer registration with the Centre commun de la sécurité sociale, the door to the whole system. A foreign company employing without being established must consider whether it can register directly or whether the activity requires a local presence and a business licence.
No one starts work without a written contract, in place no later than that day. Required particulars, the probationary period, grading and any sectoral collective agreement in play are checked in the same movement, since a number of industries have one.
The tax deduction card issued by the Administration des contributions directes governs withholding at source; without it, deduction follows a regime unfavourable to the employee, which should be anticipated. Monthly CCSS returns and annual statements then set the rhythm of the year.
Termination calls for a review of notice periods, of the pre-dismissal interview applicable above certain headcounts, of any severance entitlement, and of deregistration formalities.
The network asks 9 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in Luxembourg. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.
Of these 9 documents, 8 are required of every applicant and 6 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 3 months. 1 of these documents exist only in Luxembourg and have no equivalent in the common core of the network.
| Local wording | Issuing body | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extrait du Registre de commerce et des sociétés (RCS)Trade and Companies Register (RCS) extract L'extrait s'obtient en ligne contre paiement ; il porte le numéro B (sociétés). Y joindre le certificat de non-inscription d'une faillite, délivré par le même LBR depuis 2010. | Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR) — Registre de commerce et des sociétés | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Autorisation d'établissement (profession libérale d'expert-comptable)Business permit / establishment authorisation Pièce maîtresse au Luxembourg : sans autorisation d'établissement, aucune activité économique n'est licite. Elle est nominative (dirigeant qualifié) et précise l'activité couverte — vérifier qu'elle mentionne bien « expert-comptable ». | Ministère de l'Économie — Direction générale des classes moyennes | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Certificat d'immatriculation à la TVA / numéro d'identification TVA (LU)VAT registration certificate Distinguer le numéro national d'identification (matricule à 11 ou 13 chiffres) du numéro de TVA LU, vérifiable sur VIES. | Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED) | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Certificat de l'Administration des contributions directes (attestation que la société est en règle) — et certificat AED pour la TVATax compliance certificate Il faut deux attestations distinctes au Luxembourg : l'une de l'ACD (impôts directs), l'autre de l'AED (TVA). Demander les deux, beaucoup de candidats n'en fournissent qu'une. | Administration des contributions directes (ACD) et Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED) | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Certificat d'affiliation / attestation de non-redevance du Centre commun de la sécurité sociale (CCSS)Social security affiliation and clearance certificate Le CCSS est le guichet unique des cotisations : une seule attestation couvre pension, maladie, accident. C'est la pièce systématiquement exigée dans les marchés publics luxembourgeois. | Centre commun de la sécurité sociale (CCSS) | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Attestation d'assurance responsabilité civile professionnelleProfessional indemnity insurance certificate Exigée des experts-comptables par les règles professionnelles de l'Ordre. | Assureur agréé, sous supervision du Commissariat aux assurances (CAA) | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Inscription au tableau de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables (OEC)Registration on the roll of the Order of Chartered Accountants L'inscription à l'OEC est obligatoire une fois l'autorisation d'établissement obtenue. Le périmètre légal de l'expert-comptable luxembourgeois inclut expressément l'administration des salaires — la paie pour compte de tiers relève donc de la profession. | Ordre des Experts-Comptables (OEC) — Luxembourg | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Copie de la pièce d'identité et extrait du casier judiciaire (bulletin n° 3) du dirigeant qualifiéID document and criminal record extract of the qualified manager L'honorabilité professionnelle du dirigeant est une condition de l'autorisation d'établissement ; le bulletin n° 3 est la pièce standard, complété pour les non-résidents par une déclaration sur l'honneur de non-faillite. | Ministère de la Justice — Casier judiciaire | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Registre des activités de traitement et accord de sous-traitance (RGPD) — pas d'enregistrement CNPDGDPR documentation; no prior registration required Depuis le RGPD, il n'existe plus de déclaration ni d'autorisation préalable auprès de la CNPD. Demander plutôt la politique de confidentialité, le contrat de sous-traitance art. 28 et le nom du DPO. | Commission nationale pour la protection des données (CNPD) | No expiry Where applicable | Official website |
Wage indexation is the country's most structurally significant mechanism: pay is automatically adjusted to movements in the price index, without negotiation or any employer decision. An index instalment may fall due mid-year and shift the entire wage bill, and a budget prepared abroad has to allow for that possibility.
Two layers of authorisation sit on top of one another for service providers: the business licence, conferring the right to practise, and registration with the Ordre des Experts-Comptables, which is professional membership. Both are required and neither dispenses with the other.
Ubiquitous in the local market, the label fiduciaire guarantees no qualification in itself: it covers fully authorised practices as readily as plain domiciliation businesses, and nothing in the name tells the two apart. It cannot serve as a selection criterion, and a candidate who offers it as one has answered a different question from the one asked.
Le Luxembourg superpose deux niveaux à ne pas confondre : l'autorisation d'établissement (droit d'exercer, ministère de l'Économie) et l'inscription à l'OEC (appartenance ordinale). Les deux sont exigibles. Deuxième particularité : la régularité fiscale se prouve par deux attestations séparées, ACD pour les impôts directs et AED pour la TVA. Attention enfin à l'appellation « fiduciaire », très courante localement : elle ne garantit à elle seule aucune qualification et peut couvrir de la simple domiciliation.
The network opens 3 partner slots in Luxembourg, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.
No listed partner in Luxembourg has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.
Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.
Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.
We expect a Luxembourg candidate to produce the business licence issued by the Ministry of the Economy and evidence of registration with the Ordre des Experts-Comptables, both being indispensable. The file also includes the extract from the Registre de commerce et des sociétés, the CCSS affiliation certificate and the matching clearance certificate, and the two separate tax certificates, one from the Administration des contributions directes and one from the Administration de l'enregistrement for VAT. Professional indemnity cover and a record of processing activities complete our assessment.
Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in Luxembourg yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.
Request a provider in LuxembourgMobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.
These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.
The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in Luxembourg.