Short answer
Detyrimet e kontabilitetit nisin me regjistrimin në QKB, jo me shitjen e parë, sipas ligjit nr. 25/2018 për kontabilitetin. Pasqyrat financiare depozitohen në QKB deri më 31 korrik, pra brenda 7 muajve nga mbyllja e vitit.
Verified on from Andi Haxhillari, Kontabilist i Miratuar. Krahasuar me nenet 8 dhe 13 të ligjit nr. 25/2018, me nenin 74, pika 3, të ligjit nr. 9723/2007, të ndryshuar me ligjin nr. 7/2022, dhe me kufijtë e kategorive për vitet 2025 deri 2027.
The accounting obligations of a business in Albania are six. Keeping records from the date of registration, classifying them in the appropriate category, applying the relevant standard, submitting financial statements to the QKB by July 31, retaining documents for 10 years, and, for a minority of businesses, undergoing a legal audit.
What should I do to avoid getting into trouble with the law? Accounting obligations are few and finite. Once you know and set them up, they stop being a concern and become a smooth routine. This is Michael Gerber's idea in The E-Myth Revisited: a business is built on systems, not on memory. And the oldest professional tool for this is the checklist, the same method used by pilots and surgeons, as shown by Atul Gawande in The Checklist Manifesto. At this level you'll find everything the law requires of your business: who keeps the accounting, which category you fall into, which standard you apply, what you must file, and by when.
This page provides each obligation with its figures, deadlines, and legal basis, the current category table, the late‐payment penalty, and the audit limits. The details of each obligation are contained in the six pages at this level, listed below.
Read also: 2025 Financial Statements: What Your Business Needs and by When.
| The question | Answer in effect today |
|---|---|
| Until when are the mirrors submitted? | July 31, so 7 months from the end of the year |
| How much is the late fee? | 60,000 lekë, ligji nr. 9723/2007, i ndryshuar me ligjin nr. 7/2022 |
| What is the legal basis? | Law No. 25/2018, Articles 4, 5, 8, and 22 |
| This touches | Every economic unit registered in the QKB |
| Status of the rules | Law in force. Law No. 87/2026 awaits publication in the Official Gazette. |
Every economic unit registered in Albania, regardless of its legal form or size, must keep accounting records. The obligation arises upon registration with the QKB, not with the first sales invoice.
This means that even a business with no turnover has records to keep and returns to file. The full rules and special cases are on the website. Who keeps the accounting?.
The category is defined by Article 4 of Law No. 25/2018 using three indicators as of the balance sheet date: assets, revenues, and average number of employees. The thresholds vary by period, so the table includes the column that applies today, the years. 2025 to 2027 according to Annex 1 of the law.
| Category | Assets up to | Income up to | Employee up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micronation | 35,000,000 lek | 70,000,000 lek | 10 |
| Small unit | 350,000,000 lek | 700,000,000 lek | 50 |
| Middle unit | 2,000,000,000 lek | 4,000,000,000 lek | 250 |
| Large unit | over 2,000,000,000 lek | over 4,000,000,000 lek | over 250 |
Revenues are measured according to the income and expenditure statement, excluding the VAT collected on behalf of the state. You can find the full explanation of the indicators on the page of Categories of economic units.
You remain in a category as long as you do not exceed at least two of its three limits. A single indicator above the limit does not change the category.
The transition occurs when the exceedance of the two indicators is repeated in two consecutive reporting periods. Therefore, a single good year does not impose new obligations on you, but two consecutive years do.
Let's take a coffee bar in Tirana with annual revenue of 12,000,000 lek, assets of 5,000,000 lek, and four employees. None of the three indicators exceeds the micro-entity threshold, so the business is a micro-entity and applies Standard SKK 15.
His reports are simplified, and year-end closing requires significantly less work than for a small unit. You can apply the same reasoning to your three figures, or to the vehicle of the category on the hub page.
The standard is not chosen at will; it stems from the category under Article 5 of Law No. 25/2018. Micro-entities apply IFRS 15, small, medium and large entities apply the full National Accounting Standards, while public interest entities, such as banks and insurance companies, apply International Financial Reporting Standards.
The difference is felt in the number of mirrors, in the explanatory notes, and in the time required to close out the year. The details by standard are kept on the page of accounting standards, while the official texts are published by National Council of Accountancy.
The two dates each year are March 31 and July 31. By March 31, the annual statement is submitted. income tax to the tax administration, while until July 31 The financial statements are filed with the QKB within seven months of the reporting date, in accordance with Article 22 of Law No. 25/2018.
Before filing, the balance sheets are approved by the partners' assembly and the resolution is attached along with them. When the company has only one partner, his decision alone is sufficient.
Mosdepozitimi në afat dënohet me gjobë 60,000 lekë sipas nenit 74 të ligjit nr. 9723/2007 për regjistrimin e biznesit, të ndryshuar me ligjin nr. 7/2022. Masa e mëparshme, 15,000 lekë, nuk vlen më. Vonesa ka edhe një kosto të dytë, banka ose partneri që kërkon pasqyrat e depozituara nuk i gjen dot në regjistër.
The practical step-by-step procedure, from preparation to uploading on e-Albania, is provided by the page. of the deadlines and the deadline. That page is updated whenever the procedure changes, so it's your reference point every July.
Read also: How to file the financial statements with the QKB and the assembly resolution by July 31..
Accounting documents must be retained for 10 years after the close of the reporting period, in accordance with Article 8 of Law No. 25/2018, either on paper or in electronic form. This obligation continues even after the business is closed, for the remaining period.
The minimum file for each year contains five groups of documents.
The page explains the method of organization and the cases of the electronic form. document retention.
The cost of a lost document comes under control. Without a supporting document, the expense is not recognized, taxable income increases by that amount, and additional tax is calculated on the difference. late payment.
Most small businesses are not audited. Stock corporations are always audited, while limited liability companies are audited when they exceed two of the three thresholds, assets. 50,000,000 lek, Revenues of 100,000,000 lekë and an average of 30 employees for two consecutive years, in accordance with Law No. 10091/2009 on statutory audit.
When the obligation exists, the auditor's report is filed with the QKB together with the financial statements, within the same deadline. The full criteria and borderline cases are explained on the page. audit.
There is also a second route to audit, separate from the above thresholds. When a company is classified as significant in the public interest, a statutory audit becomes mandatory regardless of form. The thresholds for this route were raised by Decision No. 265 of April 10, 2026, and today are 4,000,000,000 lek revenue or active assets of 2,000,000,000 lek, down from the previous 2,500,000,000 lek and 1,250,000,000 lek, according to Subdivision III of Decision No. 17, dated January 16, 2019. Here too, the classification only changes when the threshold is exceeded or not met for two consecutive reporting periods. For the overwhelming majority of small businesses, this route does not come into play.
Nothing changes for you today, because Law No. 25/2018 remains fully in effect. Law No. 87/2026, adopted on July 23, 2026, and promulgated by Decree No. 470 of August 4, 2026, is still awaiting publication in the Official Gazette and will enter into force 15 days after publication.
When it takes effect, the main innovations for ordinary businesses are the compliance statement accompanying the financial statements, some additional explanatory notes, and new category thresholds from the 2028 reporting period. The 10-year document retention period remains unchanged.
Read also: Accounting law is changing: what the 2026 amendment provides..
Every time there is a tax or financial change that affects your business, we notify you directly by email with a practical explanation.
Send me free notificationsYes. Accounting obligations begin with registration in the QKB, not with the first sale, so even a business with no activity maintains records and files its statements on time.
The microentity that applies SFRS 15 submits a simplified set of financial statements. Other entities submit the full set, including the balance sheet, the income statement, and the notes.
QKB vendos gjobë 60,000 lekë sipas ligjit nr. 9723/2007, të ndryshuar me ligjin nr. 7/2022. Dorëzimi mbetet i detyrueshëm edhe pas gjobës, sepse vonesa nuk e shuan detyrimin.
You can keep the daily records yourself when volume is low. Financial statements and declarations require professional expertise, so most small businesses work with external economist.
Invoices and all accounting documents are kept for 10 years in accordance with Article 8 of Law No. 25/2018. This period also applies after the business is closed.
The new limits under Law No. 87/2026 apply from the 2028 reporting period, once the law is published in the Official Gazette. Until then, the 2025–2027 limits in the table above remain in effect.
Who falls under accounting law and what this means in practice.
Read →Micro-unit, small, medium, or large, with the two-out-of-three threshold rule.
Read →SKK, SKK 15 or SNRF, and what changes for you.
Read →What you file with the QKB, when, and what happens if you're late.
Read →Which documents are retained, for how long, and in what form.
Read →Who is always audited, who is audited based on thresholds, and how your case is verified.
Read →Accounting, financial statements, tax returns, and financial advisory services in a monthly package. The first consultation is free and with no obligation.
The six accounting obligations are few and predictable, but each has its own deadline and document. We keep them all in a single calendar, from daily entries to filing with the QKB.
