Why Choose Ireland for Company Formation?
Ireland offers a combination few EU member states can match: a common-law legal system, English as the working language, a 12.5% headline trading-tax rate, and the deepest cluster of multinational technology and financial-services operations in Europe.[1] An EU member and a eurozone economy, it is an OECD member on no Financial Action Task Force or EU list.[10] For founders who want a reputable, common-law European base with genuine innovation reliefs, it is a strong default, provided the EEA-resident director rule is handled from the outset.
A Common-Law EU Base
An Irish company is an EU company. Once it holds the relevant licence it can passport crypto-asset or payment services across all 30 European Economic Area states, a structural advantage no offshore vehicle can match. Ireland pairs that EU standing with a common-law system familiar to international counsel, a regulator in the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) experienced in authorising payment, e-money, and investment firms, and a treaty network of more than 70 double-tax agreements.[9]
Low Trading Rate, Real Substance Expected
Ireland is not the cheapest EU jurisdiction to incorporate in, but it is among the most credible. Its value is the 12.5% trading rate paired with a transparent, OECD-aligned tax system and reliefs that reward genuine activity rather than paper structures. The honest positioning is a reputable European company that can bank, license, and defend itself, with the substance that the low rate, the reliefs, and the banks all increasingly expect.
The EEA-Director Rule: The One Catch for Non-Residents
The single most important fact for a non-resident forming in Ireland is the director residency rule. Section 137 of the Companies Act 2014 requires every Irish company to have at least one director who is resident in the European Economic Area.[3] This is a residency test, not a citizenship test: an EEA passport-holder living outside the EEA does not satisfy it. Getting it wrong is a criminal offence.
| Route | What it requires | Cost / term |
|---|---|---|
| EEA-resident director | At least one director resident in the EEA (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway)[3] | No bond; cleanest route |
| Section 137 bond | An insurance bond exempting the company from the EEA-director requirement[4] | EUR 25,000 cover; two-year term, renewable |
| Section 140 certificate | A “real and continuous link” certificate from Revenue, evidencing genuine Irish economic activity[4] | Available once substance exists |
| Penalty for non-compliance | Category 4 offence for the company and any officer in default[3] | Class A fine up to EUR 5,000 |
The Irish Limited Company
The private company limited by shares (LTD), introduced as the default model company by the Companies Act 2014,[2] is the vehicle behind the overwhelming majority of Irish structures and the one almost every fintech, holding, or trading business uses.[5] The alternatives below exist, but for an operating or holding company the LTD does everything they do with less capital and governance overhead.
Definition: Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD)
The Irish LTD is a private limited-liability company governed by the Companies Act 2014. It has a single-document constitution rather than the older memorandum and articles, no statutory minimum share capital (a single share of any nominal value suffices), and unlimited objects, so it can carry on any lawful business. It may have a single director (in which case a separate company secretary is required) up to a maximum that is uncapped, 1 to 149 shareholders, and 100% foreign ownership.
- No statutory minimum share capital. A single share of any nominal value, for example EUR 1, suffices.[5]
- One director minimum; a single-director LTD must appoint a separate company secretary.[2]
- One to 149 shareholders; 100% foreign ownership permitted.[5]
- At least one EEA-resident director, or a Section 137 bond; directors must supply a PPS number or IPN.[3][6]
Alternatives to the LTD
| Entity | Min. Capital | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD) | None (1 share) | The standard vehicle for trading, holding, and most structures[2] |
| Designated Activity Company (DAC) | None | A constitution with a stated objects clause; common for regulated, SPV, and joint-venture use; needs at least two directors[2] |
| Public Limited Company (PLC) | EUR 25,000 (25% paid) | Listings and public offers; minimum 2 directors and 7 members[2] |
| Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) | None | Clubs, charities, and not-for-profits; members guarantee rather than hold shares[2] |
| Branch of an overseas company | None | Registered under the EU branch regime; not a separate legal person[5] |
| Investment Limited Partnership (ILP) | n/a | A regulated fund vehicle, not a general trading company |
Formation Process
An Irish company is incorporated by filing a Form A1 and constitution with the Companies Registration Office through its online portal, CORE, usually supported by a formation agent or solicitor.[7] A physical Irish registered office and a separate business address are mandatory, but the founder rarely needs to travel; remote formation is feasible. The genuine bottlenecks are the EEA-director arrangement and banking, both of which should be resolved in parallel with the filing rather than after it.
Due Diligence and KYC
The agent collects a certified passport copy, proof of address dated within three months, and identity verification for each director, secretary, shareholder, and beneficial owner.[7] Each director needs a Personal Public Service (PPS) number, or an Identified Person Number (IPN) obtained via a verified Form VIF if they have none. Clean documentation here is the single biggest driver of a smooth timeline at the CRO and, later, at the bank.
Name Check and Reservation
The proposed name is checked against the CRO register and must end in “Limited” or “Teoranta” (or the abbreviations “Ltd” / “Teo”). Names too similar to an existing company, or using restricted words such as “bank”, “insurance”, or “university”, are refused or need consent.[7] An optional name reservation holds a name for 28 days; pre-clearing alternatives avoids a rejection resetting the clock.
Constitution and Form A1
The single-document constitution is prepared alongside Form A1, which sets out the company name, registered office, directors and secretary, share capital and subscribers, and the EEA-director declaration or Section 137 bond reference.[7] Each director and secretary signs, and the form carries each director’s date of birth and PPS number or IPN for identity verification against the Department of Social Protection database.
Filing with the CRO
Form A1 and the constitution are filed electronically on CORE with the EUR 50 fee, which covers the constitution and the certificate of incorporation together.[8] The expedited Fé Phrainn scheme, used by most formation agents, returns the certificate in 3 to 5 working days; the Ordinary scheme can run to 3 to 4 weeks. The CRO cross-checks each director’s identity before issuing the certificate.
Post-Incorporation
The company registers for corporation tax and, where applicable, VAT and employer taxes with Revenue through Revenue Online Service, and files its beneficial owners with the Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO) within five months of incorporation.[12] These steps are routine but time-bound; missing the RBO window draws penalties.
Banking and EMI Onboarding
Opening an account is the genuine bottleneck and should begin in parallel with incorporation, not after it. A clean, substance-backed company onboards faster; a crypto-adjacent or non-resident-heavy profile takes longer and may route to an EU-regulated e-money institution rather than an Irish pillar bank. The Banking section below sets out the reality in full.
Forming as a Non-Resident
Ireland places no nationality or residency restriction on shareholders and allows remote formation, so a non-resident founder rarely needs to travel for the incorporation itself.[5] Beyond the EEA-director rule covered above, the elements that need attention are the PPS or IPN identity requirement for directors and the mandatory registered office and secretary, set out in full below.
| Requirement | Position |
|---|---|
| Foreign ownership | 100% permitted; no nationality or residency restriction on shareholders[5] |
| EEA-resident director | At least one required, or a Section 137 bond (EUR 25,000, two-year term) or Section 140 certificate[3][4] |
| Director identity (PPS / IPN) | Every director must supply a PPS number, or an IPN via verified Form VIF, on CRO filings since [6] |
| Company secretary | Mandatory; a single-director company must appoint a separate secretary[2] |
| Registered office | Mandatory physical Irish address (not a mailbox), plus a separate business address[2] |
| Remote formation | Feasible; presence usually only for some bank onboarding[7] |
| Apostille | Ireland is party to the Hague Apostille Convention; foreign documents typically need notarisation and apostille, with certified translation where not in English or Irish[11] |
Costs and Pricing
The CRO incorporation fee is EUR 50, but a company that can actually bank and run costs several times that in its first year, and a non-resident founder must add the Section 137 bond.[8] The fee is real; it is just not the cost.
Government and Official Fees (as of )
| Fee Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation fee (Form A1, online) | EUR 50 | Covers the constitution and certificate of incorporation; paper filing ~EUR 100[8] |
| Company name reservation (optional) | EUR 25 | Holds a name for 28 days; not required if filing proceeds promptly[8] |
| Section 137 non-resident director bond | EUR 25,000 cover | Bought as insurance, ~EUR 1,500–2,500 for a two-year term[4] |
| Annual return (Form B1) filing fee | EUR 20 | Paid online on the annual statutory filing[13] |
| Late annual return penalty | EUR 100 + EUR 3 / day, capped EUR 1,200 | Plus possible loss of audit exemption[13] |
Recurring Professional Costs (typical ranges)
| Service | Typical Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Registered office & business address | EUR 150–600 / yr | Mandatory Irish address; not a mailbox |
| Company secretary | EUR 250–1,000 / yr | Statutory role; provider standard for non-residents |
| Accounting and bookkeeping | EUR 1,000–3,000+ / yr | FRS 102 or IFRS; scales with transaction volume |
| Audit (if required) | EUR 2,000–6,000+ / yr | Small companies filing on time can claim exemption (see Annual Compliance) |
| Section 137 bond renewal | EUR 1,500–2,500 / 2 yr | Only while no EEA-resident director is in place |
The Bottom Line
- Headline government fee: EUR 50 (about USD 54) for the online Form A1 filing.
- Realistic Year-1 all-in (formation agent, first-year office and secretary, no banking complexity): EUR 1,500–3,500 (about USD 1,600–3,800), plus EUR 1,500–2,500 for the Section 137 bond where applicable. Licensed or high-risk structures with banking: EUR 15,000–40,000+.
- Ongoing annual (active trading company): EUR 2,000–5,000 (about USD 2,150–5,400); dormant or holding companies lower.
Taxation in 2026
Ireland taxes trading profit at 12.5% and non-trading (passive) income, such as most foreign dividends, interest, rents, and royalties, at 25%.[1] A 15% Pillar Two top-up, the Qualified Domestic Top-Up Tax (QDTT), brings in-scope multinational groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million to a 15% effective rate; Irish small and medium enterprises are unaffected. The table below states the position; the research-and-development and intellectual-property reliefs follow in the next section.
| Item | Position (as of ) |
|---|---|
| Corporation tax, trading income | 12.5%[1] |
| Corporation tax, passive income | 25% (most foreign dividends, interest, rents, royalties)[1] |
| Pillar Two top-up (QDTT) | 15% effective, groups with consolidated revenue > EUR 750m only[1] |
| Capital gains | 33% standard rate[1] |
| VAT | 23% standard; thresholds EUR 85,000 goods / EUR 42,500 services[1] |
| Dividend withholding tax | 25%, with wide EU, treaty, and parent-subsidiary exemptions[1] |
| R&D tax credit | 35% of qualifying spend (from accounting periods on/after ; was 30%)[14] |
| Knowledge Development Box | 10% effective on qualifying IP income[15] |
| Treaties | 70+ double-tax treaties in force[9] |
| Transparency | CRS, CARF, and DAC8 implemented (first crypto reporting from 2027)[1] |
The Trading-Rate Test
The 12.5% rate applies only to income from a trade actively carried on in Ireland, not to passive holding. Revenue tests this on substance: people, premises, and genuine decision-making in Ireland.[1] A holding or licensing structure with no real Irish activity risks the income being treated as passive and taxed at 25%, or the company’s arrangements being challenged. The low rate is earned by trading substance, not asserted by incorporation.
Research, Development and IP Reliefs
Two reliefs are why technology and intellectual-property businesses pick Ireland over a flat low-rate jurisdiction. They are genuine, generous, and substance-tested: they reward real Irish activity, not paper structures, which is exactly why they survive international scrutiny.[14]
- R&D tax credit. A 35% credit on qualifying research-and-development expenditure for accounting periods beginning on or after , up from 30%, available on top of the normal deduction and payable in cash instalments where it exceeds the company’s tax liability.[14]
- Knowledge Development Box. An effective 10% rate on qualifying profits from patented inventions and copyrighted software developed in Ireland, delivered through a deduction against the 12.5% trading rate and built to the OECD modified-nexus standard.[15]
State plainly: both reliefs are conditioned on genuine Irish development activity, documented to Revenue’s standard. They are corporate reliefs, not personal ones, and a substance-light structure that claims them invites a challenge. Properly evidenced, they make Ireland one of the most competitive EU bases for innovation-led businesses.
Banking
Opening an account is often the slowest step of an Irish setup, and this guide will not pretend otherwise. Ireland is on no FATF or EU list, so correspondent banking is open, but the pillar banks apply rigorous know-your-customer checks and frequently expect a local director, a local business address, and evidence of real Irish activity before opening a business account.[10]
Where much international business actually goes is the EU-regulated electronic-money and payment-institution layer. The archetype is an EEA-licensed e-money institution offering a EUR International Bank Account Number (IBAN) with Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) access, marketed to internationally structured small and medium enterprises, onboarding in days to weeks with lighter but real checks. Client funds sit in segregated safeguarding accounts; these are not deposit-guaranteed banks, and that distinction matters. Documentation typically requested is the full corporate certificate set, certified beneficial-owner identification, proof of address, a detailed business description, expected volumes, and source of funds and wealth.
The substance link is direct. Banking access for Ireland-formed entities typically requires demonstrable Irish substance: an office, an EEA-resident director, and real activity, all of which measurably improve approval odds and overlap with what the 12.5% trading rate and the R&D reliefs already demand.[10] See the banking overview for how account placement for crypto, fintech, and high-risk businesses works.
Annual Compliance
An Irish company carries ongoing obligations whether or not it trades. The core duties are an annual return with financial statements, statutory accounts, a corporation tax return, and an up-to-date beneficial-ownership filing. Persistent non-filing escalates from capped penalties and loss of audit exemption to eventual strike-off.
| Obligation | Detail |
|---|---|
| Annual return (Form B1) | Filed within 56 days of the annual return date; first return six months after incorporation (no accounts); financial statements from the second return onwards[13] |
| Accounting | Statutory financial statements under FRS 102 or IFRS[2] |
| Corporation tax (CT1) | Filed with Revenue; preliminary tax due before, balance with the return nine months after year end[1] |
| Beneficial ownership (RBO) | Filed with the Register of Beneficial Ownership within five months of incorporation; internal register kept current[12] |
| Late B1 penalty | EUR 100 fixed plus EUR 3 per day, capped at EUR 1,200 per return, and loss of audit exemption[13] |
| Strike-off | Persistent non-filing leads to CRO strike-off under the Companies Act 2014[2] |
Audit Exemption
An Irish company is not automatically audited. A company qualifying as small can claim audit exemption if it meets at least two of three tests, raised in 2024 to align with the EU: turnover up to EUR 15 million, balance-sheet total up to EUR 7.5 million, and up to 50 employees.[16] The exemption depends on filing the annual return on time. Under the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024, a company now loses the exemption only on a second late filing within a rolling five-year period, a softening of the previous one-strike rule. Regulated and group entities may still require a full audit.
Substance: No Offshore Filing, but Non-Negotiable
Ireland has no standalone offshore economic-substance filing regime. There is no annual economic-substance return classifying “relevant activities” against substance tests, as in the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands (BVI). That box does not exist here.
But substance still matters intensely, through different mechanisms:[1]
- EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives (ATAD I and II) are fully implemented: controlled-foreign-company rules, interest limitation, exit tax, anti-hybrid measures, and a general anti-abuse rule.
- The 12.5% trading rate is substance-tested. It applies only to income from a trade actively carried on in Ireland; without people, premises, and real decision-making, income risks the 25% passive rate or a Revenue challenge.
- Transfer pricing and the R&D and Knowledge Development Box reliefs all require genuine, documented Irish activity to stand up to scrutiny.
- Substance drives banking and treaty defensibility. Foreign tax authorities probe Irish structures used by their former residents; a paper company is vulnerable, and paperwork alone will not rescue a substance-light arrangement.
Licensing Pathways from an Irish Company
A plain Irish LTD is not a licensed financial entity and gives no EU passport on its own. Passporting comes only with the relevant licence, authorised in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland, and the formation structure should be designed for the licence the company intends to hold. Jagelski & Partners, through its partner network, takes an Irish company from incorporation through to authorisation end-to-end; the cards below cross-link the established crypto and payment licensing routes that pair with an Irish entity. The consolidated framework is on the Crypto Licensing (VASP / CASP / MiCA) overview.
Estonia MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider
Authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), with crypto-asset services and an EU passport, from a digital-first EU base with a fast formation route.
Cyprus MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider
Authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under MiCA, with crypto-asset services and an EU passport, from a flat-15%-tax EU base.
EMI and Payment Institution
An electronic money institution (EMI) or payment institution (PI) authorised under the EU payments framework, with EEA passporting.
Advantages and Limitations
Ireland’s trade-offs are clear and worth stating plainly. The advantages cluster around the low trading rate, the common-law system, and the 35% research-and-development credit; the limitations cluster around the EEA-director rule, banking friction, and the substance the low rate increasingly demands. Every limitation below has a workable mitigation.
- A low 12.5% trading rate, transparently set. An EU and OECD member on no FATF or EU list, with passporting available once licensed.
- Best-in-class innovation reliefs. A 35% R&D tax credit from 2026 and a 10% Knowledge Development Box on qualifying IP income.
- An extensive treaty network. More than 70 double-tax treaties in force.
- A common-law system in English. Familiar to international counsel, banks, investors, and auditors.
- 100% foreign ownership and remote formation. No shareholder nationality or residency restriction; a low EUR 50 CRO fee.
- A single-document constitution with unlimited objects. The LTD can carry on any lawful business without an objects clause.
- The EEA-resident director rule. A non-resident founder must appoint an EEA-resident director or post a bond. Mitigation: appoint an EEA-resident director, or budget the Section 137 bond from the outset.
- Rigorous banking for non-resident and crypto profiles. Pillar banks expect local presence. Mitigation: build the operating layer with EEA-licensed electronic money institutions and reserve a pillar bank for substance-backed flows.
- Substance is required, not optional. The 12.5% rate and the reliefs are tested on real activity. Mitigation: build office, EEA directorship, and documented Irish decision-making from incorporation.
- Full transparency under DAC8 and CARF. Platform-level crypto reporting from 2027. Mitigation: design the structure to be defensible in the open and keep clean transaction records.
- Mandatory accounting and annual filings, including for dormant companies. A recurring cost and a strike-off risk if missed. Mitigation: retain an accountant from incorporation and file the Form B1 on time to keep audit exemption.
How Ireland Compares
Ireland competes within the EU financial-centre cluster: the United Kingdom, the common-law base outside the EU passport; Cyprus, the flat-15% onshore option; Malta, the low-effective-tax crypto ecosystem; and Estonia, the digital-first Baltic option. All but the UK are EU member states offering EEA passporting once licensed. Ireland’s edge is the 12.5% trading rate, the common-law system, and its R&D and IP reliefs; its distinctive friction is the EEA-resident director rule.
| Factor | Ireland | United Kingdom | Cyprus | Malta | Estonia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominant entity | LTD | Private Ltd | Private Ltd | Private Ltd | OÜ |
| Formation time | 3–5 days expedited | ~1 day | 5–10 working days | 3–7 days | ~1 day |
| Government fee | EUR 50 | GBP 100 | EUR 165 | EUR 100 (electronic) | EUR 265 |
| Min. capital | EUR 1 nominal | GBP 1 nominal | None (1 share) | EUR 1,165 (20% paid) | EUR 0.01 (since 2023) |
| Corporate tax | 12.5% trading | 25% (19% small profits) | 15% | 35% / ~5% effective | 22% on distrib. (0% retained) |
| Local director rule | EEA-resident director or bond | None | None to incorporate | None to incorporate | None to incorporate |
| EU passport (with licence) | Yes | No (post-Brexit) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FATF status | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Banking (non-resident) | Moderate | Moderate | High difficulty | High | Moderate to high |
Compare every formation jurisdiction side by side →
The pattern is consistent. Estonia and the UK lead on speed, Ireland on the lowest government fee, and Ireland on the lowest EU trading rate paired with the strongest innovation reliefs. Ireland wins where a common-law system, the 12.5% trading rate, and R&D or IP substance matter most, and where the founder can satisfy the EEA-director rule. The honest caveats are that director rule and the loss of EU passporting in the post-Brexit UK, which is the reason the choice should be made on the whole picture, not the headline rate.
Jagelski & Partners, through its partner network, delivers Irish company formation end-to-end: entity registration, the EEA-director solution, banking, and the licensing pathway, with one point of contact. Ireland is the right fit when the 12.5% trading rate and the R&D and IP reliefs outweigh the EEA-director rule and the loss of EU passporting that the UK now carries. Where a founder's priorities point elsewhere, the comparison explorer maps the closest EU peers side by side, and we deliver in those jurisdictions too.
Form your Irish company, banking-ready
Jagelski & Partners, through its partner network, handles the Irish LTD end-to-end: registration, the EEA-director solution or Section 137 bond, banking, and your licensing path, with one point of contact. If a peer jurisdiction fits better, the explorer compares them side by side.
Not sure which column is you? Ask Emma. She compares these jurisdictions in seconds, in your language.
Frequently Asked Questions
The expedited Fé Phrainn online scheme returns the certificate of incorporation in about 3 to 5 working days; the Ordinary scheme runs to 3 to 4 weeks. Being fully operational with a bank or e-money account commonly takes 2 to 8 weeks, and longer for high-risk profiles. A registered office in Ireland is mandatory, but the formation itself can be handled remotely.
Yes. Section 137 of the Companies Act 2014 requires at least one director resident in the European Economic Area. A company with no EEA-resident director must hold a Section 137 bond of EUR 25,000 cover for a two-year term, or a Section 140 real-and-continuous-link certificate. The requirement is residency, not citizenship, so an EEA passport-holder living outside the EEA still needs the bond.
It is an insurance bond to the value of EUR 25,000, held for a two-year period, that exempts an Irish company from the requirement to have an EEA-resident director. It indemnifies the company against certain fines for breaches of the Companies Act 2014 and tax legislation. It must be renewed every two years while no EEA-resident director is in place, and typically costs EUR 1,500 to 2,500 per term.
Yes. There is no nationality or residency restriction on shareholders, a single shareholder is permitted, and remote formation is feasible through an Irish formation agent. The only residency rule is at director level, addressed by the EEA-resident director requirement or a Section 137 bond. Foreign documents may need notarisation and apostille.
The CRO online incorporation fee is EUR 50 for the Form A1 filing, which covers the constitution and the certificate of incorporation. The realistic Year-1 all-in, with a formation agent, registered office, secretary, and accounting, is EUR 1,500 to 3,500, plus roughly EUR 1,500 to 2,500 for a two-year Section 137 bond where no EEA-resident director is in place.
Trading income is taxed at 12.5% and passive income at 25%. A 15% Pillar Two top-up tax (the Qualified Domestic Top-Up Tax) applies only to multinational groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million. Irish small and medium enterprises continue to pay 12.5% on trading profits, provided the activity is a genuine trade carried on in Ireland.
Moderate for a clean, substance-backed company, and harder for non-resident-owned and crypto or fintech businesses. Irish pillar banks apply rigorous know-your-customer checks and often expect a local director, a local business address, and evidence of real Irish activity. Many internationally structured companies build the operating layer with EU-regulated e-money institutions instead.
No. Ireland is an EU member, an OECD member, and is on no FATF or EU list. It implements the OECD Pillar Two global minimum tax and the full EU transparency framework, including CARF and DAC8. The 12.5% trading rate is a transparent statutory rate conditioned on genuine Irish trading activity, not an opaque concession.
No. A small company that files its annual returns on time may claim audit exemption. A company qualifies as small if it meets at least two of three tests: turnover up to EUR 15 million, balance-sheet total up to EUR 7.5 million, and up to 50 employees. A 2024 reform softened the loss of exemption to a two-strike rule over a rolling five-year period. Regulated and group entities may still require a full audit.
The Register of Beneficial Ownership is the central register of the natural persons who ultimately own or control an Irish company. A company must file its beneficial owners with the RBO within five months of incorporation and keep its own internal register current. Beneficial owners are identified by PPS number or, if none, a verified Form BEN2.
Form your Irish company, banking-ready
Jagelski & Partners, through its partner network, delivers Irish company formation end-to-end: registration, the EEA-director solution, banking, and your licensing path, with one point of contact. Book a free assessment and we'll map the entity, costs, and timeline.
Not ready to book? Ask Emma first. She answers now, and if it needs a human she takes your details so the consultation starts ahead.
References
Show all references
- PwC, Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ireland Corporate Taxes on Corporate Income (12.5% trading; 25% passive; 15% QDTT Pillar Two; 33% CGT; VAT 23%), taxsummaries.pwc.com, accessed .
- Office of the Attorney General, Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014), as amended, irishstatutebook.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, European Economic Area Resident Director (Leaflet 17), Section 137 Companies Act 2014, cro.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Section 137 Non-Resident Director Bond and Section 140 Real-and-Continuous-Link Certificate (EUR 25,000 cover; two-year term), cro.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Registering a Company: Required Steps (LTD, shareholders, secretary, registered office), cro.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Director Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) / Identified Person Number (IPN) Requirement, in force 11 June 2023 (Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021), cro.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Registration Methods and Form A1 (CORE online filing; Fé Phráinn and Ordinary schemes). As of June 2026, the Ordinary A1 online scheme runs to roughly three weeks and the expedited Fé Phráinn scheme is materially faster; current processing dates are published on the CRO site, cro.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Company Fees: Form A1 online incorporation fee EUR 50 (confirmed as of June 2026), paper Form A1 approximately EUR 100, name reservation EUR 25, cro.ie, accessed .
- Revenue Commissioners, Double Taxation Agreements (70+ treaties in force), revenue.ie, accessed .
- Financial Action Task Force, Ireland Country Page (no FATF list); Central Bank of Ireland AML/KYC supervision, fatf-gafi.org, accessed .
- Hague Conference on Private International Law, Apostille Convention Status Table: Ireland, hcch.net, accessed .
- Register of Beneficial Ownership, Beneficial-Ownership Filing for Companies (within five months of incorporation; PPS / Form BEN2; European Union (Anti-Money Laundering: Beneficial Ownership of Corporate Entities) Regulations 2019), rbo.gov.ie, accessed .
- Companies Registration Office, Annual Return (Form B1): 56-day filing window, EUR 20 fee, late penalty EUR 100 + EUR 3/day capped EUR 1,200, loss of audit exemption, cro.ie, accessed .
- Revenue Commissioners, Research and Development (R&D) Corporation Tax Credit, 35% for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 (Finance Act 2025), revenue.ie, accessed .
- Revenue Commissioners, Knowledge Development Box (KDB): effective 10% rate on qualifying IP income (Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, Part 29 Chapter 5), revenue.ie, accessed .
- Office of the Attorney General, Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024 (No. 44 of 2024): small-company audit-exemption thresholds (turnover EUR 15m / balance sheet EUR 7.5m / 50 employees) and the two-strike late-filing rule (Section 22, commenced 16 July 2025), irishstatutebook.ie, accessed .