Setting up your company in Ireland

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The process for opening a company in Ireland is quite straight forward. A limited company can be formed within 3 to 5 days and costs up to €500 approximately.

All the documentation can be prepared and filed from here and you just need to sign some forms and provide proof of identity for money laundering purposes.

There have been recent changes to the Companies Act 2014 in Ireland which allow for a Limited liability "LTD' company to have just 1 director instead of 2. Typically a company can appoint any European resident director, a nominee corporate secretary and foreign shareholders. We would recommend that an Irish director is appointed if you need a trading company with a VAT registration in Ireland, for substance purposes.

The Irish company can be 100% foreign owned. The shareholders can be nominees who act on behalf of the ultimate beneficial owner and can differ from the directors. The names of the directors, company secretary and shareholders of a limited company are published on the IrishCompanies Registration website, whilst an unlimited company or partnership do not have to publish these details.

The accounts of a company do not legally require an audit if the turnover of the single company and its related group companies is below certain limits, as follows:

• Balance sheet total does not exceed €4.4m
• Turnover does not exceed €8.8m
• Number of employees does not exceed 50

The small company audit exemption is lost if the conditions are not met for 2 years.

Every company must prepare a set of accounts and file them with the Companies Registration office once a year, these can be the abridged balance sheet only version to protect confidentiality. The company must also file a corporation tax return, VAT returns and payroll taxes on director’s fees.

The type of company structure you chose depends on the purpose of the company, e.g. Trading, Holding company, nominee, financing, licencing.

Irish Bank Account

Once incorporated in Ireland, you can open an Irish bank account to assist in your business transactions in Ireland and worldwide. Irish banks welcome new business, and will facilitate the opening of accounts for Irish companies. Once all your identity and source of funds documents are in place, all transactions are executed quickly and mostly via internet banking which you can control.

Our Services

We specialise in setting up tax effective companies in Ireland. We can provide all incorporation, accounts, tax and day to day management services for your company in Ireland for a fixed fee. If you wish to find out more about setting up a base in Ireland, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Morita Kelliher,

Principal( FCCAChartered Certified Accountant& CTA Chartered Tax Advisor)