How to start a business in Ireland — 2026

Ireland is one of Europe's most popular places to incorporate: an English-speaking, common-law jurisdiction inside the EU single market with a headline 12.5% corporate tax rate on trading profits. But setting up properly means understanding the trade-off between operating as a sole trader and forming a limited company, and one rule that catches out non-residents: every Irish company needs an EEA-resident director or a bond in its place.

This guide walks through the practical steps, with figures and official sources. It's part of our wider series on how to start an online business in Europe.

Sole trader or limited company?

Your first decision is structure. The two common routes are very different in liability and admin.

• Sole trader. The simplest option: you register as self-employed with Revenue and trade under your own name (or a registered business name). There are no CRO filings and no public accounts. The catch is that you and the business are the same legal person, so you are personally liable for its debts. Profits are taxed as personal income at 20% up to the standard rate band and 40% above it, plus USC and PRSI. Note: this route is generally only practical if you're resident in Ireland.
• Private company limited by shares (LTD). Ireland's most popular structure, and a separate legal entity. Shareholders and directors have limited liability, and trading profits are taxed at 12.5% rather than personal income tax rates. In exchange you take on CRO filing obligations, annual returns, and public accounts.

For most founders planning to grow, take on clients, or raise money, the LTD wins on credibility and liability protection. Sole trader suits low-risk, early-stage, or side projects.

Registering an LTD with the CRO

Companies in Ireland are incorporated through the Companies Registration Office (CRO). An LTD can be set up with a single director, but if there's only one director the company must appoint a separate person as company secretary. An LTD can have between one and 149 shareholders.

You'll need:

• A unique company name (checked against the CRO register).
• A registered office and a business address in the State.
• At least one director and a company secretary.
• A company constitution (an LTD uses a single-document constitution).

The CRO incorporation fee is €50 for online filing. There's no annual registration charge, but every company must file an annual return with financial statements each year (the standard filing fee is €20).

Sources: CRO — Required Steps; CRO — Company Fees.

The EEA-resident director rule (and the Section 137 bond)

This is the requirement that trips up non-residents. Under the Companies Act 2014, every Irish company must have at least one director resident in the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein). Since Brexit, UK residents no longer count as EEA-resident for this purpose.

If none of your directors is EEA-resident, you have two main options:

• Section 137 bond. A statutory insurance bond that exempts the company from the EEA-director requirement. It insures the company for €25,000 against certain fines and penalties under the Companies Act and tax law, and runs for two years, after which it must be renewed, replaced by an EEA-resident director, or superseded by an exemption. In practice the bond costs roughly €2,000 for the two-year term.
• Real and continuous link exemption. If the company can show it has a genuine, ongoing trading link with Ireland, it can apply to Revenue for a certificate exempting it from both the EEA-director rule and the bond.

Sources: CRO — Company Officers; CRO Leaflet 17 — EEA Resident Director.

Tax registration

Incorporating with the CRO doesn't register you for tax — that's a separate step with Revenue, done through the Revenue Online Service (ROS). Depending on your activity you'll register for:

• Corporation Tax (for the company's profits).
• Employer PAYE/PRSI if you'll pay salaries — including your own as a director.
• VAT, if you exceed the thresholds (below) or choose to register voluntarily.

Sole traders register instead for Income Tax as self-employed and file an annual Form 11.

Corporation tax: the 12.5% headline

Ireland's 12.5% corporate tax rate on trading income has been in place since 2003 and is the main draw for founders. It applies to profits from an active trade or business.

Two important qualifiers:

• Passive (non-trading) income — rents, interest, most foreign dividends — is taxed at the higher 25% rate.
• A separate 15% minimum effective rate applies to very large multinational groups under the OECD/EU global minimum tax rules (turnover €750m+). This doesn't affect ordinary SMBs, who keep the 12.5% trading rate.

Sources: PwC — Ireland Corporate Taxes on income; Revenue.ie.

VAT registration thresholds

You must register for VAT once your turnover in any 12-month period exceeds — or is likely to exceed — the relevant threshold:

• €85,000 for the supply of goods.
• €42,500 for the supply of services.
• €41,000 for intra-Community acquisitions from other EU member states.
• €10,000 for cross-border distance sales of goods and digital services to EU consumers (the pan-EU threshold under the One-Stop Shop).

You can also register voluntarily below these levels — useful if your customers are VAT-registered businesses and you want to reclaim input VAT. The standard Irish VAT rate is 23%. If you're modelling prices across borders, our EU VAT calculator helps you work out gross and net figures fast.

Sources: Revenue — VAT thresholds.

Ireland vs the alternatives

Ireland's 12.5% rate and EU membership are strong pulls, but the EEA-director requirement and full accounting obligations add friction that some fully-remote founders want to avoid. If you're weighing jurisdictions, our comparison of Ireland vs the Netherlands vs Estonia breaks down where each one wins for online businesses.

Getting started

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — rules vary by country and change; confirm with a qualified professional before acting.

Once the company is registered, the next job is turning it into a business that actually wins customers — which usually starts with a site that converts. Take a look at how we approach web development, or book a free consultation and we'll help you map out the tech and automation side of your Irish launch.