Doing Business in Ireland

Country facts

Capital	Dublin
Population	4.8 million
GDP	333.7 million USD
Language	English
Average Monthly Gross Salary in Euro	€3,183
Currency	Euro
World Bank Doing Business Ranking	17 (USA Ranking 6)

 

Most Common Form of Business Entity

A foreign business can establish their operations in Ireland as a company, partnership or branch. The most common form of legal entities are:

	Limited Liability Company  – Limited	Public Joint Stock Company (Public Limited Company)
Capital Requirements	No minimum	€25,000 minimum At least 25% to be paid before company commence activity
Directors	Minimum of 1 board members required If the company does not have an EEA-Resident Director, A ‘Non-Resident Directors Bond’ must be put in place If there is only one director a secretary must be appointed as well	Minimum of 2 board members and company secretary required
Shareholders	1 or more individuals or legal entities – Maximum number of shareholders is 149	1 or more individuals or legal entities

 

Corporate Taxation:

In 2018 the standard Corporate tax rate is 12.5%. A rate of 25% applies to non-trading (passive) income.

Employment / HR Requirements

Employment Contracts: Employers must provide employees with a written statement of certain terms and conditions of employment within two months of starting employment. Most employers choose to put a detailed written contract of employment in place.

Employee Tax: Employees whose tax residence is in Ireland are subject to income tax of 20% on the first €33,800 and 40% on income above this threshold. There are individual tax credits, which vary depending on the employee’s circumstances, and can be offset against their income tax liability.

Social security contributions are paid by both employer and employee. Employees pay 4% of their employment income. Universal Social Charge (USC) was applied in January 2011 to replace the health and income levies, at rates varying from 0.5% to 8%, depending on income and age. USC is treated as a tax rather than a social security contribution for tax purposes.

Employers: Employers must withhold income tax and social security contributions on behalf of their employees. In addition to the employee’s contributions, the employer must pay social security contributions of 10.85% of the employee’s employment income.

 

Valued Added Tax:

The standard rate of VAT is 23%; with lower rates of 13.5% (for buildings and household fuels), 5% (flat rate to farmers), 4.8% (livestock) and zero (food, drink and certain other goods) rates applicable to certain supplies of goods and services. A rate of 9% applies to certain restaurant, hotel, leisure and tourism services.

Business that carry Vatable activities must register with the Irish tax office where the annual value of supplies exceeds €75,000 for goods and €37,500 for services.

Valued Added Tax on Digital Services:

All Non-EU based businesses that provide electronic services or download to individuals or non-business consumers in Ireland must register for VAT either in Ireland or in another EU state.

Data Protection:

Ireland adopted the EU General Data Protection Regulation into Irish law in May 2018. The key variations from the GDPR Requirements are:

• Reduces the age of consent for minors to 13 years old.
• Specifies an extensive list of measures that may be implemented when the processing of personal data or special categories of personal data is subject to the implementation of “suitable and specific measures.”
• Allows data controllers that are airlines and ships to disclose personal data for the “purpose of preserving the Common Travel Area.”