Opening a company in Ireland: locals, foreigners, freelancers and digital nomads

At a glance: LTD with no minimum capital, CRO online for 50 euros in 3 to 10 working days, no notary, corporate tax 12.5 percent, VAT thresholds 42,500 / 85,000 euros, an EEA-resident director or a 25,000 euro bond, no nomad visa. Legal forms. Sole trader (register a business name with the CRO if it differs from your own). Private company limited by shares (LTD): no minimum capital, commonly 100 euros issued, one director plus a separate secretary if there is only one director. Designated Activity Company for regulated uses. PLC: 25,000 euros, a quarter paid. Registration. Companies Registration Office via CORE: form A1 plus constitution, fee 50 euros, typically three to ten working days; no notary. Directors without an Irish PPS number file an identity verification. Ongoing: annual return 20 euros, registered office from about 270 euros a year if outsourced, beneficial-ownership (RBO) filing within five months. Typical total 50 to 300 euros yourself, 99 to 495 with an agent. Banks usually want an in-person visit; fintech accounts open in days. Taxes 2026. Corporate tax 12.5 percent on trading income, 25 on passive income; capital gains 33 percent. Dividends 25 percent withholding with broad exemptions for EU and treaty residents. VAT 23 percent (9 percent for food service and hairdressing from July 2026); registration thresholds 42,500 euros for services and 85,000 for goods. Income tax 20 / 40 percent, top band above 44,000 euros, plus USC up to 8 percent (11 for self-employed income above 100,000) and PRSI 4.2 percent. Freelancers and the self-employed. Register with Revenue through ROS or myAccount (form TR1), register a business name if needed, file Form 11 yearly. No flat-rate regime. PRSI class S 4.2 percent of income (4.35 from October 2026), minimum 650 euros a year once income passes 5,000. No separate freelancer status. Foreigners. EU/EEA/Swiss and UK citizens set up without permission. Non-EU founders: the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) for innovative, internationally traded businesses with 50,000 euros of funding, two years plus three, fee 350 euros, Stamp 4 pathway; retail and catering excluded. At least one director must be EEA-resident (more than 183 days a year; the UK no longer counts), or the company posts a Section 137 bond of 25,000 euros for two years (about 1,600 to 1,950 euros per term), or obtains a Revenue certificate of real and continuous link. 100 percent foreign ownership allowed; a physical Irish registered office (service providers accepted, no PO box). Branch of a foreign company. Register an "external company" with the CRO within 30 days (form F12 for EEA parents, F13 otherwise): certified translated constitution, certificate of incorporation, latest parent accounts, officers, and a person resident in Ireland authorised to accept service; fee 50 euros; annual filing of the parent's accounts. Taxed as a permanent establishment at 12.5 or 25 percent, no remittance tax. An LTD subsidiary is preferred for credibility and public tenders. Digital nomads. No digital nomad visa and no proposal in 2026. Options: STEP for founders, Stamp 0 for persons of independent means (about 50,000 euros a year of passive income plus savings, no work allowed), or 90-day visa-free stays without working. Changed recently. VAT thresholds raised to 42,500 / 85,000 euros (2025); Companies Act reform with two-strike audit exemption and virtual AGMs (2025); Budget 2026: 9 percent VAT for food service from July 2026, entrepreneur relief lifetime limit 1.5 million euros, R&D credit 35 percent, PRSI step-ups from October 2026. Figures checked October 2026 from Revenue, the CRO, Citizens Information and Irish advisers; rates change with each Budget. Confirm with a licensed adviser in Ireland before you file.