Accountants for contractors in Ireland
Company, payroll, VAT, year end and your Form 11 in one fixed monthly fee — plus a straight answer on whether contracting through a company actually leaves you better off.
In short
Irish contractors operate through a personal limited company or an umbrella. The company wins at higher day rates and over a longer contracting career because profit you do not draw stays at 12.5% and can be routed into a pension; the umbrella wins on short engagements because there is no administration. We run the company route end to end.
Company or umbrella, decided on your actual numbers
The honest answer depends on your day rate, how long you intend to contract, and how much of the income you need to draw. Anyone who gives you a universal answer is selling something.
| Personal limited company | Umbrella | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Higher rates, contracting for a year or more | Short engagements, a first contract |
| Retained profit | 12.5% corporation tax | Not applicable |
| Pension | Employer contributions from the company | Limited |
| Administration | Full company compliance | Almost none |
| Winding up | Strike-off or liquidation | Stop using it |
The company only beats the umbrella on money you can leave inside it. If you draw every euro you earn, the tax outcome is close to identical and the company just costs more to run.
Paying yourself, the Irish way
Salary is deductible for the company and taxed on you under PAYE. Dividends come out of profit that has already borne corporation tax, are not deductible for the company, and are taxed again at your marginal rate with dividend withholding tax deducted at source.
So the efficient shape for most Irish contractors is salary covering what you need to live on, employer pension contributions taking the surplus, and dividends used sparingly.
Employment status, and why your client cares
Ireland has no IR35, but it does determine employment status, and the Supreme Court's 2023 Karshan decision reframed how. Revenue has since published guidance built on a five-question framework.
Where an engagement is employment in substance, the PAYE liability generally falls on the business engaging you. That is why clients and agencies have become careful about contract wording, and why the question affects your working arrangements even though the exposure is theirs.
- A genuine right of substitution, not a clause nobody would ever act on.
- Control over how, when and where you do the work.
- Real financial risk — the possibility that a job costs you money.
- Your own equipment.
- Engagement for defined work rather than integration into their team.
Expenses, and the one that gets audited
The test is that the cost was incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade. Equipment, professional indemnity insurance, subscriptions, accountancy fees and employer pension contributions are straightforward.
When the contract ends
If you are going permanent, the company can be kept dormant in case you contract again, or struck off if you are done. Extracting the remaining cash has tax consequences, and the order and the tax year you do it in changes the outcome — sometimes substantially where retirement or entrepreneur relief is in play.
Plan it before you accept the role, not after the final invoice is paid.
What it costs
One fixed monthly fee covering company compliance, payroll, VAT, bookkeeping, year end and your personal Form 11. Formation is quoted separately where a company is needed. No hourly billing, and no charge for a view on a contract a client has just sent you.
Sources
Questions we get asked
- Limited company or umbrella — which is better for an Irish contractor?
- An umbrella suits short contracts and anyone likely to return to permanent employment, because there is almost no administration. A personal limited company usually wins at higher day rates or over a longer contracting career, particularly where profit can be retained or routed into a pension.
- How should I pay myself?
- Usually salary for what you need to live on, plus employer pension contributions for the surplus. Ireland has no dividend allowance and no reduced dividend rates, so dividends are a less efficient route here than in the UK.
- Does IR35 apply in Ireland?
- No. Ireland has its own employment status rules, reshaped by the Supreme Court's 2023 Karshan decision and Revenue's five-question guidance. The consequences of a wrong determination generally fall on the business engaging you rather than on you.
- Do I need to register for VAT?
- Once turnover passes €42,500 over any continuous twelve-month period, yes. Most professional contractors reach that in year one, and because agency and corporate clients reclaim the VAT you charge, registering early is usually neutral for them and positive for you.
- Can I claim mileage and subsistence?
- Only for genuine business travel away from your normal place of work. Attending the same client site daily for the duration of a contract generally makes that site your normal place of work, which makes the journey commuting rather than business travel.
- What happens to my company if I take a permanent job?
- It can be kept dormant if you may contract again, or struck off if not. Extracting the remaining cash has tax consequences, and the timing and order matter — so plan it before you accept the role rather than after.
Read more on this
Contractors
Contractor accounting in Ireland
Choosing between a personal limited company and an umbrella, how to pay yourself, what you can claim, and the employment status question sitting underneath all of it.
Company Structure
Sole trader or limited company in Ireland?
Tax rates, liability, compliance cost and credibility compared — and the honest answer on the profit level at which incorporating starts to make sense.
Self-Employment
How to register as self-employed in Ireland
Which form to use, what changes about your PRSI class and entitlements, and the annual cycle you enter the moment you register.
Who else we work with
Talk to us about your contractors
Tell us about your business and we will send a fixed-fee proposal within 48 hours.