There is a huge net benefit to the Irish economy if people are starting businesses. So it is the responsibility of the government and its agencies to maintain a low barrier for its citizens who want to incorporate a limited company.
In this blog post, we will take a look at all the different costs you will face when registering a company in Ireland as well as how the costs if you set up the company yourself versus getting in help via a company that specialises in setting up companies.
Key Takeaway
You can incorporate a company in Ireland for as little as €50-€120 if you do it yourself. While this will depend on your knowledge of some basic Irish company law, if you are setting up a run of the mill, standard company than most people will be well able to complete this task of incorporating a company themselves (See full video guide below).
If you choose to outsource this to a company who specialised in setting up companies and other company secretarial services, then this can set you back anywhere from €180-€750 depending on the level of service offered.
Doing it yourself
See below a full list of costs ( some avoidable and some optional) that you can encounter when getting your company incorporated. The bear minimum you will need to spend to get your company up and running will be €50-€120.
| Task | Unavoidable Costs | Optional Costs |
|---|---|---|
| CRO Registration | €50 | n/a |
| Business names ( if trading name is different to name of limited company) | €20 | €20 |
| VAT, Corporation Tax, PAYE registration | Free | n/a |
| Register of Beneficial Owners | Free | n/a |
| Company Seal | €50 | n/a |
| Additional Costs: | ||
| Company Secretarial Services | Can be avoided if you have an individual willing to act as company secretary | Approx €200-€400 per annum + VAT |
| Virtual Registered Office | Can be avoided if you have use business premises or home address as registered office | Approx €200-€400 per annum + VAT |
There is no great difficulty in setting up a limited company on core.cro.ie, but if you are completely new to the whole thing then a guide will come in very handy to explain some points that people often get stuck on, such as the difference between ordinary and authorised share capital.
Video Guide for registering your limited company on CORE
Video Guide for registering your limited company for Tax
Getting Help
Here is a quick snapshot of some companies rates on the market at the time of writing:
Companyformations.ie – €295 (inc VAT) – does not include tax registration, or RBO registration.
Fusionformations.ie – Premium package €379 (inv VAT) – does not include RBO registration
www.thestartuphub.ie – €151( inc VAT) – does not include tax registration, company seal or RBO registration.
accountantonline.ie – €199 + VAT – does not include tax registration, company seal or RBO registration.
This is just a short list to give you an idea of the price, but be sure to shop around to find the best price.
Additional Costs you may have to incur
Depending on your circumstances you may have to bear additional costs to get your company registered. These can be for company secretarial services and the use of a virtual office as your registered address.
Company Secretarial Services
A company can be registered with one director in Ireland, but often a single member limited company runs into the issue of who they appoint as the company secretary.
It is common for people to use their family members and friends to act as a company secretary in these scenarios, but not everyone will be so lucky to have someone to call on.
You may need to outsource the position of company secretary to your accountant or to a company who specialises in providing this service. The cost of company secretarial services usually can be €200-400 + VAT per annum if you shop around.
Virtual Office
When you register a company in Ireland you must provide a registered address of said company. A lot of business will have an actual physical location where they operate from and use this as their registered address.
But many business nowadays can operate completely online and have no physical premises. There is nothing stopping your from your home as the registered office, but for privacy reasons this is not always something people want to do.
One solution is to pay for a virtual office address, but this will again cost you approx €200-400 per annum.
Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.
