Formalities

Registering for taxation

• Income tax – Sole traders and partnerships on their profits
• Corporation tax – Limited companies on their profits
• Value added tax (VAT) – All businesses with turnover in excess of €75,000 (goods) or €37,500 (services)
• PAYE/PRSI – All businesses with employees (including owner/directors).

It is your obligation to notify the Revenue Commissioners through your local tax office of the establishment of your business and to provide them with the information required to register your business for the relevant taxes.

You must complete one of three forms, depending on your circumstances:

• Form TR1, if you are a sole trader or partnership
• Form TR2, if your business is a limited company.

Each of these forms gets you registered for all applicable taxes. They are available for download on the Revenue’s web-site.

Shortly after registration, you may receive a “new Business Visit” from a Revenue official who will go through the requirements to ensure that you have proper systems in place.

Now move on to consider the other aspects of formalities:

• Choosing and registering a legal structure for your business
• Choosing and registering a name for your business
• Registering for taxation
• Setting up accounting systems
• Ensuring that your business meets all applicable legislation and regulations
• Ensuring that your business meets all appropriate quality standards
• Opening a bank account
• Arranging for appropriate insurance
• Protecting your business' intellectual property.