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FAQs

See some of our frequently asked questions below. If you do not find what you are looking for please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to advise you.

When do I need to register for Income Tax/VAT/PAYE?

Income Tax

 When you start a business, you must register for tax with Revenue. Before you register for tax, you must have a Personal Public Service number (PPS). PPSNs are given by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

VAT

You must register for VAT if you are likely to exceed the relevant VAT thresholds.   You do not need to register if your turnover is below the VAT thresholds but may do so if you wish.

Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration is obligatory when the VAT thresholds are exceeded or are likely to be exceeded in any 12 month period.

The principal thresholds are as follows:

€37,500 in the case of persons supplying services only.

€75,000 for persons supplying goods.

PAYE

You must register as an employer if you pay your employee more than:

€8 per week (or €36 per month), if they are full time employees

€2 per week (or €9 per month), if they have other employment(s).

A company must register as an employer and operate PAYE on the income of directors even if there are no other employees.

If you are a director of an Irish incorporated company you must pay tax (PAYE) on your income as a director. This is the case regardless of your residency status, or where you perform your work duties.

You do not need to register as an employer if you have a domestic employee and; you pay them less than €40 per week AND you have only one such employee.

 


I have received an inheritance/gift, what do I need to do?

If you receive a gift, you may have to pay gift tax. If you receive an inheritance following a death, it may be liable to inheritance tax. Both these taxes are types of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). CAT is charged at a rate of 33%.

If you receive a gift or inheritance from your spouse or civil partner, you are exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax.

The tax applies to all property that is located in Ireland. It also applies where the property is not located in Ireland but the person receiving it is resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland for tax purposes.

Gifts and inheritances can be received tax-free up to a certain amount. The tax-free amount, or threshold, varies depending on your relationship to the person giving the benefit. There are three different categories or groups.  There are also a number of exemptions and reliefs that depend on the type of gift or inheritance.

Group A: €310,000. Applies where the beneficiary is a child (including adopted child, step-child and certain foster children) or minor child of a deceased child of the disponer.

Parents also fall within this threshold where they take an inheritance of an absolute interest from a child.

Group B: €32,500. Applies where the beneficiary is a brother, sister, niece, nephew or lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the disponer.

Group C: €16,250. Applies in all other cases.

Annual gift exemption is €3,000 available to anyone.

 


I am renting through Air BnB. Do I have to pay tax on the rent?

Airbnb have confirmed that they have handed over details of the earnings of Airbnb hosts to the Revenue Commissioners including their names, addresses and income earned since May 2014. The company is legally obliged to supply the information to the Revenue Commissioners.

You may be wondering if you should file a tax return this year if you’ve let out a property via Airbnb during the year.

Those letting a room or a property on the Airbnb website would be liable to income tax at their marginal rate – plus the universal social charge and PRSI – after deduction of allowable expenses. This means some landlords are subject to tax of as much as 55 per cent on their Airbnb gains, once expenses for cleaning etc, are deducted.

You cannot claim Rent a Room Relief for Airbnb income.

To sum it all up. Yes, Airbnb is taxable.

 


How do I set up a company?

8 things are needed.

Company name

Company Type

Constitution – Principle Activities

Registered Office

Directors

Company Secretary

Authorised and Issued Share Capital

Shareholders

Registering a new Company can be complex and confusing.  We can set up the new company on your behalf.

 


I am starting a business. Should it be sole trader or a company?

Sole Trader

When you decide to operate as a sole trade, you make the decision to run the business in your own name. The profits of the business belong to you and you are personally responsible for any debts or liabilities that the business incurs.

Company

A limited company is a business you formally register with the Companies Registration Office.  It is a separate legal entity and all assets and liabilities belong to the company itself, not to the shareholders. There are more administrative requirements for limited companies and accounts need to be filed with the Company Registration Office.

 


Do I require an audit?

The majority of Irish companies are exempt from audit. However, this audit exemption is lost if you are late filing your accounts with the Companies Registration Office.  If you are a late filer your accounts must be audited by a Registered Auditor. The issue for many small companies is the additional cost and complexity of an audit.

If your company qualifies as a small company, i.e. the balance sheet total is not exceeding €6m; turnover is not exceeding €12m; and employees do not exceed 50.

 


I am starting a business. What do I do?

See our start up page.

 


I am a PAYE worker with some rental income. Do I need to file a tax return?

Yes you do.  You are a chargeable person:-

 


How do I transfer my sole trade to a company? What taxes are involved?

Unless your Sole Trader business is worth a lot of money, the easiest thing to do is set up a Limited Company and just cease trading as a Sole Trader.  Otherwise there is a transfer of assets and a risk of tax liabilities.

When transferring assets held by a Sole Trader or Partnership into a Company, the transfer of certain chargeable assets from an individual to a company would generally attract Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any capital gain. However, CGT relief may be given on the transfer of a business to a company, if the business continues to trade and is owned by the same persons.

It may also be possible to minimise stamp duty on the transfer of business assets to a company by passing assets by delivery as opposed to transferring by deed.

 


I want to sell my business. What taxes will I have to pay?

Depending on the type of business you are (i.e. sole trade, partnership or company), the sale of your business can be undertaken in a number of different ways.

 


Tax considerations on a share sale

The selling party maybe an individual or a company. The rule is where an individual sells shares in a company and makes a gain, this gain is subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the prevailing rate (currently 33%).  When a company sells shares in a subsidiary company (Trading Company) and realises a gain, this gain is generally tax free. Conditions apply, the shares must have been owned for more than a year.

 


Tax considerations on an asset sale

Assets Sales by an individual or a company will be structured differently in all cases and the fundamentals of the deal need to be scrutinised to assess any tax liability. The following is a list of possible assets that could be sold.

Trade Debtors;   Inventory;  Plant & Machinery;  Leasehold;  Licences;  Goodwill;  Patents.

As an asset sale incurs a higher stamp duty cost than a share sale it may be worth noting that some assets could be transferred by delivery which will minimise stamp duty.

The tax implications of a sale will depend upon the type of asset sold and the type of consideration received.

 


Am I entitled to any tax relief when starting up a business?

Only if you have been unemployed for at least 12 months and set up a qualifying business.  The ‘Start Your Own Business’ scheme provides an exemption from income tax up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for a period of 2 years.

‘Start Your Own Business Relief’ only applies to income tax payable on the profits from your business. It does not extend to PRSI and Universal Social Charge (USC) so you will be liable to pay PRSI and USC on any profits earned in your new business. The Start Your Own Business scheme runs to 31 December 2018.

 


Qualifying pre-trading expenses

Once you have started to trade, you may be able to claim a tax deduction for certain expenses incurred in respect of the business.  For tax purposes, these expenses are treated as if they had been incurred at the time that the trade started. These may include business-related leasing costs, legal fees and the cost of preparing business plans and feasibility studies.

 


Start up company corporation tax relief

Finance Act 2015 extended the 3-year start-up exemption for a further 3 years such that it will apply to new business start-ups which commence in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This extension means the relief will benefit all “qualifying trades” that commence on/before 31 December 2018. The legislation is keen to point out that  a “qualifying trade” is a new trade set up and commenced by the company and does not include a trade:

which was previously carried on by another person or a company;

which involves dealing in or developing land;

which involves the exploration and extraction of natural resources;

which involves the carrying on of a profession or the provision of a professional service;

which involves the holding of an office or employment;

The 3-year start-up exemption is available where the total amount of corporation tax payable by a company for a 12-month accounting period falling within the 3 year start-up period does not exceed €40,000. Marginal relief is granted on a tapering basis where the total amount of corporation tax liability for the accounting period is between €40,000 and €60,000.  However, the relief will be limited to the amount of Employers’ PRSI paid by the company.  This amount may be reduced if the company pays over the relief limit of €5,000 per Employee.

 


I sold a property. What tax do I have to pay?

A liability to capital gains tax (CGT) arises when the proceeds (less incidental costs of sale) is greater than the original purchase price (plus purchase costs and adjusted for inflation if purchased pre-2003). CGT is levied on this gain at a current rate of 33 per cent, and not the sales proceeds.

Gains on the disposal of property owned by you (house or apartment) which was occupied by you or by a dependent relative as a sole or main residence are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Restrictions may apply where the property was not fully occupied as a main residence throughout the period of ownership or where the sale price reflects development value.

Where an individual has not occupied the house as their Principal Private Residence (PPR)  during the entire ownership, then they may partially avail of PPR relief on a pro-rata basis. The portion of the gain exempt under PPR is calculated by taking the number of complete years the house was occupied as your home (including a deemed occupancy of the last 12 months before sale) over the total number of years of ownership.

 


Do I have to go to a pension provider to set up a personal pension?

The first step in setting up a pension is to get advice from a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA).  Tom Hyland is a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA) and he can provide impartial advice on pension planning and selecting a suitable pension provider.  Tom will advise you to complete a Risk Profile and a Financial Health Checklist.  Using this information, Tom will recommend a pension plan and a choice of pension providers.  Life Insurance and investment companies are the main providers of pension plans in Ireland.   Once you have selected a pension provider, Tom will complete the documentation and set up your pension plan.  You will then start to make monthly contributions to your pension plan.

 


How can I check my PRSI record

Department of Social Protection want people to apply online through www.mywelfare.ie where you will have to create a MyGovID account.  For this you will be required to provide an email address and some personal information.  Once you create a basic MyGovID account, you can request your Contribution Statement to be posted to the address on file.

A person who is not in a position to use the online facility to request a statement can contact the Department’s Customer Service Team for assistance on (01) 4715898.  Customers who wish to use a LoCall option can call from a landline on 1890 690 690.  Customer Service team is available from Monday – Friday,  9.00am to 5pm.

 


What is Voluntary PRSI

If you leave Ireland to work in an EU or non EU country you can pay voluntary PRSI each year.  You will have to apply to the Department of Social Protection to get approval.

If you are self employed with earnings below €5,000 per year.  You can apply to pay voluntary PRSI.

The payment of voluntary PRSI ensures you have full PRSI contributions for that year.  Failure to make a voluntary contribution could reduce your contributory old age pension when you retire.

 


When do I need to register for Income Tax/VAT/PAYE?

Income Tax

 When you start a business, you must register for tax with Revenue. Before you register for tax, you must have a Personal Public Service number (PPS). PPSNs are given by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

VAT

You must register for VAT if you are likely to exceed the relevant VAT thresholds.   You do not need to register if your turnover is below the VAT thresholds but may do so if you wish.

Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration is obligatory when the VAT thresholds are exceeded or are likely to be exceeded in any 12 month period.

The principal thresholds are as follows:

€37,500 in the case of persons supplying services only.

€75,000 for persons supplying goods.

PAYE

You must register as an employer if you pay your employee more than:

€8 per week (or €36 per month), if they are full time employees

€2 per week (or €9 per month), if they have other employment(s).

A company must register as an employer and operate PAYE on the income of directors even if there are no other employees.

If you are a director of an Irish incorporated company you must pay tax (PAYE) on your income as a director. This is the case regardless of your residency status, or where you perform your work duties.

You do not need to register as an employer if you have a domestic employee and:

 


I have received an inheritance/gift, what do I need to do?

If you receive a gift, you may have to pay gift tax. If you receive an inheritance following a death, it may be liable to inheritance tax. Both these taxes are types of Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT). CAT is charged at a rate of 33%.

If you receive a gift or inheritance from your spouse or civil partner, you are exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax.

The tax applies to all property that is located in Ireland. It also applies where the property is not located in Ireland but the person receiving it is resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland for tax purposes.

Gifts and inheritances can be received tax-free up to a certain amount. The tax-free amount, or threshold, varies depending on your relationship to the person giving the benefit. There are three different categories or groups.  There are also a number of exemptions and reliefs that depend on the type of gift or inheritance.

Group A: €310,000. Applies where the beneficiary is a child (including adopted child, step-child and certain foster children) or minor child of a deceased child of the disponer.

Parents also fall within this threshold where they take an inheritance of an absolute interest from a child.

Group B: €32,500. Applies where the beneficiary is a brother, sister, niece, nephew or lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the disponer.

Group C: €16,250. Applies in all other cases.

Annual gift exemption is €3,000 available to anyone.

 


I am renting through Air BnB. Do I have to pay tax on the rent?

Airbnb have confirmed that they have handed over details of the earnings of Airbnb hosts to the Revenue Commissioners including their names, addresses and income earned since May 2014. The company is legally obliged to supply the information to the Revenue Commissioners.

You may be wondering if you should file a tax return this year if you’ve let out a property via Airbnb during the year.

Those letting a room or a property on the Airbnb website would be liable to income tax at their marginal rate – plus the universal social charge and PRSI – after deduction of allowable expenses. This means some landlords are subject to tax of as much as 55 per cent on their Airbnb gains, once expenses for cleaning etc, are deducted.

You cannot claim Rent a Room Relief for Airbnb income.

To sum it all up. Yes, Airbnb is taxable.

 


How do I set up a company?

8 things are needed.

  1. Company name
  2. Company Type
  3. Constitution – Principle Activities
  4. Registered Office
  5. Directors
  6. Company Secretary
  7. Authorised and Issued Share Capital
  8. Shareholders

Registering a new Company can be complex and confusing.  We can set up the new company on your behalf.

 


I am starting a business. Should it be sole trader or a company?

Sole Trader

When you decide to operate as a sole trade, you make the decision to run the business in your own name. The profits of the business belong to you and you are personally responsible for any debts or liabilities that the business incurs.

Company

A limited company is a business you formally register with the Companies Registration Office.  It is a separate legal entity and all assets and liabilities belong to the company itself, not to the shareholders. There are more administrative requirements for limited companies and accounts need to be filed with the Company Registration Office.

 


Do I require an audit?

The majority of Irish companies are exempt from audit. However, this audit exemption is lost if you are late filing your accounts with the Companies Registration Office.  If you are a late filer your accounts must be audited by a Registered Auditor. The issue for many small companies is the additional cost and complexity of an audit.

If your company qualifies as a small company, i.e. the balance sheet total is not exceeding €6m; turnover is not exceeding €12m; and employees do not exceed 50.

 


I am starting a business. What do I do?

See our start up page.

 

I am a PAYE worker with some rental income. Do I need to file a tax return?

Yes you do.  You are a chargeable person:-

 


How do I transfer my sole trade to a company? What taxes are involved?

Unless your Sole Trader business is worth a lot of money, the easiest thing to do is set up a Limited Company and just cease trading as a Sole Trader.  Otherwise there is a transfer of assets and a risk of tax liabilities.

When transferring assets held by a Sole Trader or Partnership into a Company, the transfer of certain chargeable assets from an individual to a company would generally attract Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any capital gain. However, CGT relief may be given on the transfer of a business to a company, if the business continues to trade and is owned by the same persons.

It may also be possible to minimise stamp duty on the transfer of business assets to a company by passing assets by delivery as opposed to transferring by deed.

 


I want to sell my business. What taxes will I have to pay?

Depending on the type of business you are (i.e. sole trade, partnership or company), the sale of your business can be undertaken in a number of different ways.

Tax considerations on a share sale

The selling party maybe an individual or a company. The rule is where an individual sells shares in a company and makes a gain, this gain is subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) at the prevailing rate (currently 33%).  When a company sells shares in a subsidiary company (Trading Company) and realises a gain, this gain is generally tax free. Conditions apply, the shares must have been owned for more than a year.

 

Tax considerations on an asset sale

Assets Sales by an individual or a company will be structured differently in all cases and the fundamentals of the deal need to be scrutinised to assess any tax liability. The following is a list of possible assets that could be sold.

As an asset sale incurs a higher stamp duty cost than a share sale it may be worth noting that some assets could be transferred by delivery which will minimise stamp duty.

The tax implications of a sale will depend upon the type of asset sold and the type of consideration received.

 


Am I entitled to any tax relief when starting up a business?

Only if you have been unemployed for at least 12 months and set up a qualifying business.  The ‘Start Your Own Business’ scheme provides an exemption from income tax up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for a period of 2 years.

‘Start Your Own Business Relief’ only applies to income tax payable on the profits from your business. It does not extend to PRSI and Universal Social Charge (USC) so you will be liable to pay PRSI and USC on any profits earned in your new business. The Start Your Own Business scheme runs to 31 December 2018.

Qualifying pre-trading expenses

Once you have started to trade, you may be able to claim a tax deduction for certain expenses incurred in respect of the business.  For tax purposes, these expenses are treated as if they had been incurred at the time that the trade started. These may include business-related leasing costs, legal fees and the cost of preparing business plans and feasibility studies.

 

Start up company corporation tax relief

Finance Act 2015 extended the 3-year start-up exemption for a further 3 years such that it will apply to new business start-ups which commence in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This extension means the relief will benefit all “qualifying trades” that commence on/before 31 December 2018. The legislation is keen to point out that  a “qualifying trade” is a new trade set up and commenced by the company and does not include a trade:

The 3-year start-up exemption is available where the total amount of corporation tax payable by a company for a 12-month accounting period falling within the 3 year start-up period does not exceed €40,000. Marginal relief is granted on a tapering basis where the total amount of corporation tax liability for the accounting period is between €40,000 and €60,000.  However, the relief will be limited to the amount of Employers’ PRSI paid by the company.  This amount may be reduced if the company pays over the relief limit of €5,000 per Employee.

 


I sold a property. What tax do I have to pay?

A liability to capital gains tax (CGT) arises when the proceeds (less incidental costs of sale) is greater than the original purchase price (plus purchase costs and adjusted for inflation if purchased pre-2003). CGT is levied on this gain at a current rate of 33 per cent, and not the sales proceeds.

Gains on the disposal of property owned by you (house or apartment) which was occupied by you or by a dependent relative as a sole or main residence are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Restrictions may apply where the property was not fully occupied as a main residence throughout the period of ownership or where the sale price reflects development value.

Where an individual has not occupied the house as their Principal Private Residence (PPR)  during the entire ownership, then they may partially avail of PPR relief on a pro-rata basis. The portion of the gain exempt under PPR is calculated by taking the number of complete years the house was occupied as your home (including a deemed occupancy of the last 12 months before sale) over the total number of years of ownership.

 

Do I have to go to a pension provider to set up a personal pension?

The first step in setting up a pension is to get advice from a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA).  Tom Hyland is a Qualified Financial Advisor (QFA) and he can provide impartial advice on pension planning and selecting a suitable pension provider.  Tom will advise you to complete a Risk Profile and a Financial Health Checklist.  Using this information, Tom will recommend a pension plan and a choice of pension providers.  Life Insurance and investment companies are the main providers of pension plans in Ireland.   Once you have selected a pension provider, Tom will complete the documentation and set up your pension plan.  You will then start to make monthly contributions to your pension plan.

 


How can I check my PRSI record

Department of Social Protection want people to apply online through www.mywelfare.ie where you will have to create a MyGovID account.  For this you will be required to provide an email address and some personal information.  Once you create a basic MyGovID account, you can request your Contribution Statement to be posted to the address on file.

A person who is not in a position to use the online facility to request a statement can contact the Department’s Customer Service Team for assistance on (01) 4715898.  Customers who wish to use a LoCall option can call from a landline on 1890 690 690.  Customer Service team is available from Monday – Friday,  9.00am to 5pm.

 


What is Voluntary PRSI

If you leave Ireland to work in an EU or non EU country you can pay voluntary PRSI each year.  You will have to apply to the Department of Social Protection to get approval.

If you are self employed with earnings below €5,000 per year.  You can apply to pay voluntary PRSI.

The payment of voluntary PRSI ensures you have full PRSI contributions for that year.  Failure to make a voluntary contribution could reduce your contributory old age pension when you retire.

 


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