Registering a company in Ireland

alxkls0

Hello everyone,
I'm well aware that tons of information could be found on the subject online but sadly I could't find a definitive answer to my, let's say, doubts. Let me give you some background information:
I'm about to start a small company with two other people(primarily software related). And after a lot of discussions and advises, most people, from people like us to corporate lawyers, suggested that Ireland might as well be the best bet. Now first things first, I'm not Irish nor do I live in Ireland. And the same goes for the other two in fact. We all come from different EU countries however and according to what we read, we can freely register a company in Ireland. However none of the sites said anything about having an address. So the question is, do we need to rent an office or something in order to register a company, given that we don't intend to operate from Ireland(at least while we have the startup status, we'll figure out what to do if we manage to change it). Mainly because renting any place and not using it doesn't seem like a wise option.

Thanks in advance.

elastico

alxkls0 wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I'm well aware that tons of information could be found on the subject online but sadly I could't find a definitive answer to my, let's say, doubts. Let me give you some background information:
I'm about to start a small company with two other people(primarily software related). And after a lot of discussions and advises, most people, from people like us to corporate lawyers, suggested that Ireland might as well be the best bet. Now first things first, I'm not Irish nor do I live in Ireland. And the same goes for the other two in fact. We all come from different EU countries however and according to what we read, we can freely register a company in Ireland. However none of the sites said anything about having an address. So the question is, do we need to rent an office or something in order to register a company, given that we don't intend to operate from Ireland(at least while we have the startup status, we'll figure out what to do if we manage to change it). Mainly because renting any place and not using it doesn't seem like a wise option.

Thanks in advance.

You don't need to rent an office. Some companies such as accountants or solicitors will allow you register a company using their address. If you google the term "brass plate company" you should get lots of info. on the subject.

dbran

Hi

It is possible to incorporate a company in Ireland within 2-5 working days. It must have a registered office in the state as this is the address that legal proceedings can be served on the company. If the registered office were outside the jurisdiction then this would not be possible.

However, then your problems will start. As you have no connection to Ireland and clearly no part of the business will be carried out here, this will make getting an Irish VAT number next to impossible. You may also have difficulty opening a bank account in Ireland. Also the corporation tax rate would be 25% and not 12.5% as the income earned would probably be classified as foreign trading income. As directors of the company any salary earned by you would be subject to Irish Payroll taxes which could be up to 52% (our payroll taxes are amongst the highest in the EU). It dose not matter where in the world you reside.

So unless the setting up of an Irish company is part of an overall tax structure eg. settng up an Irish Holding company etc., then it would more then likely be a very messy affair.

Having said that Ireland is a very easy place to do business. Just not as a brass plate organisation. You normally need to be setting up a real business in Ireland with staff, premises etc to be able to avail of the advantages that an Irish company can bring

Hope this helps.

dbran

alxkls0

dbran wrote: »

Hi

It is possible to incorporate a company in Ireland within 2-5 working days. It must have a registered office in the state as this is the address that legal proceedings can be served on the company. If the registered office were outside the jurisdiction then this would not be possible.

However, then your problems will start. As you have no connection to Ireland and clearly no part of the business will be carried out here, this will make getting an Irish VAT number next to impossible. You may also have difficulty opening a bank account in Ireland. Also the corporation tax rate would be 25% and not 12.5% as the income earned would probably be classified as foreign trading income. As directors of the company any salary earned by you would be subject to Irish Payroll taxes which could be up to 52% (our payroll taxes are amongst the highest in the EU). It dose not matter where in the world you reside.

So unless the setting up of an Irish company is part of an overall tax structure eg. settng up an Irish Holding company etc., then it would more then likely be a very messy affair.

Having said that Ireland is a very easy place to do business. Just not as a brass plate organisation. You normally need to be setting up a real business in Ireland with staff, premises etc to be able to avail of the advantages that an Irish company can bring

Hope this helps.

dbran

We're not really concerned about taxes, even if that's 80% - we don't expect any significant income in the near future. More of a question of having a brand and being able to operate freely until we have everything running(which won't be a fast process anyway).

antoinolachtnai

You would still need to set up branch offices wherever you are trading I think, to get VAT numbers and the like. This entails a good bit of bureaucracy.

You really need to get specific legal and accounting/tax advice on this. Without knowing your circumstances, I would suggest you incorporate closer to home unless you have some specific reason to register in Ireland. Or avoid incorporating altogether until things are a bit progressed?

No matter where you incorporate, you are going to need a shareholders' agreement to clearly set out how the company will work. If you are not knowledgeable about such things, it is going to cost you a fair amount of money in legal fees no matter where you do it.

That all said, occasionally people do what you are describing and it is sometimes a convenient arrangement.