Tax questions for small limited company

deano2727

Hi all,

I'm a digital marketing freelancer and decided to start a private limited company to make my business more legit. The company was formed on September 30th 2020.

I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could take a moment out of their time to answer.

1/ When is my corporation tax due? I called Revenue about this in the past, and they couldn't be any less clear about it if they tried. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was something about it being to do with my accounting year and x amount of months before that or something.

Which brings me to my next question...

2/ What is my accounting year? the dates I declared on the form? How can I check this? Do I have to call revenue? Or can it be found online?

3/ How do I go about taking a salary from the company as a director? Do I need to set up PAYE?

I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me out with this. Thanks

relax carry on

I'm sorry but this is the sort of advice you pay an accountant for before setting up a limited company. Revenue aren't accountants or the citizens advice.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/companies-and-charities/corporation-tax-for-companies/corporation-tax-payment-and-filing/index.aspx

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-38/38-02-06.pdf

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/becoming-an-employer-and-ongoing-obligations/payments-to-employees/directors.aspx

Furze99

I can think of various reasons you might want to form a company with limited liability etc. but sorry 'more legit' isn't one of them! Essentially you trade on the basis of the reputation of your work and what others think of your services or products i.e. happy customers. Lot simpler to trade as a 'sole trader', certainly starting out.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058205931/tax-questions-for-small-limited-company

Did you file the 6 month return with the CRO?

ari101

Given the 6 mths filing doesn't require accounts you used to get away with being late (unless things changed recently???), but you really need to get an accountant to sort these queries, file a first CT1 as necessary, and plan for setting a year end, doing proper financial statements in time for your CRO requirements, changing ARD if needed going forward, etc.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117808126#Comment_117808126

€100 late filing fee and €3 per day from the ARD to the date of filing.

dotsman

Get an accountant. Seriously. You should have had one since before setting up the limited company.

Let them handle all the bureaucracy etc for the first few years while you concentrate on building your business. If, after a few years, with the experience of seeing all the paperwork (and deadlines) the accountant has been doing, you want to do it yourself, fine. But going from zero knowledge/experience to filing all the correct paperwork, in the correct way with the correct figures and correct tax compliance for the correct deadlines, all while trying to build a business is asking for massive headaches and likely fines/penalties etc (or worse - serious penalties/audits into the future) which is the last thing you need as you start up your business.

As has been said above, operating as a sole trader is easier. The typical reason for switching to a limited company is to reduce the exposure to risk and potential tax write-offs etc. The downside being far more paperwork and cumbersome bureaucracy. Again, an accountant would be better able to advise you which is more suitable for you.

ari101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117808544#Comment_117808544

Maybe I'm too focused on loss of the audit exemption that comes as a result of late filing in future! 🙈

relevanc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117807801#Comment_117807801

This a hundred times.

I can never understand why people do DIY incorporations and never feel the need to pay for professional advice in advance. Then they learn afterwards that there are ‘things’ that should have been filed/done/paid etc

deano2727

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

Yes, I filed the 6-month return with the CRO myself.

For what it's worth, I'm happy to pay for an accountant to sort it out on a one-off basis. The truth is, I haven't been making enough revenue up to now to keep an accountant on my payroll.

I'm currently outside the country too, so it makes things a bit trickier. But yes, I will have to get on a Zoom call with one Monday morning - does anyone have any accountant recommendations for a small PLC?

And to the person that said Revenue aren't accountants or citizens advice, that's true - although I just wanted to know if there is any way to check when the corporation tax is due. Surely if they are good enough to take tax, they are good enough to tell people/companies specifically when it's due.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117811655#Comment_117811655

You dont need an accountant on your payroll. You need an accountant in a practice to offer you advice and handle your accounts preparation and tax returns. You need to seek professional advice as being outside of the country also poses potential tax issues for you.

Corporation tax is normally due 9 months after your year end - you are though meant to pay prelim corp tax before the year end based on expected results.