Starting a business means choosing a structure, registering with Revenue and knowing your first deadlines. We help you decide between sole trader and company, get registered, and set up simple bookkeeping from day one, so your first tax return holds no surprises.
Information checked 3 October 2026 against Revenue and CRO guidance.
What's included
| Sole trader | Limited company | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax on profit | Income tax at 20% and 40%, plus USC and PRSI, on all profit | Corporation Tax at 12.5% on trading profit kept in the company |
| Liability | You are personally liable for business debts | Liability is usually limited to what you put in |
| Yearly filings | Form 11 | CRO annual return, company accounts and CT1 |
| Taking money out | All profit is yours | Salary or dividends, taxed in your hands |
Many people start as a sole trader and incorporate once profits grow. Our guide Sole trader or limited company? works through real figures.
Start-up company relief can remove up to €40,000 of Corporation Tax a year for the first five years of a new trade started on or before 31 December 2026. The relief is linked to the employer PRSI the company pays, so it works best for companies that take on staff.
Worked example
You start as a sole trader in March 2026. Your first Form 11, for 2026, is due by 31 October 2027. Because preliminary tax can be based on 100% of the previous year's tax, which was nil, you may have no preliminary tax to pay for 2026. In October 2027 you then pay the full 2026 tax and your 2027 preliminary tax together, so set money aside from the start.
The Local Enterprise Offices offer training, mentoring and grants for new businesses. In 2025, LEO Louth's client businesses created over 219 jobs, and LEO Meath's clients almost 200 (Louth County Council, Meath County Council).
From businesses that started with us
The team at M.A. Whately offer a very professional and helpful service. As a new start up business, we had plenty of questions and there has always been somebody on the other end of the phone/email to answer us, no matter what the question! More than just an accountant they really work with building and growing your business. A pleasure to deal with and a wonderful supportive service!
Paul and the team have been absolutely fantastic to work with. I initially sought his services purely for accounting purposes but as time has passed, I have realised his depth of knowledge surrounding business planning, strategy and marketing has been invaluable to my new physiotherapy clinic.
As soon as you start trading. Sole traders register for income tax; companies register for Corporation Tax. Add VAT once you pass the threshold, and PAYE before you pay any employee.
Source: Revenue: Registering for tax, checked 3 October 2026.
Not legally. But the decisions in the first months, the structure, VAT registration and how records are kept, are the hardest to undo later, and a short conversation early usually costs less than fixing them.
Often not, because it can be based on the previous year's tax, which was nil. The first year's full tax and the second year's preliminary tax then fall due together the following October.
Source: Revenue: What is preliminary tax?, checked 3 October 2026.
Next step
Book a call at a time that suits you, or ring the office.
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm · info@mawhately.ie
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