Open an Irish Company for EU Market Access

I am losing EU customers because of Brexit friction

If EU clients are quietly drifting away, or customs paperwork has become the cost of doing business, we help you work out whether an Irish company actually fixes that.

None of my directors live in the EU or EEA

If the EEA-resident director rule is the thing blocking your plan, we walk you through both routes: finding an EEA-resident director or arranging the bond.

I want to compare Irish vs UK Corporation Tax before deciding

If you want real numbers before committing, we compare Ireland's 12.5% trading rate against your actual UK profit band, not just headline percentages.

UK company alone

No EU establishment, sits outside the single market
Customs paperwork and rules of origin checks on EU shipments
Corporation Tax 19% to 25% (UK FY2026 bands)
No EEA director requirement, it is a UK company

UK company + Irish subsidiary

Genuine EU establishment, with an EU-wide EORI number
Ordinary intra-EU VAT treatment on B2B services
12.5% Corporation Tax on Irish trading profit
Needs an EEA-resident director, or a €25,000 bond

How we set this up for a UK-based owner

Initial conversation on WhatsApp

You tell us what is driving this: EU customers, VAT friction, or just comparing the tax numbers. We give you a straight answer on whether an Irish company actually fixes it.

Director and structure plan

We check whether an EEA-resident director is available to you, or whether the €25,000 Section 137 bond is the practical route, and plan the registered office and company secretary around that.

Incorporation and Revenue registration

We file the A1 with the CRO, then register the company for Corporation Tax, VAT (Domestic-only or Intra-EU), EORI, and PAYE if a director takes a salary.

Ongoing compliance from the UK

We handle the RBO filing, the first B1 annual return, and the CT1, so deadlines are met while you keep running the business from the UK.

Ireland vs UK: the numbers that matter

	Irish company	UK company
EU single market participation
Corporation Tax on trading profit	12.5%	19% to 25% (FY2026 bands, marginal relief in between)
Corporation Tax on rental or investment income	25%	25% (main rate)
VAT registration threshold	€42,500 (services) / €85,000 (goods)	£90,000 (rolling 12 months)
EEA-resident director required

EU single market participation

Irish company
UK company

Corporation Tax on trading profit

Irish company: 12.5%
UK company: 19% to 25% (FY2026 bands, marginal relief in between)

Corporation Tax on rental or investment income

Irish company: 25%
UK company: 25% (main rate)

VAT registration threshold

Irish company: €42,500 (services) / €85,000 (goods)
UK company: £90,000 (rolling 12 months)

EEA-resident director required

Irish company
UK company

12.5%

Corporation Tax on Irish trading profit

Revenue: Corporation Tax basis of charge →

19% to 25%

UK Corporation Tax range, FY2026

GOV.UK: Corporation Tax rates →

€25,000, minimum 2 years

Section 137 bond if no EEA-resident director

CRO: Company officers →

€50

CRO Form A1 incorporation fee (online)

CRO: Company fees →

When an Irish company actually solves your EU problem

It depends on what is actually causing the friction:

Losing service clients because of the UK's lost passporting or general EU access gaps: an Irish company, genuinely operating from Ireland, gives you real EU establishment and ordinary intra-EU VAT treatment on B2B services.
Paying tariffs or getting stuck in customs paperwork on goods: it depends on whether your goods meet the TCA rules of origin in the first place. An Irish company gives you an EU-wide EORI number, but it does not rewrite where your goods are actually made.
Wanting a lower tax rate on UK-earned profit: incorporating in Ireland does not move your UK trading activity into Ireland's tax net. HMRC and Revenue both look at where the trade genuinely happens.

Common mistakes:

Treating it as a letterbox company. A registered address with no real activity behind it does not deliver the tax or trade benefits, and it invites scrutiny.
Forgetting the EEA-resident director rule until the A1 is ready to file.
Assuming Northern Ireland's Windsor Framework covers services. It only covers goods.
Expecting UK operations to become EU-taxed automatically just because a second company now exists.

Start with a free, honest assessment

Tell us what is actually happening with your EU customers or suppliers, and what you are hoping an Irish company would fix. We will tell you plainly if it helps, what it does not solve, and what it would take to do it properly, before anything is billed.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Only the Irish company itself gets EU treatment, because it is established in an EU member state. Your existing UK company stays outside the single market. The Irish company needs genuine activity of its own, it is not a pass-through for your UK trade.

The company needs to hold a Section 137 bond worth €25,000, valid for at least two years, instead of an EEA-resident director. Once the company has a real trading history in Ireland, it can apply for a Section 140 certificate instead of renewing the bond.

For trading profit, usually yes. Ireland's 12.5% rate applies to trading income, while the UK's FY2026 rates run from 19% up to £50,000 of profit to 25% above £250,000. The gap is smaller on lower UK profits and wider once you are past the marginal relief band.

It does not move your existing UK sales, staff, or management into Ireland's tax net, and it does not fix Northern Ireland's Windsor Framework gap for services, which covers goods only. It needs genuine activity in Ireland to work, not just a registered address.

The 1976 Ireland-UK Double Taxation Convention, still in force, exists precisely to prevent that. It allocates taxing rights between the two countries so the same profit is not caught by both Revenue and HMRC, provided the structure is set up and reported correctly.

Filing Form A1 online costs €50. The CRO issues the Certificate of Incorporation within 5 working days on the Fe Phrainn scheme, or 10 working days on the ordinary online scheme. VAT, EORI, and Corporation Tax registration come after, as separate steps.

Real EU market access, if an Irish company is the right move for you