Europe · LTD
Cost to register a company in Ireland
Ireland is cheap to file but not cheap to maintain for a non-resident. The government fee is just €50 online and there is no notary deed and no minimum capital to lock up, so the headline barrier is low. The real cost is the support stack you cannot skip from abroad: a mandatory company secretary, an Irish registered office plus EEA business address, an accountant for the annual return and CT1 — and, if no director is EEA-resident, the Section 137 bond (roughly €1,500–€2,500 every two years). That bond and the secretary are the line items that make Ireland meaningfully pricier to run than a UK Ltd.
- Country
- Ireland
- Topic
- Cost breakdown
- Reviewed
- June 2026
By the Lanzamo Editorial Team · Reviewed June 2026 · How we research
| Item | One-time | Recurring | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government incorporation fee | $55 | — | €50 online via CORE for Form A1 + constitution; paper filing costs more. |
| Name reservation (optional) | $0–$30 | — | €25 to reserve a name for 28 days on CORE; not extra if you incorporate within the window. |
| Notary / apostille (VIF for IPN) | $0–$200 | — | No notarial deed for incorporation, but a non-resident director with no PPS may need a notarised/apostilled VIF to get an IPN. |
| Registered office + EEA business address | — | $160–$440 | €150–€400/yr from an agent; both an Irish registered office and an EEA correspondence address are mandatory. |
| Company secretary service | — | $200–$550 | Mandatory for every LTD; a sole director needs a separate secretary, so non-residents pay for a professional secretary (~€200–€500/yr). |
| Section 137 non-resident bond | — | $1,650–$2,750 / 2 yrs | Only if no director is EEA-resident: €25,000 cover, premium ~€1,500–€2,500 for the two-year term, then renew. |
| Annual return (Form B1) | — | $22 | €20 online via CORE with financial statements annexed; first B1 is 6 months after incorporation with no accounts. |
| Accountant — accounts + CT1 | — | $900–$3,000 | Typical for a small non-resident-owned LTD; covers statutory financial statements, the B1 accounts and the CT1 return. |
| VAT registration & returns | — | $0–$700 | Registration is free; ongoing cost is the accountant's fee for periodic VAT returns, only if you must register. |
| Formation agent package (typical) | $300–$700 | — | Bundles name check, A1 filing, registered office, secretary setup and (often) bond arrangement — what most non-residents actually buy. |
Realistic all-in first year
$900 – $6,500
After year one the €50 incorporation fee and any one-off VIF/agent setup drop away, but Ireland's recurring base is structurally higher than the UK's: the company secretary (~$200–$550/yr), the registered office + EEA address (~$160–$440/yr), the €20 annual return, and the accountant (~$900–$3,000/yr). If you have no EEA-resident director, add the Section 137 bond renewal (~$1,650–$2,750 every two years). Budget roughly $1,300–$4,500 a year ongoing without a bond, or noticeably more with one — call it $4,000–$14,000 over three years all-in. Appointing an EEA-resident director removes the bond and is usually the single biggest saving.
Frequently asked questions
What's the absolute minimum it costs to start an Irish company?
€50 for the CORE online filing, plus a mandatory Irish registered office and a company secretary, neither of which a non-resident can self-supply for free. Realistically a bare-bones non-resident incorporation through an agent runs a few hundred euro before any bond — and if no director is EEA-resident, the Section 137 bond adds roughly €1,500–€2,500 on top.
Is the Section 137 bond a recurring cost?
Yes. The bond runs for a two-year term and must be renewed to stay compliant, so a wholly non-EEA-directed company pays the ~€1,500–€2,500 premium every two years. You can eliminate it by appointing an EEA-resident director, or later by obtaining a real-and-continuous-link certificate once the company genuinely operates in Ireland — both remove the renewal cost entirely.
Do I have to deposit any share capital?
No. There is no minimum paid-in capital. The standard structure is a single €1 issued ordinary share — a nominal figure, not cash you must wire before incorporating. This matches the UK and beats jurisdictions like Germany, where a GmbH requires €25,000 (half paid up).
Why is Ireland more expensive to run than the UK?
Two structural items: Ireland mandates a company secretary (the UK abolished it for private companies) and, if no director is EEA-resident, the Section 137 bond. Add a higher accounting burden from mandatory financial statements, and the recurring cost lands above a UK Ltd. Appointing an EEA-resident director removes the bond and narrows the gap considerably.
Sources
- CRO — Required steps to register a company (official)
- CRO — Company registration methods (CORE / Form A1)
- CRO — Company officers: directors and secretaries
- Revenue — Application for statement under section 140 (real-and-continuous-link)
- Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO) — official FAQs
- PwC Tax Summaries — Ireland corporate income tax (12.5% / 25%)
- PwC Tax Summaries — Ireland withholding taxes (DWT)
- PwC Tax Summaries — Ireland tax credits and incentives (R&D, start-up relief)
- CompanyFormations.ie — Section 137 non-EEA director bond
- Arthur Cox — Directors required to provide PPS numbers to the CRO
More on Ireland
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See Ireland next to 12 other startup-friendly jurisdictions — fee, tax, capital and the resident-director catch — in one table.
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