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Tax for Technology Businesses

Ireland is prime location to base a tech business. The 12.5% Corporation Tax rate for trading income is amongst the lowest in the EU. On top of this there is a highly skilled workforce on hand to facilitate growth, and generous tax credits and reliefs available for tech companies across all stages of the business lifecycle.

At Moore, we have a department dedicated to your tax needs, with a focus on the reliefs and credits that you can best avail of.  

Early Stage Ventures

For those starting a business we can advise on the applicability of the Startup Refunds for Entrepreneurs Scheme (“SURE”) to your business and circumstances. SURE is a scheme which allows a refund of Income Tax paid in previous years for those starting a business. Additionally, |Start Up Companies Relief allows for full tax relief for Corporation Tax liabilities of up to €40,000 in the first 3 years of trading, and partial relief on Corporation Tax liabilities between €40,000 - €60,000. If you are thinking or have started a tech business please go to our Start-up webpage here, for more information on how we can assist you. 

To ensure you get off to a good start and have all the resources available to you to succeed in your new venture we have also formulated a 2 year programme specially designed to support start-ups through these formative years. This is programme is called “Hatched by Moore” more details of which can be found here.

High Growth Companies
For those tech companies that have already established themselves and need to reach the next level of their growth potential we can help you to reach your goals. We can advise you on implementing a tax efficient Enterprise Investment Incentive Scheme (“EIIS”) to help you attract new investors to fund your ambitions. 

At this time, founders may look to introduce employee share schemes to lock in talent, reward growth, and achieve the best investment and exit valuations. There are many different available options for share incentives with different tax treatments. Our share scheme page offers more information on these and how we can help you to introduce the right scheme for your business. 

When bringing in new shareholders, founders and owners may also wish to review their corporate structures and the arrangements of their own shareholdings. We specialise is working with founders and owners to structure their interests in such a way that they will best avail of the tax reliefs available when it comes to realising value from their company. We focus on allowing shareholders to efficiently benefit from the wealth they have created through their hard work. 

Creating & Exploiting Technology
Ireland actively encourages innovators. Research & Development (“R&D”) grants are available from various government sources, as well as a generous R&D tax credit regime. Ireland’s R&D tax credit allows a properly well managed and documented claim to qualify for tax credits of 25% of the qualifying R&D spend. There are strict time limits in force regarding these claims and so it is best to start preparing a claim as soon as R&D is undertaken. Our R&D tax credit page set out more information on this area.  

For software and innovative intellectual property (“IP”) created in Ireland, the new Knowledge Development Box (“KDB”) scheme can apply to income derived from the exploitation of this technology. The relief subjects IP profits to a low effective Corporation Tax rate of just 6.25%. This relief is on top of the R&D tax credit that may already have been claimed on the development of the IP. We set out further information on this relief on our KDB page. 

For those tech companies growing through the acquisition of trades or IP rights, there are advantageous capital allowance treatments that can be availed of in relation to intangible assets. This relief can see the entire cost of acquired IP written down as a deduction for tax purposes against income from the IP over either 15 years or at the same rate it is depreciated in the company’s accounts.   

Tax Compliance
We can also assist tech companies with their day-to-day tax compliance obligations. This can involve the preparation and submission of:
 
  • VAT returns;
  • Payroll filings;
  • Corporation Tax returns; and
  • Withholding Tax returns,
allowing you to focus on your core skills as a business, without the hassle and expense of specialised administration. 

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your business and plans with you, and discuss how we can add value. Please drop our technology team an email at TechTeam@MooreIreland.ie and we can arrange a convenient time to talk about your operations and goals.