You can get information on PRSI for the self-employed from your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office. When you register with Revenue (see ‘Paying tax as a self-employed person’ above), you are automatically registered for Class S PRSI. If you earn less than €5,000 from self-employment in a year, you are exempt from paying Class S PRSI but you may pay €500 as a voluntary contributor. This entitles you to a limited range of social insurance payments (for example, you are not covered for any short-term payments, including illness and disability payments).Ĭlass S PRSI contributions are paid at a rate of 4% on all income, or €500, whichever is the greater.

If you are self-employed, you pay Class S PRSI contributions. If you are a self-employed subcontractor working in construction, forestry or meat processing, you can get detailed information about Relevant Contracts Tax on the Revenue website. You must register for Value Added Tax (VAT) if your annual turnover exceeds (or is likely to exceed) the following annual limits: This is called the Start Up Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE) scheme. You may be entitled to a refund of PAYE income tax that you paid over the 6 years before you started a business. Get a refund of previously-paid PAYE income tax Read more about claiming for business expenses on the Revenue website. You can claim certain business expenses against tax, as well as your contributions to your personal pension.įor example, you can claim for expenses directly linked to your business, such as: However, if you also qualify for the PAYE tax credit (for example, if you are an employee of another company, as well as working for yourself), the combined value of these 2 tax credits cannot be more than €1,875. A tax credit worth 20% of your qualifying earned income.In 2024, self-employed traders can claim the lower of either: Tax relief (the Earned Income tax credit) You must also keep supporting records, such as invoices, bank and building society statements, and receipts. All amounts received and all amounts paid out.All purchases and sales of goods and services.Read more about paying tax as a self-employed person. Pay any balance of tax due for the previous year.File your annual tax return for the previous year.Pay your preliminary tax for that year (see explanation above).You will be charged interest for any late payments. This means you pay preliminary tax (an estimate of your income tax, PRSI and Universal Social Charge due for the current year) on or before 31 October each year. When you are registered with Revenue as a self-employed person, you pay income tax, PRSI and the Universal Social Charge under the self-assessment system. Find more information about registering for tax as a sole trader on the Revenue website. You will then get a ‘Notice of Registration’ confirming that you are registered for income tax and, if applicable, for VAT. You can also use this paper form to register for VAT. If you cannot register online, you can register using the paper tax registration form TR1 (pdf). To set up as a sole trader, you must register for income tax with Revenue as a self-employed sole trader, using the Revenue Online Service (also called ‘ROS’). If you are a non-EEA national, you can read about coming to set up a business or invest in Ireland. Read about the different types of business structures, including how to set up a business (or ‘partnership’) with other people. If you want to keep your personal assets and business assets separate, you can set up a ‘limited company’ instead. Set up a business without becoming a ‘sole trader’ However, if your business fails, your personal assets could be used to pay back your creditors (people or organisation your business owes money to).

It is relatively easy to become a sole trader (see ‘How to become a sole trader’ below).

Regularly sell goods or services to make a profit.

Run your own business and are responsible for its successes and failures.

In general, you are a self-employed sole trader if you: A sole trader is when you set up a business on your own. When you start working for yourself, you are classed as ‘self-employed’ and a ‘sole trader’.

Sales invoices definition