What is a Personal Limited Company? 

A Personal Limited Company is a separate legal entity from an individual shareholder and Director, where the shareholder is only responsible for the debts and liabilities of the company to the extent of their unpaid share capital. Personal assets of directors or shareholders cannot be seized to pay off Company debts, with the exception of extreme cases where Directors are considered to have been trading recklessly.

Why set up a Personal Limited Company?

For professionals whose vision is to contract long term, setting up a Personal Limited Company offers the opportunity to operate in the most tax efficient way possible.

A Personal Limited Company provides the ability to employ staff or sub-contractors, claim business expenses, pension plan and have greater control over the management and frequency of wages and salaries.

As a Director and Shareholder of your Company, you dictate your salary requirements and payroll only what you require with the ability to leave funds within your Company for future investment.
 

Setting up my Personal Limited Company

Before setting up a Personal Limited Company, you must decide on the structure of your Company.

Your company can take the form of a Company Limited by Shares or a Designated Activity Company

A Company Limited by Shares

A Company Limited by Shares can be set up by one Director and a Secretary; however the Director and Secretary cannot  be the one person.

Directors and Secretaries of a Company Limited by Shares must be a minimum of 18 years.

Your Company name must end with Limited” or “Ltd” or “Teoranta”.

A Company Limited by Shares will have full unlimited capacity to undertake business with no objects clause.

A Designated Activity Company

A Designated Activity Company requires a minimum of 2 Directors for the Company.

Limited Companies and contractors who need an objects clause will need register as a Designated Activity Company.

The need of an objects clause relates to a section in the memorandum of association that describes the objectives for which the Company was formed.

This typically relates to Companies providing the services of insurance / banks.

A Designated Activity Company must have the words Designated Activity Company’ or ‘DAC’ as part of the Company name.

Unlike a Company Limited by Shares, a Designated Activity Company must hold an AGM.

Setting up my Personal Limited Company

Setting up a Personal Limited Company is simple process involving 3 key stages:
 

1) Company Incorporation

Our express service enables the incorporation of a Company within 3-5 working days. A fee of €249 + VAT applies for the incorporation of all new Companies. In order to have a Personal Limited Company incorporated the following information is required:

• Company Name
  The name of your Company must be unique and clearly distinguishable from all other Irish Registered Companies. Company names which include the words of ‘bank’, ‘insurance’, and ‘group’ require special permission. A brief outline of the Company activities should also be outlined.
   

• Registered Office
  A Registered Office is required for a Personal Limited Company, which must be located in the Republic of Ireland. This address can be your residential address; however the trading address of the Company may be different from it's registered office.
   

• Directors / Shareholders
  A minimum of two Directors are required for a Designated Activity Company. At least one of the proposed Directors of the company must be resident within the European Economic Area (EEA). Only one Director is required for a
   

• Company Limited by Share.
  Payment for the Company Incorporation must be paid in full prior to our office managing the application.

2) Tax Registration

A Personal Limited Company must be registered for three main taxes: PAYE, VAT and Corporation Tax. In addition to this, any directors or shareholders will need to register for a self assessment tax return. All tax registrations are completed by Icon Accounting. Please note VAT registration can take a number of weeks depending on the local Revenue District.

3) Bank Account

Following from the Company Incorporation, a business bank account must be opened for the Company. The Business Bank Account must be opened by the Directors of the Limited Company in order to receive money from trading. It is not possible to use an existing Personal Bank Account for the Company. Some key items to consider when choosing a business bank account include: charges/fees, telephone banking, online banking, interest and testimonials.