If you have paid Income Tax through employment and are preparing to start your own company, SURE is worth discussing before the investment and launch dates are fixed. It may return some Income Tax to a qualifying entrepreneur, but it is not money awarded simply for registering an LTD.
This guide is a preparation checklist for a prospective founder, not a claim calculation or eligibility opinion. Official guidance was checked on 24 October 2026, including Revenue's current dedicated SURE manual. Do not resign, commit savings or promise a refund to a co-founder based only on a general article; get advice on your actual history and proposed venture.
Separate a personal tax refund from a grant or company tax saving
SURE concerns Income Tax paid by the individual. A company formation creates a legal entity; a grant application seeks support under its own programme; and Corporation Tax relief concerns a company's liability. Keep those funding and tax questions separate in the business plan.
Revenue describes start-up Corporation Tax relief under a different set of conditions. A possible company tax saving is not evidence that the founder can obtain SURE. Equally, a founder's employment history does not establish the company's entitlement to a grant or its tax treatment.
Create separate lines in your forecast for founder investment, customer receipts, any approved finance and any tax refund that has actually been assessed. Do not add several maximum support figures together and treat the total as money already available.
| Question | Separate route |
|---|---|
| My earlier Income Tax? | Assess SURE |
| Company's tax on profits? | Assess company CT relief |
| Agency funding? | Check that programme |
| Legal entity creation? | CRO incorporation |
Review the personal eligibility before fixing the launch date
Revenue's public overview highlights mainly PAYE income in the previous four years and full-time employment in the new company as a director or employee. Bring the adviser a year-by-year income history rather than a rough statement that you have 'always been on PAYE'.
Include other income, periods without employment, existing company interests, the planned investment date and when you expect to start the new role. Ask which assessment years and detailed tests apply to your situation. A high total salary across several years does not by itself answer every condition.
The detailed rules include a 12-month full-time employment period, a limited exception for other employment of no more than ten hours weekly, and shareholding tests. Have the adviser check the required minimum holding and interests in other companies. Treat this as screening, not permission to retain an unrestricted outside job.
A newly incorporated company is not necessarily a qualifying new venture
The company and its activities need assessment as well as the founder. Revenue's manual distinguishes a genuinely new venture from an existing trade moved into a new company. Continuing an established sole trade or buying an existing business is not made new merely by a fresh CRO number.
Give the adviser a clear business history: what is new, whether customers, assets or operations come from an earlier business, and any dealings with a former employer. Explain related companies and investors rather than presenting only the new entity in isolation.
Prepare a business plan showing the product or service, intended customers, team and proposed use of funds. The National Enterprise Hub describes the investment as supporting the business plan and relevant employment or pre-trading R&D purposes. Do not select a business description or NACE code solely because it sounds eligible.
Distinguish cash for new shares from a loan or purchase from another founder
Revenue's overview describes a cash investment by purchasing new shares in the company. That is different from paying an existing shareholder for their shares, lending money on an informal understanding, or spending personally on equipment without a documented subscription.
Before making the payment, agree who receives the cash, the shares being issued and the supporting documents. Ask the tax adviser to assess the proposed investment route, including any existing director's loan, instead of assuming every balance can be reclassified later. A bank reference saying 'investment' is not a complete legal or tax record.
Keep the agreed share structure consistent with the constitution, subscription documents, register of members and certificates. CRO's share-capital guidance explains the company-law records; it does not certify SURE eligibility. Formation share instructions and the tax-advised funding plan should be coordinated, not left to contradict each other.
Check company readiness and clearance without confusing them with approval
The current manual includes company tax clearance among the qualifying-company conditions. Revenue describes a Tax Clearance Certificate as confirmation that tax affairs are in order, with connected parties also considered. It is not a certificate that a SURE investment satisfies every condition.
Ask who will handle company tax registration, access to Revenue services, payroll setup where required and clearance work. Identify any missing information early. The formation provider, accountant and founder should each know which part of the process they own.
Build a short evidence file with the company's registration details, business plan, ownership information, investment record and the advice received. Keep personal tax records secure and share them through the adviser's appropriate process, not in public CRO filings or a general website enquiry.
Plan the claim route and supporting statement
For relevant shares issued from 2019, Revenue's claim page describes obtaining a Statement of Qualification from the company and checking the investor's own conditions. The founder's responsibility is not discharged merely because the company supplies that statement.
The same current page describes the appropriate Income Tax return and MyEnquiries routes. Agree the filing method with the adviser for your investment and assessment years; do not follow an old checklist referring to historic certificates without checking whether it applies.
Ask for a written claim schedule listing the relevant years, supporting tax records, investment evidence and any information the company must provide. Confirm who prepares the company's statement and related obligations, who makes the personal claim and what happens if Revenue requests clarification. Do not promise a processing date that has not been confirmed.
Budget around the investment, not an assumed refund
The National Enterprise Hub explains that the refund depends on previous Income Tax and the qualifying investment. It is not automatically the amount invested, a refund of every payroll deduction, or an amount available before the claim is properly made.
Consider a fictional founder with EUR 10,000 of available launch funding and a EUR 14,000 initial spending plan. The EUR 4,000 gap remains a funding problem unless a real, timely source is established. Writing 'SURE refund' beside the gap does not prove eligibility, amount or receipt date. This is a cash-flow example, not a relief calculation.
Use a base case that the business can understand without an unconfirmed refund, then show a separate conditional scenario after the adviser models the actual claim. Keep personal living costs and the company's operating commitments visible. Avoid using money that must remain available for tax, payroll or essential bills on the assumption it will be quickly replaced.
Keep conditions under review after the first claim
Revenue's overview requires the purchased shares to be retained for at least four years. The detailed rules also address circumstances in which relief can be withdrawn. A successful initial claim is not a permanent clearance for every subsequent transaction.
Before an early share sale, restructuring, repayment or other significant change, ask whether the SURE position needs review. Preserve the investment documents and advice alongside the company's ordinary records. Do not assume that a transaction described as an internal tidy-up is irrelevant.
Make the monitoring practical. Put the relevant dates in the compliance diary, tell the accountant that SURE has been claimed and flag proposed ownership or funding changes before signing them. This avoids discovering a possible clawback issue only when the year-end accounts are being prepared.
Prepare an adviser-ready checklist and then choose formation support
Start with a one-page chronology and the questions below. The objective is an informed go-or-no-go assessment, not collecting a pile of documents before anyone has checked whether the basic venture and founder profile fit.
StartCompany.ie's published LTD packages provide the listed incorporation support. They do not guarantee SURE eligibility, calculate your personal refund or include a specialist SURE claim unless that scope is expressly agreed. Compare current inclusions and total payable only after the structure and investment plan are clear.
Where the review identifies a problem, adjust the launch plan on its commercial merits rather than creating artificial transactions to chase relief. A company should be viable as a real business, with reliable records and appropriate advice, whether or not the expected tax support is ultimately available.
- Prepare the personal income history and existing company interests.
- Explain what makes the proposed trade new and disclose earlier activity.
- Agree employment plans, investment timing and the intended shareholding.
- Get advice before paying, converting a loan or issuing shares.
- Assign company clearance, statement and personal claim responsibilities.
- Model funding without an unconfirmed refund and diary ongoing conditions.
StartCompany.ie service
Irish Company Formation Packages
Official information and next steps
Official sources checked on 24 October 2026. The linked current SURE manual is Part 16-00-05. This guide is non-exhaustive preparation material, not a refund calculation, eligibility decision or promise of approval.
- Revenue: SURE overview and general conditions
- Revenue: current SURE manual, Part 16-00-05
- National Enterprise Hub: SURE support overview
- Revenue: claiming relief for shares issued from 2019
- Revenue: Tax Clearance Certificates and connected parties
- Revenue: separate Corporation Tax relief for new companies
- CRO: the company as a separate legal entity
- CRO: share capital and company records