Umbrella vs Limited Company Calculator

Day rate (€)

Typical Irish IT contractor day rates: €350-€800.

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Days billed per year

220 = 11 months at 20 days, allowing 4 weeks unbilled.

Annual business expenses (€) - limited company

Accountancy, equipment, software, training, mobile, home office. Typical €3,500-€8,000.

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E-working allowance (€) - umbrella

Umbrella schemes restrict expenses to Revenue's e-working/home office allowance. Capped at €350.

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Annual pension contribution (€)

Umbrella: personal AVC (age-banded, 15% under 30 up to 40% at 60+). Ltd Co: routed as an employer contribution via the company (the realistic mechanism at a €20k salary). Combined Ltd Co employer cap: €40k - any excess is ignored.

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Umbrella monthly fee (€)

Typical Irish umbrella admin fee: €80-€150/month.

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Ltd Co director salary (€)

Optimal salary uses the Personal Tax Credit and Employee Tax Credit in full. Default €20,000.

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Dividend extraction this year (50%)

50% (default) = take half as dividend, retain half. 100% = extract all after-tax profit now. Lower = retain in company to defer personal tax.

0% (retain all)100% (extract all)

How to credit retained earnings in the headline

Retained Ltd Co profit is real value, but it has not yet been personally taxed. Pick how the calculator should credit it in the take-home total. The 70% midpoint is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee - your actual recovery depends on whether you extract via dividend (marginal rate ~52%), Entrepreneur Relief (10% CGT, lifetime cap €1m), Retirement Relief (0% CGT to €750k post-55), or pension tax-free lump sum (first €200k).

Exclude retained earnings (strict same-year view)Show retained profit in the breakdown but credit zero in the headline. Honest if you genuinely do not know when you will extract.Credit retained earnings at 70% (recommended midpoint)Models a mix of future extraction paths. Sits between worst-case marginal dividend (~48% survives) and best-case Entrepreneur Relief / pension lump sum (~90% survives). The default for most contractors.Credit retained earnings at 90% (long-term retention)Assumes eventual extraction via Entrepreneur Relief (10% CGT) or Retirement Relief (0% CGT to €750k). Realistic if you intend to grow a saleable business or retain to retirement.

Ltd Co employer pension top-up (€)

Ltd Co only. Adds to the contribution above. No BIK, no PRSI, no USC, fully deductible against CT. Combined cap (this + the contribution above) is €40,000.

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Why this lever matters

Employer pension is the single biggest structural advantage of a Ltd Co for contractors. Personal pension is capped by age (15-40% of salary). Employer pension is capped only by the Standard Fund Threshold (€2m lifetime). For most contractors, dialling this up shifts the result decisively in the Ltd Co's favour.

Marital status

Age bracket (for pension limit)