Revenue Commissioners
Section 486C Start-Up Corporation Tax Relief
aka Section 486C, Three-year start-up relief
Up to three years' relief from corporation tax for new companies, scaled by the employer's PRSI paid on staff salaries.
Up to EUR40,000 of CT relief per year for three years (linked to employer PRSI paid)
Last reviewed May 2026
What this scheme funds
Section 486C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 gives a new trading company relief from corporation tax in its first three years, up to a ceiling that broadly tracks the employer's PRSI it has paid on staff salaries (up to EUR40,000 of employer PRSI per year forms the practical ceiling, equating to roughly EUR40,000 in CT relief annually, with marginal relief on profits between the cap and a higher threshold). Unused relief can be carried forward into later years. The relief is intended to incentivise new companies that hire actual employees - it is of limited benefit to a single-founder consultancy with no PRSI bill. Finance Act 2021 extended the carry-forward and adjusted the look-back rules; founders should always check Revenue's TDM Part 15-03-03 against their facts.
Application window
Claimed via the corporation tax return (CT1)
Who can apply
- •New company incorporated and trading on or after 14 October 2008
- •Carries on a qualifying new trade not previously carried on by another party
- •Not a service business excluded by the legislation (e.g. mining, dealing in land)
- •Pays employer PRSI on staff or directors (the relief is capped by PRSI paid)
How it typically funds software
- •Cashflow relief in years one to three lets the business invest in software and headcount sooner
Software categories this can fund
Related grants
Revenue Commissioners
Start-Up Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE)
Income tax refund of up to 41% on cash invested into a new Irish company, claimed back from PAYE paid in the previous six years.
Revenue Commissioners
R&D Tax Credit
30% refundable tax credit on qualifying research and development expenditure, claimed via the company's annual corporation tax return.
Related glossary terms
Corporation Tax (CT1)
The annual Corporation Tax return filed by Irish resident companies through ROS. Trading income is taxed at 12.5% (or 15% for large groups in scope of Pillar Two); passive income and certain non-trading profits are taxed at 25%.
PAYE Modernisation
Ireland's real-time payroll reporting regime, introduced by Revenue on 1 January 2019. Every payroll run must submit data to Revenue on or before the date employees are paid.