Revenue Commissioners
Start-Up Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE)
aka SURE, SURE Scheme
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.
Refund of income tax paid (typically 41% of qualifying investment, capped by past PAYE)
Last reviewed May 2026
What this scheme funds
SURE lets a PAYE worker who leaves employment to start a new company claim back income tax paid in any of the six tax years before the year of investment, against the cash they put into their new business. The relief is calculated at the founder's marginal rate (up to 41% combined with USC effects), capped by the amount of qualifying investment (up to EUR700,000 over seven years) and by the income tax actually paid in the look-back years. The founder must take up full-time employment in the new company within 12 months, hold at least 15% of the issued share capital, and the company must be a new, unquoted Irish company carrying on a qualifying trade. Used well, SURE can convert most of a founder's own seed cash into a refund cheque from Revenue within a few months of incorporation.
Application window
Rolling - claim once the qualifying investment is made
Who can apply
- •Was mainly a PAYE worker for at least three of the previous five years
- •Forms a new, unquoted Irish company carrying on a qualifying trade
- •Takes up full-time employment in the new company
- •Holds at least 15% of the issued share capital for at least 12 months
- •Invests new share capital that the company uses for the qualifying trade
How it typically funds software
- •Founder's SURE refund frequently funds first-year accounting, payroll, CRM and hosting costs
Worth knowing
Independent professional advice is strongly recommended - SURE interacts with the Employment Investment Incentive (EII) and the qualifying-trade rules can disqualify some service businesses.
Software categories this can fund
Related grants
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Section 486C Start-Up Corporation Tax Relief
Up to three years' relief from corporation tax for new companies, scaled by the employer's PRSI paid on staff salaries.
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R&D Tax Credit
30% refundable tax credit on qualifying research and development expenditure, claimed via the company's annual corporation tax return.
Enterprise Ireland
New Frontiers Programme
Six-month entrepreneur development programme delivered through Institutes of Technology and Technological Universities, including a tax-free stipend of EUR15,000 in Phase 2.