Accounting and company formation for Dublin businesses, fully online

Searching for accountants in Dublin who do the work as well as give advice? staxo is the complete team that runs management, bookkeeping and accounting for small Irish businesses, fully online and working day and night with AI. We serve Dublin from Ireland, with no office in the city. Company formation in Dublin, the weekly books, VAT returns, payroll and the year end sit with one team, and you approve every filing before it reaches Revenue or the CRO.

Dublin is one city shared by four councils. The CSO counted 1,263,219 people in Dublin city and suburbs in April 2022, and Dublin City Council, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown each set their own commercial rate and run their own Local Enterprise Office. The address of your premises decides your rates bill and where you apply for a grant. This page sets out each, with sources.

1,263,219 people lived in Dublin city and suburbs in April 2022 (CSO Census 2022)

Business in Dublin

Dublin runs mostly on services. In Census 2022, 663,526 residents of Dublin city and suburbs were in the labour force. Human health and social work was the biggest industry, with 70,742 people, ahead of wholesale and retail with 63,289. Professional, scientific and technical activities employed 58,497, information and communication 58,269 and financial and insurance activities 45,355. Behind those totals sit thousands of small firms: contractors fitting out offices, cafés on the quays, clinics, consultancies and couriers. County Dublin grew from 1,347,359 people in 2016 to 1,458,154 in 2022, a rise of 8.2%.

Health and education

Human health and social work is the largest industry among Dublin city residents in the labour force, with 70,742 people or 10.7%, and education adds 49,795 (7.5%). Trinity College Dublin says it is home to 22,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students on its city centre campus. Physiotherapists, tutors, carers and caterers work around these institutions, often self-employed.

Technology and professional services

Professional, scientific and technical activities (58,497 residents) and information and communication (58,269) each make up 8.8% of the city's labour force. The Digital Hub in the Liberties has supported digital enterprise for 20 years, and Dogpatch Labs runs a startup hub at CHQ on Custom House Quay. Freelancers here often sell abroad from their first invoice, so VAT on each sale matters early.

Financial services and the IFSC

Financial and insurance activities employ 45,355 residents of Dublin city and suburbs, 6.8% of the labour force. The International Financial Services Centre began in 1987 as an 11 hectare zone on reclaimed Docklands land and covered 37.8 hectares by 2018. Around it, small firms win contract work in IT support, cleaning, catering and office fit-outs, with strict purchase order rules.

Port, airport and logistics

Dublin Port handled 36 million gross tonnes in 2025, with 6,845 ship arrivals and 1,701,359 passengers. Dublin Airport had a record year of about 36.43 million passengers in 2025, up 5.1% on 2024, across roughly 255,000 flights. Transportation and storage employs 24,269 city residents. Hauliers, couriers and freight agents live on fuel receipts, tolls and customs paperwork.

Retail, hospitality and the city centre

Wholesale and retail trade accounts for 63,289 residents in the labour force (9.5%), and accommodation and food service for 31,247 (4.7%). In the city centre, Dublin City Council collects the Business Improvement District levy on behalf of Dublin Town alongside commercial rates, so a shop or café inside the district budgets for both. Mixed VAT rates make the VAT3 the return to watch.

What staxo does for a Dublin business

staxo is the complete team behind the management, bookkeeping and accounting of a small business in Dublin. We work fully online from Ireland, day and night with AI, and nothing goes to Revenue or the CRO until you approve it.

Bookkeeping in Dublin for a contractor on Docklands fit-outs

Cronin Electrical Ltd, our example electrical contractor, wires office fit-outs around the Docklands one month and rewires red brick terraces in Dublin 8 the next. Wholesaler receipts are photographed on site and sent to us. We match each one to the bank feed, invoice against the main contractor's purchase orders, track retentions and chase late payers, so you always know which job is earning.

VAT returns for a café on the quays

Harbour View Café, our example café, sits on the quays near Dublin Port and serves ferry passengers, port crews and office staff from early morning. Coffee, hot food and packaged goods carry different VAT rates. We split takings by rate, check that each purchase invoice supports the VAT you reclaim and prepare the VAT3 with a short note on what moved. You approve, we file on ROS.

Payroll for a clinic with a weekly rota

Blackrock Physio, our example clinic, runs early and evening sessions in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown for patients who commute into the city. Four physiotherapists, a receptionist and a rota that changes weekly. We register the clinic as an employer, run each pay period, issue payslips and report every pay run to Revenue on time. Nobody is paid until you sign off the run.

Year end, CT1 and the monthly numbers

Each month you see cash in the bank, money owed to you and the amount set aside for Revenue. When the financial year closes we prepare the accounts, the CT1 for corporation tax and the CRO annual return. A city centre company paying rates, the BID levy and VAT on a busy quarter sees the tax bill well before it falls due. You approve a one page summary, and we file.

Company formation in Dublin, filed online with the CRO

To start a business in Dublin you need no lease and no office. staxo forms a limited company online from €199 and registers a sole trader from €49. The CRO asks for a name that passes its check, each director's PPSN, a company secretary (a different person if you are the sole director), a registered office, a constitution and Form A1, with a CRO fee of about €50. The CRO's ordinary online A1 queue currently runs at about two weeks. Your flat in Rathmines or house in Clondalkin can be the registered office if post reaches you there.

Send us two or three names; we check each against the CRO register and flag any too close to an existing company.
Give us the director and secretary details, and each director's PPSN goes directly onto the CRO form.
Review the constitution and Form A1 we prepare, with your Dublin address as registered office, then approve them.
We file with the CRO and track the application until the certificate of incorporation is issued.
We register the company with Revenue for corporation tax, and for VAT and employer PAYE where they apply.

Once the certificate arrives, deadlines start running. Beneficial owners go on the RBO register within five months. The company registers with Revenue. Trading under another name means registering a business name with the CRO. The first annual return is made up to six months after incorporation. We diary each date and file once you approve.

Which LEO a new Dublin company uses depends on where it is based: Dublin City at the Civic Offices, Fingal at County Hall in Swords, South Dublin at WorkIQ in Tallaght, or Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at County Hall on Marine Road. All four run Start Your Own Business training and mentoring, and LEO South Dublin runs an 8 session course; check the next start date on its site.

How company formation works in Ireland · Register a business online

Local Enterprise Office and supports

LEO Dublin City works from the Civic Offices, Block 4, Floor 1, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F (01 222 5611). It offers the Feasibility Grant, the Business Start Up Grant (Priming), the Business Expansion Grant, the Start Your Own Business course, mentoring, Innovation Vouchers, and access to Microfinance Ireland loans and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. Firms outside the city council area apply to LEO Fingal, South Dublin or Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Local Enterprise Office Dublin City · Dublin Chamber · The Digital Hub · Dogpatch Labs · WorkIQ Tallaght

Rates, the council and Revenue

Dublin City Council sets commercial rates in the city, and its Annual Rate on Valuation for 2026 is 0.289, up from 0.282 in 2025. Your bill is the Tailte Éireann valuation of the premises multiplied by that rate: the council's example is €10,000 times 0.289, or €2,890. Fingal sets 0.1868, South Dublin 0.280 and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 0.214, each applied to its own valuation list.

We found no current Revenue page naming a regional office for Dublin. The public office is the Dublin Central Revenue Information Office, Cathedral Street, Dublin 1, open weekdays 09:30 to 13:30. A company registers through ROS when a tax agent acts, otherwise on Form TR2. Sole traders use myAccount, ROS or Form TR1. Queries go through MyEnquiries.

Nearby towns we also serve

The same team and the same books follow you if you trade across County Dublin or open in a second town.

Starting a business in County Dublin · All towns we serve

Guides

Plain guides for Irish owners on the filings that come up most.

Accountants in Dublin: your questions

Which council sets commercial rates for my Dublin premises?

It depends on the address. Dublin City Council set an Annual Rate on Valuation of 0.289 for 2026, Fingal 0.1868, South Dublin 0.280 and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 0.214. Multiply the Tailte Éireann valuation of your premises by your council's rate. In the city, the 2026 bill fell due in full on 1 January, monthly direct debit is available, and vacant premises get no reduction.

Which Local Enterprise Office do I use in Dublin?

The one for the council area where the business is based. LEO Dublin City is at the Civic Offices, Dublin 8 (01 222 5611). LEO Fingal is at County Hall, Swords (01 8900 800). LEO South Dublin is at WorkIQ in Tallaght (01 4149215). LEO Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown is at County Hall, Marine Road ((01) 204 7083). All four offer the main grants and mentoring.

Do I need an office to set up a company in Dublin?

No. The CRO needs a registered office in the State where post can be delivered, and your Dublin home can be it. staxo forms a limited company online from €199, the CRO fee for Form A1 is about €50, and the ordinary online queue is currently around two weeks. Dogpatch Labs, the Digital Hub and WorkIQ Tallaght offer desks when you need one.

How do I register as a sole trader in Dublin?

Get a PPSN first. For income tax only, register in myAccount. For VAT or employer PAYE as well, register in ROS; Form TR1 is the paper route. Revenue calls online registration the fastest. Trading under a name other than your own also needs a CRO business name. staxo registers you from €49 and keeps the books from your first invoice.

Where is the Revenue office in Dublin?

The Dublin Central Revenue Information Office is on Cathedral Street, Dublin 1, D01 DC78, open Monday to Friday from 09:30 to 13:30. An appointment is optional, and people who have one get priority. Revenue asks you to try MyEnquiries and its phonelines first. When staxo acts as your tax agent, we correspond with Revenue through ROS for you.

Can I claim the Living City Initiative on a Dublin building?

Possibly. The Living City Initiative gives tax relief on refurbishing or converting residential or commercial buildings in the Special Regeneration Areas of Dublin city centre, and of five other city centres. There are three reliefs: owner occupier residential, rented residential and commercial. The scheme ends on 31 December 2027, so read Revenue's conditions and talk to us before work starts.

Is there a chamber of commerce for Dublin businesses?

Yes, three. Dublin Chamber says it represents over 1,000 businesses across the Greater Dublin Area and issues export documents such as certificates of origin and ATA Carnets. Fingal Chamber covers North Dublin, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Chamber says it represents more than 500 companies.

Sources and last reviewed

Last reviewed 2026-10-16. Rates, grants and hub details change, so check the source before you act on a figure.

Start or run your Dublin business with staxo

Company formation in Ireland · Online accounting · Sole trader accounting · Limited company accounting · VAT returns · Pricing