Contractor wealth management and tax-efficient planning for Irish directors

A contractor wealth management review looks at how your company, your personal income and your long-term goals fit together. We review how you are paid, how much surplus is building up in the company, your pension and protection, and any tax you could be paying unnecessarily. You then get a clear plan to turn company profits into personal wealth. The first call is free and we explain our fees before you commit.

Directors typically combine salary, dividends and employer pension contributions. Salary is taxed under PAYE, USC and PRSI. Dividends come from profits after corporation tax and carry income tax and USC but not PRSI. Employer pension contributions and correctly structured protection can be deductible business costs and are not treated as a taxable benefit for you, subject to Revenue limits. The best mix depends on your circumstances, and we model it with your accountant.

Running payroll, which means paying a director’s salary through PAYE and reporting to Revenue, is normally handled by your accountant or a payroll provider. We are a financial planning practice rather than a payroll provider. We work with your accountant to decide how much to take as salary, dividends and pension, so your payroll is set up around the plan. If you currently work through an umbrella company, the umbrella runs your payroll, and we can help you compare that with your own limited company.

We give financial planning advice on how to structure your pension, protection and the way you take money from your company. Preparing and filing your contractor tax return and company accounts is normally done by your accountant, and we work alongside them. Any personal pension contributions you make are usually claimed through your tax return, so we make sure your accountant has the details they need.

Contractors often rely on a company bank account, which exposes surplus cash to inflation and tax inefficiency. A long-term plan moves part of the surplus into a pension through company contributions, protects your income and family, and invests the rest in a way that suits your risk and tax position. We build the plan around your company’s profits and review it as your income changes.

Yes. Through a Relevant Life Policy, your company can pay the premiums and claim them as a business expense. Crucially, this is typically not treated as a Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) for you, meaning you save on the personal income tax you’d have paid to cover the policy privately.

Under current 2026 rules, your company can make significant contributions to your PRSA with no BIK for the employee and full Corporation Tax relief for the business, one of the most efficient ways to extract wealth from your company without hitting the 52% marginal tax rate.

Your pension assets are yours. If you cease contracting, your PRSA or Master Trust can be made paid-up or transferred into a Personal Retirement Bond (PRB). We ensure your wealth remains portable and optimised, regardless of how your employment status changes.

In many cases, as a director, you can access your pension from age 50 onwards if you’ve severed ties with the company. This is a complex area involving Revenue’s “Leaving Service” rules, and we provide the forensic planning required to execute this correctly.

Undistributed investment income and certain estate income within a close company can attract a 20% surcharge if not distributed within 18 months of the accounting period end. Active trading companies enjoy exemptions on trading income, but proper structural planning, such as investing surplus trading capital into qualifying business assets, pensions, or tax-efficient corporate investments, is vital to prevent unnecessary tax penalties.