Your Company Is Formed — Now What? The First-Year Compliance Calendar
Your company is formed — now what? Follow the first-year compliance calendar for Irish companies: RBO, B1, tax registrations, VAT and corporation tax, in order.
- Author
- Abbey Blue Formations
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- Reading time
- 5 min read
Incorporation is the starting line, not the finish. From the day your certificate of incorporation issues, a series of statutory clocks begins to run — some measured in weeks, some in months, and several with real financial penalties attached. This guide sets out the first-year compliance calendar for a new Irish company in the order the deadlines actually fall, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
The first month: registrations and foundations
The earliest tasks are about connecting your new company to the systems it will report through for the rest of its life.
- Confirm your registered office and statutory registers. Your company must maintain a registered office where official correspondence can reach it, and statutory registers of members, directors, and secretaries. If you formed with us, your registered office address and registers are already in place.
- Open the company bank account. Banks and e-money providers each have their own onboarding hurdles; our guide to opening a business bank account in Ireland explains what slows applications down.
- Register for the taxes that apply. Corporation tax registration should be completed once the company starts trading, with VAT registration and employer (PAYE) registration added when turnover or hiring makes them relevant. Our VAT and tax registration service handles the Revenue paperwork.
Within five months: the RBO filing
Every new company must file its beneficial ownership details with the central register within five months of incorporation. This deadline is fixed, frequently missed, and carries penalties on the company and its officers. Our dedicated guide to the RBO filing and the five-month deadline explains who counts as a beneficial owner and exactly what to submit.
Within six months: your first Annual Return date
A new company's first Annual Return (B1) falls exactly six months after incorporation. No financial statements are required with this first return, but it must still be filed on time — a late first B1 costs the company its audit exemption for two years, one of the most expensive administrative mistakes a small company can make. See our guides to Annual Return deadlines and penalties and how audit exemption is kept and lost, or let our CRO filing service handle the return itself.
From day one, continuously: books of account
Alongside the headline deadlines, the Companies Act requires every company to keep adequate accounting records from the beginning — not from the first VAT return, and not from year end. In practice that means recording sales, purchases, assets, and liabilities as they happen, retaining supporting documents, and being able to show the company's financial position at any time. This is where bookkeeping stops being optional admin and becomes a statutory duty, and it is exactly what our bookkeeping packages are built to cover month by month.
Through the year: VAT and payroll cycles
If the company registers for VAT, periodic VAT3 returns begin — bi-monthly by default — together with an annual Return of Trading Details. If you take on staff, or pay yourself a salary as a director, payroll reporting to Revenue happens in real time, on or before each payday. Both cycles run off the quality of your books: clean records make the returns routine, while gaps turn every deadline into a scramble.
After year end: corporation tax
Your corporation tax obligations bracket the year end from both sides: preliminary tax is generally payable before the accounting period closes, and the CT1 return follows within nine months after it. The interaction of those dates catches many first-year companies, so read our corporation tax deadline calendar early — and check whether the start-up reliefs many founders miss apply to you before the first return is filed.
The first-year calendar at a glance
- 1Immediately: registered office, statutory registers, bank account, tax registrations as they become relevant.
- 2Month 5: RBO beneficial ownership filing.
- 3Month 6: first Annual Return (B1) — protect the audit exemption.
- 4Ongoing: books of account maintained continuously; VAT and payroll cycles once registered.
- 5Around year end: preliminary corporation tax, then the CT1 within nine months.
If you would rather have the whole calendar managed for you — filings, registers, and the monthly books behind them — our formation packages and bookkeeping packages are designed to run together, and you can request a call to map your company's specific dates.
Frequently asked questions
When is my company's very first deadline?
For most new companies, the RBO beneficial ownership filing at five months is the first hard statutory deadline, followed a month later by the first Annual Return. Tax registrations arise earlier but are triggered by trading rather than by a fixed date.
Does my first B1 need financial statements?
No. The first Annual Return, six months after incorporation, is filed without financial statements. Every subsequent return requires them, which is why the books need to be in order well before the second B1.
Do I need to register for VAT immediately?
Only when your turnover is expected to exceed the registration thresholds, or when registering voluntarily makes commercial sense. Our guide to VAT registration in Ireland covers the thresholds and timing.
What happens if I miss the RBO or B1 deadline?
Late RBO filing exposes the company and officers to penalties; a late B1 incurs fees and costs the company its audit exemption for two years. Both are far cheaper to diarise than to repair.
Who is responsible for all of this — me or my accountant?
Legally, the directors. Advisers can prepare and file, but responsibility for compliance sits with the board, which is why a clear calendar in month one matters more than any single filing.
The bottom line
The first year of an Irish company is a fixed sequence: registrations, RBO at five months, B1 at six, continuous books, and corporation tax around year end. Companies that map the calendar in week one spend the year building a business; companies that don't spend it paying for missed dates.