Section 26 General scheme of corporation tax

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(1) Subject to any exceptions provided for by the Corporation Tax Acts, a company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on all its profits wherever arising.

What happens if my company is tax resident in Ireland?

(1) If your company is resident in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), it is chargeable to corporation tax on its worldwide profits (section 4(1)).

(2) A company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on profits accruing for its benefit under any trust, or arising under any partnership, in any case in which it would be so chargeable if the profits accrued to it directly, and a company shall be chargeable to corporation tax on profits arising in the winding up of the company, but shall not otherwise be chargeable to corporation tax on profits accruing to it in a fiduciary or representative capacity except as respects its own beneficial interest (if any) in those profits.

Is my company caught for tax on profits held in trust for it?

(2) Your company is chargeable to corporation tax on income accruing for its benefit under a trust or partnership. It is also caught for corporation tax on profits arising on its winding up. It is not caught for profits arising to it as trustee.

(3) Corporation tax for any financial year shall be charged on profits arising in that year; but assessments to corporation tax shall be made on a company by reference to accounting periods, and the amount chargeable (after making all proper deductions) of the profits arising in an accounting period shall where necessary be apportioned between the financial years in which the accounting period falls.

What tax rate applies if my company's accounting period straddles two financial years?

(3) Your tax charge is based on the profits arising in your accounting period, which may not coincide with the calendar year. If your accounting period straddles two financial years, your profit is apportioned and charged at the appropriate rates. ...

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(4) Subsection (3) shall apply as respects accounting periods ending on or after the 1st day of April, 1997, as if-

(a) the period beginning on the 1st day of January, 1996, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1997, and

(b) the period beginning on the 1st day of April, 1997, and ending on the [31st day of December, 1997]¹,

were each a financial year.

Amendments

1 Substituted by Finance Act 1998 section 55(2) and Schedule 6 para 1.

What time periods are treated as financial years for the purposes of (3) above?

(4) The period 1 January 1996 to 31 March 1997, and the period 1 April 1997 to 31 December 1997 are each treated as a financial year for the purposes of (3).