Who We Help · Contractors & Professionals
Financial Advice for Contractors & Professionals in Ireland
High earners working through a personal company have powerful planning options — and a lot to lose to tax if they don’t use them. We help contractors and professionals in Ireland fund pensions through their company, invest surplus income for growth, protect their earnings, and plan the financial side of contracting with confidence.
Last reviewed by Debbie Cheevers, QFA, RPA · 30 June 2026
Who this is for
If you contract through your own company or earn high fees as an independent professional, you have planning levers most employees don’t. We work with:
Day-rate professionals working through a personal limited company who want to keep more of what they earn.
Consultants, locums and specialists earning high fees who want their income building long-term wealth.
People moving between contracts who want a pension and protection plan that travels with them.
Pensions through your personal company: your biggest tax lever
If you contract through your own limited company, funding a pension from the company is usually the single most powerful tax-planning tool you have:
- A deductible business expense that cuts corporation tax
- No benefit-in-kind for you personally
- Grows free of income tax, DIRT and capital gains tax
- Often far larger contributions than personal limits allow
Because these are employer contributions through an executive arrangement, they aren’t capped by the personal age-related limits — so your company can often fund a much larger pension than you could pay yourself, subject to salary, service and Revenue funding rules. For high-earning contractors, that’s often the difference between paying tax now and keeping that money working for your future.
Managing income between contracts
Contracting income is rarely smooth. Gaps between contracts, varying day rates and bench time mean your planning has to flex with your earnings rather than assume a steady salary.
Fund larger company contributions in strong years and ease off between contracts, rather than locking into a fixed amount.
We help you decide how much to keep accessible for quiet periods before committing surplus to pensions and investments.
Portable, provider-independent arrangements that follow you from contract to contract and company to company.
Investing surplus income for growth
High earners often generate more than they need to live on, and there are limits to how much can go into a pension each year. Once your pension funding is optimised, surplus income left sitting in a company or personal account is quietly losing value to inflation.
Investing that surplus gives your money the chance to grow. It doesn’t carry the up-front tax efficiency of pension funding, and returns are taxed — but it offers something a pension can’t: access before retirement, useful for funding a home, a career break, or staying ahead of inflation.
For most contractors the answer is a blend: maximise pension funding first, then invest the rest for flexibility and growth.
Put a strong contract’s surplus to work in a diversified portfolio matched to your risk appetite and timeframe.
Drip-feed a set amount to build wealth steadily and smooth out market ups and downs over time.
Unlike a pension, investments can be reached when you need them — valuable when income is uneven.
Protecting your income when you’re the business
As a contractor there’s no employer sick pay and no colleague to cover you. If illness or injury stops you working, the income stops too — so protection is the foundation, not an afterthought.
Funded by your company to replace your income if you can’t work — often more tax-efficient than personal cover.
Clears debts and provides for your family if the worst happens, and can be structured efficiently through the company.
Pays a tax-free lump sum on diagnosis of a specified serious illness, giving you room to recover without financial pressure.
Business financial planning support
Contracting through a personal company raises money questions beyond pensions and investments — how to structure salary and dividends, how much to retain in the company, how to manage cash across contracts, and how the company’s finances connect to your personal goals.
While general business financial planning isn’t a regulated financial product or service, it’s an area we have real experience in and are insured to carry out.
We look at the financial picture of your company alongside your personal plan, help you make joined-up decisions, and bring in your accountant or solicitor where specialist input is needed.
The most tax-efficient mix of salary, dividends and pension to take money out of your company.
Planning income and reserves so gaps between contracts never catch you out.
Your company finances and personal goals in one plan, with your accountant or solicitor brought in where needed.
Understanding how your taxes work
How you’re taxed as a contractor depends on how you work — but a few rules matter for almost everyone. Here are the four that matter most, for the 2026 tax year.
Through a limited company, profits are taxed at 12.5% corporation tax; via an umbrella or PAYE, it’s income tax, USC and PRSI at source.
Salary is taxed via PAYE, USC and PRSI; dividends as income with no company deduction — so how you extract matters.
Company pension contributions are deductible, with no BIK up to 100% of your salary — a contractor’s single biggest tax lever.
You must register for VAT once your fees pass €42,500 in any 12-month period.
These rates and thresholds apply to the 2026 tax year and are general information, not personal tax advice — your own position may differ. We plan around them with you and work alongside your accountant.
How we work with you
A relaxed, no-obligation conversation about your contracting setup, your income pattern and your goals.
We review your company, earnings, existing pensions and tax position to find the gaps and opportunities.
A clear, whole-of-market plan covering pension funding, investment, protection and business-planning priorities.
We revisit your plan as your contracts, income and goals change — so it keeps working at every stage.
Frequently asked questions
How much can my company pay into my pension as a contractor?
Employer contributions through an executive arrangement are governed by Revenue funding rules based on salary, service and target benefits rather than the personal age-related limits — so your company can often fund a substantial pension. We model the maximum efficient contribution for you.
Is funding a pension through my company tax-efficient?
Yes. Employer contributions are normally a deductible business expense that reduces corporation tax, aren’t a benefit-in-kind for you, and grow tax-free inside the pension — making it the most powerful tax lever most contractors have.
What happens to my pension between contracts?
Your pension stays invested and fully yours. We set up flexible, portable arrangements so you can fund more in strong years, ease off during gaps, and keep the same plan as you move between contracts and companies.
Should I invest as well as fund a pension?
For most high earners the ideal approach is to maximise pension funding first, then invest surplus income. Investing doesn’t carry the up-front tax efficiency but gives growth potential and access to your money before retirement.
Can you help with the financial side of my company?
Yes. While general business financial planning isn’t a regulated product, we have experience in it and are insured to carry it out. We join up your company finances with your personal plan and bring in your accountant or solicitor where needed.
Keep more of what you earn
Book a free, no-obligation consultation and we’ll show you how to fund your pension, invest surplus income and protect your earnings — tax-efficiently.