Company Director - Make Myself Redundant

I've asked a question before that led on to the option of making myself redundant. I'm selling my Ltd Company at the moment. I'm the Sole Employee. Various Posters have said that a tax efficient way of getting money out of the company is to make myself redundant before selling.

http://www.revenue.ie/index.htm?/leaflets/it21.htm

Another of the posters mentioned that given my situation, it's not as straightforward as I might expect.

I've contacted Revenue & the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment but have not got a definitive yes or no as to whether it's possible. My understanding from talking to Revenue that it is the DETE who I should be talking to.

I've explained to the guy who's looking to buy the business, what I'm looking to do. He's not to happy as he's been told by his sources that it's not possible.

Has anyone done this before or have any more info? My main concern is that I'm emigrating & will be out of here on the 6th of July.

Talk to your accountant

He said that I should seek clarification with Revenue. As mentioned, some people say it's possible, others say it's not.

Surely he should be doing this for you - not throwing it back at you.
I'd suggest that you go to a good taxation specialist.

To be fair to him, he's not throwing it back. I said I'd check it out first. I did actually get through to someone in Revenue with a few answers. As I'm a Director I'm not entitled to Statutory Redundancy. I am entitled to this Basic Exemption though. The concern of the guy looking to buy the business is highlighted in this comment - "highly unusual and may be outside the spirit of redundancy clause and leave a liability in the company that may not surface for some time". I would have though Revenue is very much black & white. You can either do something or you can't. The idea I have in mind is to indemnify myself, signing whatever is necessary, that if Revenue were to seek it back, that I'd be liable for it.

My experience of some of these people you speak to in Revenue is not to believe everything they say.
I understand where the guy buying the business is coming from but a good accountnant/tax specialist should be able to direct you

You need professional taxation advice and not just info from Revenue which you cannot depend upon when making important decisions. If your accountant cannot give you such advice then you need to talk to a professional tax advisor.

The answer is a simple yes. I've done it on a number of occasions. Tell your accountant you want to avail of the superannuation benefit scheme. As long as your company has the funds to pay the redundancy, there is no issue with with company liability. The only person apart from yourself who it affects is, the buyer of your company. If you pay money out, your company is worth less.

KDA man said:

The answer is a simple yes. I've done it on a number of occasions. Tell your accountant you want to avail of the superannuation benefit scheme. As long as your company has the funds to pay the redundancy, there is no issue with with company liability. The only person apart from yourself who it affects is, the buyer of your company. If you pay money out, your company is worth less.

Click to expand...

We've fixed a price on the value of the company. There's currently 30K left in the Company Bank Account. I'm looking to get as much out as I can. Rather than tying it up in Pensions, I would like to have some Cash In Hand. Do you have any Documentation to back this up? I can't find anything or anyone who'll confirm. It's been said to me that this is "highly unusual" without actually been given a yes or a no. I'm meeting with my accountant tomorrow. I've asked him to look into this in the meantime. I can see why the buyer is reluctant for me to go through with this idea if it comes back to sting him down the line. When you say you've done this before, is it an identical scenario or just someone being given standard redundancy?