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Finance and Tax Terms Glossary

A clear, jargon-free resource to help you navigate key financial and tax terms with confidence.

Ireland-Specific Terms

myAccount: Revenue's online portal for individuals. Used to file Form 11, view Employment Detail Summary, and access tax records.
Preliminary Tax: An advance payment of income tax for the following year, based on your current year's income.
PRSI: Social insurance contributions paid by employers, employees, and the self-employed to qualify for state benefits.
Revenue: Ireland's tax authority. Handles all tax matters including PAYE, VAT, Corporation Tax, Form 11, and PRSI. See revenue.ie.
ROS: The online system for submitting tax filings (e.g. CT1, VAT, Form 11, payroll).
USC: A tax on gross income. Applied at different thresholds in addition to PAYE and PRSI.
VAT: A sales tax that must be charged if you're VAT-registered. Commonly filed every two months.
VAT RTD: An annual summary of your total VATable sales and purchases.

Employment Detail Summary (EDS): Replaces the old P60. Shows income and tax deductions. Downloaded from myAccount.
Flat Rate Expenses: Fixed amounts allowed by Revenue for certain trades, claimed without receipts.
Form 11: The annual self-assessment return used to declare income, expenses, and tax.
Home Office Deduction: Claiming a portion of your home utility costs if you work from home.
Mileage Claim: A standard per-kilometre rate that can be claimed for business-related driving.

Annual Return: A required filing to the CRO confirming company details and year-end accounts.
Corporation Tax (CT1): Annual tax return filed by Irish limited companies. Due 9 months after financial year-end.
CRO: The government body that registers Irish companies and manages their compliance filings. See cro.ie.
Director's Salary: PAYE salary paid to directors. Subject to income tax, PRSI, and USC.
Dividends: Profit distributions paid to shareholders after tax.
Form 46G: Annual return listing payments over €6,000 made to contractors or professionals.
PAYE: A payroll tax deducted monthly from employee and director salaries and submitted to Revenue.

Assets: Items your business owns with value (e.g. cash, laptops, receivables).
Bookkeeping: Recording all business income, expenses, and financial activity.
Break-Even Point: The point at which total income equals total expenses: no profit, no loss.
Cash Basis: Recognising income and expenses only when money changes hands.
Creditors: Businesses or individuals your company owes money to.
Debtors: Customers who owe you money.
Equity: The value of ownership in your business after debts are subtracted from assets.
Expenses: The cost of doing business (e.g. subscriptions, rent, tools).
Invoice: A document requesting payment from a client for services or goods.
Liabilities: What your business owes: loans, unpaid bills, taxes.
Operating Expenses: Day-to-day costs of running your business.
Overheads: Fixed expenses that do not vary with sales, e.g. rent, salaries, software.
Reconciliation: Matching your bank account transactions with your bookkeeping records.
Retained Earnings: Profits kept in the business rather than paid out.
Turnover: Your total sales revenue before expenses.
Working Capital: The difference between your current assets and current liabilities.

Bank Feed: A secure integration that imports bank transactions directly into your accounting system.
Payroll Software: A payroll tool used to process salaries, generate payslips, and submit PAYE to Revenue.
Task & Project Management Tools: Tools used to manage and coordinate tasks and projects with your team.
Client Portal: A secure platform for sharing files, viewing proposals, and communicating with our team.
Accounting Software: Digital tools that help businesses manage financial tasks such as tracking income, expenses, VAT, and generating financial reports.

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