Ireland: Professional body rules | Research Credit Integrity Alliance

Many people who prepare R&D corporation tax credit claims in Ireland are members of a professional body, and those bodies set their own rules on fees. This page records what two of them say: Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Irish Tax Institute. Membership of a professional body is not a condition of acting as a tax agent in Ireland, as the adviser registration page explains, so these rules bind members only.1

Chartered Accountants Ireland

The code and where it comes from

Chartered Accountants Ireland applies a Code of Ethics whose Parts 1 to 4 apply from 1 March 2020. The code states that, except as noted, it is derived from the Code of Ethics issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) in July 2018, with additional material added by the Institute in italics.2

The code defines a contingent fee as a fee calculated on a predetermined basis relating to the outcome of a transaction or the result of the services performed. A fee established by a court or other public authority is not a contingent fee.2

Contingent fees for any client

For professional accountants in public practice, section 330 of the code deals with fees. Its main points on contingent fees are:

Contingent fees are used for certain types of non-assurance services, but they might create threats to compliance with the fundamental principles, particularly a self-interest threat to the principle of objectivity, in certain circumstances (paragraph 330.8 A1).2
Factors relevant to evaluating the level of that threat include the nature of the engagement, the range of possible fee amounts, the basis for determining the fee, disclosure to intended users of the work performed and the basis of remuneration, quality control, whether an independent third party is to review the outcome, and whether the level of the fee is set by an independent third party such as a regulatory body (paragraph 330.8 A2).2
Examples of possible safeguards are a review of the work by an appropriate reviewer who was not involved in performing it, and an advance written agreement with the client on the basis of remuneration (paragraph 330.8 A3).2

The same section also states that a professional accountant shall not mislead clients about the basis of fees for current or future work (paragraph R330.7).2

Contingent fees for audit clients

The independence rules for audits go further. A firm shall not charge, directly or indirectly, a contingent fee for an audit engagement (paragraph R410.10).2 A firm or network firm shall not charge a contingent fee for a non-assurance service provided to an audit client where the fee is material or expected to be material to the firm expressing the audit opinion, or to a network firm that participates in a significant part of the audit, or where the outcome of the service, and so the fee, depends on a future or contemporary judgment related to the audit of a material amount in the financial statements (paragraph R410.11).2 Equivalent rules apply to other assurance engagements (paragraphs R905.7 and R905.8).2

Tax services to audit clients

Subsection 604 of the code deals with tax services provided to audit clients. It lists tax return preparation among those services and states that providing tax return preparation services does not usually create a threat (paragraph 604.4 A1).2

Irish Tax Institute

The code

The Irish Tax Institute's Code of Professional Conduct and Recommended Best Practice Guidelines was first adopted in 1992. The version published by the Institute takes effect from 15 September 2015.3 The code states that it was drafted in accordance with best practice recommended by the Confédération Fiscale Européenne, and that the Institute's disciplinary procedures and sanctions are in its Bye-Law No. 1.3

Charging for services

Article 11 of the code states that each member is responsible for setting their own fees and the way they are calculated, and that the Institute does not recommend any particular method of charging or any fee scales. Members should make sure that the letter of engagement clearly sets out an estimate of the proposed fees and the method for calculating them.3

The recommended best practice guidelines under Article 11 add that:

charges should be acceptable and fair to the client in relation to the value of the services performed (paragraph 11.1.2);3
before starting work, a member should make sure the client is aware of the basis on which fees will be charged, ideally in the engagement letter (paragraph 11.1.6);3
where a member's advice, if acted on, will result in a commission or other reward from someone other than the client, the member should tell the client at the time and state the amount, or explain how it will be calculated (paragraph 11.1.8).3

The code does not contain a specific rule on contingent or success fees.3

Statutory obligations

The code's introduction notes that tax professionals are also subject to statutory obligations, including an obligation to report suspected tax evasion and a prohibition on assisting a taxpayer to file an incomplete return, and that a member sanctioned by the courts for such a breach may face separate disciplinary sanctions from the Institute.3

Revenue referrals to professional bodies

Under section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, a Revenue officer may disclose taxpayer information to a professional body where the officer is satisfied that the work of an agent does not meet the standards of that body. Revenue's Code of Practice states that such a referral will be made only in the most serious cases, for example significant or repeated non-adherence to professional standards, and that it is then a matter for the body to examine the referral under its own procedures.4

Summary

Body	Contingent fee rule	Fee disclosure to client
Chartered Accountants Ireland	Treated as a possible self-interest threat to be evaluated; prohibited for audit engagements and in defined cases for audit clients2	Must not mislead clients about the basis of fees2
Irish Tax Institute	No specific rule; members set their own fee method3	Engagement letter should set out the estimated fees and method of calculation3

Sources

Revenue Commissioners, Tax and Duty Manual Part 37-00-04b, Guidelines for Agents or Advisors acting on behalf of taxpayers (last reviewed September 2026), section 1. https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-37/37-00-04b.pdf (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Chartered Accountants Ireland, Code of Ethics, Parts 1 to 4 (applying from 1 March 2020), introductory note, paragraphs R330.7, 330.8 A1 to A4, R410.10, R410.11, 604.3 A1, 604.4 A1, R905.7, R905.8 and the Glossary entry "Contingent fee". https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/docs/default-source/technical-documents/ethics/code-of-ethics---december-2020.pdf?sfvrsn=e828ae7c_3 (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Irish Taxation Institute, Code of Professional Conduct and Recommended Best Practice Guidelines (version taking effect 15 September 2015), Introduction, Amendment of Code of Conduct, Article 11 and paragraphs 11.1.2, 11.1.6 and 11.1.8. Linked from the Irish Tax Institute's professional standards page, https://taxinstitute.ie/about-us/professional-standards/. https://itiprod2storagegroup.blob.core.windows.net/files/Member%20Resources/ITI-Code-of-Professional-Conduct-effective-201509151.pdf (accessed 11 October 2026). Back
Revenue Commissioners, Code of Practice for Revenue Compliance Interventions (effective 1 May 2022), section 1.5.4. https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/documents/code-of-practice-revenue-compliance-interventions.pdf (accessed 11 October 2026). Back