IR35 legislation, also known as The Intermediaries legislation, was introduced in 2000. The aim of the legislation is to tax individuals working through Limited Companies and Partnership ‘intermediaries’ as if they were employees of their end client. If the arrangement is seen to exist purely to avoid paying tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) at the rates applicable if they were paid directly by the client, the worker and their company will be ‘caught’ by the IR35 legislation. In such situations a form of disguised employment is deemed to exist.
Whilst the intention of the legislation is clear, it is a lot harder to define in practice. As a consequence it creates much uncertainty for contractors and freelancers who are genuinely employed in their own right, by their own Limited Company.
There are ongoing attempts by HMRC to bring clarity to the legislation but attempts to date have only succeeded in creating more confusion. Getting caught by IR35 can be expensive and can increase your tax and NIC bill by thousands of pounds a year as well as associated fines and penalties.
We offer IR35 advice to our clients
We are experts in the IR35 field and are accredited by the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) for our expertise. At Sherwin Currid we are fully up to date with all aspects of IR35 as well as HMRC’s approach to enforcing it.
We advise many clients on IR35 matters and can, for a fixed fee, review your contracts and working practices and advise you on whether IR35 could be applied to your circumstances. For more advice on IR35 reviews please click here
Give us a call today to find out more about how our IR35 knowledge can benefit you.
