IR35 is coming – your opportunity to ask questions

On 6 April 2020, new rules will come into effect which will affect what is known as ‘off-payroll working’ legislation. In short, this will affect companies in the private sector which engage consultants via intermediary companies (sometimes called personal service companies).

A brief summary of the changes is that the responsibility for identifying an individual who may fall foul of IR35 regulations is switching from the worker themselves to the ultimate beneficiary of the work, the private sector client. Such provisions are already in place for the public sector. Failure to correctly identify a worker caught by IR35 could lead to some difficult conversations with HMRC who will be looking to recoup unpaid tax, and unless the client can show that they made reasonable enquiries and followed a proper process (which we will detail in next month’s article), then HMRC will be looking at the client to account for the tax.

We ask that you send any questions you have to this address and we will pick out the key themes and publish some guidance in next month’s article.

These notes have been prepared for the purpose of an article only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.