IR35 Accountant Support Services
Being prepared is half the battle
IR35 for your clients
IR35 can affect any individual contracting via their own limited company. It is therefore imperative that contractors, and the accountants advising them, are receiving the correct advice to ensure risks in this area are mitigated and the contractor has a robust defence should HMRC challenge its IR35 status.
Accountants advising contractors should ensure they are encouraging their clients to carry out due diligence to ensure they are mitigating the company’s risk, but also personal and commercial exposure.
In recent years, particularly for contractors engaged via agencies, there has been an increased requirement for contractors to satisfy agencies, and their clients, that they are either applying the deemed payment (applicable if it is determined the relationship between the individual and the client would be one of employment), or providing evidence why they considered they are outside of IR35. Failure to provide satisfactory evidence can, and has, resulted in the loss of work for contractors.
The risks to a contractor of not carrying out the necessary due diligence in this area are therefore not only tax related, but commercial too.
By working together, we can keep up you up to date with the tax issues affecting your contractors enabling you to provide a value added service to your contractor clients.
Not an Accountant?
IR35 services for your company
For all your IR35 queries for your business.
Public Sector Contractors
With the recent changes to IR35 in the public sector it is even more important for contractors and their accountants to understand IR35, what it means for them and what the contractors options are.
From 6 April 2017, for contractors providing services in the public sector, it is the end client/agency who determines whether an engagement falls within IR35 rather than the contractors.
This change represents a significant administration burden on the end client/agency. As such we have seen many entities engaging contractors adopting an ‘all within IR35’ approach.
Despite the fact the final decision as to IR35 status has been taken out of the contractors’ hands, we believe it remains important for contractors to assess their IR35 status. Having written contracts reviewed for IR35, or ensuring there is a written contract in place setting out the agreed terms and conditions, should still be an essential piece of due diligence undertaken by the contractor.
Other reasons for contractors continuing to undertake due diligence are:
(1) if they are working on a contract with a client pre-April 2017 and either that contract continues beyond this date, or they enter into a new contract with the same end client who treats them as within IR35, there is nothing to stop HMRC opening an IR35 enquiry into the contractor’s company periods prior to 6 April 2017. Under normal time limits HMRC can look back four years and as such the potential liability for the contractor’s company can be significant. By having the written contract reviewed now, the contractor can assess/mitigate their risk;
(2) The legislation that came into effect on 6 April 2017, also gives the contractor the right to make a ‘repayment claim’ to HMRC if they believe they have been taxed incorrectly. This is a far cry from the ‘appeal’ that was alluded to in the consultation document, and should not be contemplated without expert advice given the potential risks, however, having an expert undertake an IR35 review may assist in a favourable outcome if this is an avenue your client wishes to pursue. For example, if the client has insisted on treating the engagement as inside IR35.
Our services
With our wealth of experience and expertise in this area, we can support you in providing an added value service to your clients.
Whether you are looking for a partner to refer clients to for IR35 contract reviews or drafting, or require a second opinion or assistance with a client’s HMRC enquiry our experts can provide this support.
We have extensive experience in dealing with HMRC enquiries from start to finish: corresponding with HMRC, to Statutory Review, Alternative Dispute resolution (ADR) and representation in the Tax Tribunals. Meaning you and your clients will not need to be referred to another third party should the enquiry reach these stages.
If you have any queries about our services, or want to discuss anything with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We work on fixed fees, agreed in advance, so that you and your clients have certainty of the costs involved at each stage.
Find out how we can help your business
Should you require more information about our services, or have a particular tax query you are seeking advice on, get in touch today! Simply fill in the form below and a member of our team will be in touch.
Alternatively, give us a call 01296 488810.
