IR35 Tip: Working Practises

Anyone who is operating via a limited company, regardless of whether they are a newbie in the industry, or a seasoned veteran, should be made well aware of IR35 and the implications that exist should they be put under scrutiny by HMRC for falling inside the legislation.

QAccounting work with Qdos Contractor. Qdos has been working alongside contractors for decades, and has been supporting and defending contractors in regards to IR35 since its inception back in 2000.

We have published numerous hints and tips for contractors, to aid their IR35 status and support compliance.

Get written confirmation of your working practices.

The revenue will always look at a contractor’s written contract when launching an IR35 investigation, but the actual working practices are equally as important when confirming status.

Seb Maley, Director here at QAccounting, reinforces the importance of getting written confirmation of your working practices as a form of defense.

“An IR35 enquiry will largely focus on the actual working relationship with your end client. Having a compliant written contract is a good starting point, but if HMRC find that the true facts don’t match they will effectively say the contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

The Revenue will talk to your end client about how things work in reality and that’s always dangerous. One way of pre-empting this and negating their need to do it is to get your client to sign a document which sets out what the true working arrangements are.

Some organisations are hesitant to sign additional documents like this, but if you think they’d be willing it’s well worth it.

If you require any advice regarding IR35 then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.