Does taking an insideIR35 PS job risk future outsideIR35 assessments

[kryten22uk]

I've worked outside IR35 for 10 years in numerous contracts in the private sector. There is an interesting role just come up in the Public Sector which they have stated is inside-IR35. The job is very similar to all the other jobs I've done in the past. If I take the job, does the fact that it has been classed as inside-IR35 create a risk that in any future review/audit of my taxes by HMRC they consider that if I was inside for the PS job then I should have been inside for all the other private sector jobs before and after? I.e. does it create some form of precedent?

[eek]

Honest answer - no body knows.

More accurate answer - If a PSC inside IR35 came along that was local enough and interesting enough being inside would not be a deal breaker. I would not however do the contract via my limited company - use an umbrella and if practical throw as much money into your pension as possible....

[Patrick@Intouch]

There would potentially be a risk that, if you had a new contract with an existing client that was inside IR35, where previous contracts with that same client had been outside IR35 HMRC could look at your prior contracts retrospectively.

As you have been working in the private sector and are now working in the public sector it would be difficult to assert that the reasoning for the current contract falling within IR35 could be applied to your previous contracts as presumably there were different restrictions on these contracts and your relationship with them also would have been very different.

[kryten22uk]

As you have been working in the private sector and are now working in the public sector it would be difficult to assert that the reasoning for the current contract falling within IR35 could be applied to your previous contracts as presumably there were different restrictions on these contracts and your relationship with them also would have been very different.

I guess the concern I had was that they ignore what contracts actually say and just do a very broad brush comparison. I.e. "well you're doing the same type of job for this Public Sector client as you did for other private clients, and the PS assessment was that of inside-IR35, so we think you should have been inside-IR35 for all clients".

[northernladuk]

I guess the concern I had was that they ignore what contracts actually say and just do a very broad brush comparison. I.e. "well you're doing the same type of job for this Public Sector client as you did for other private clients, and the PS assessment was that of inside-IR35, so we think you should have been inside-IR35 for all clients".

Nah, they don't work like that. They want people to be inside or outside as the role dictates. Why would they then come after you just becasue you are declaring the roles correctly. They would be more likely to chase those have have never been inside to see if they aren't following the rules if you want to follow your logic.

IR35 is on a contract by contract basis so quite possible to be in and then out. Investigations, from what we hear, normally arise from some other investigation. They don't just coming looking because of your status. They also don't actually know your status, just the figures in your returns.

Take the tin foil hat off, get your contracts reviewed (where required), get IPSE+/TLC35 and carry on as normal.