IR35 - Guilty as charged! - Updated May 2016 - NOT GUILTY!

[frodo]

Checking working practices

Out of interest, if you are a contractor that genuinely falls outside of IR35 and your contract(s) tick all the right boxes, how would HMRC then go about investigating your working practices from an engagement from say 3 years ago if the project you were working on has been delivered and all people associated with the project and therefore able to confirm your working practises have since moved on?

[northernladuk]

They get hold of your old client and grill them. If they've gone then happy days. Your worst nightmare is them getting hold of someone that vaguely knew you and attempts to answer all the questions which are nowhere near the truth. 'Oh yeah that guy, we treated him like an employee I guess'
You'd hope at that point though your defence steps in and points this out and cuts them off quick so they've no choice to drop the case.

That said if you are genuinely out and enough boxes are ticked they won't pursue anyway so a bit hypothetical I think.

[frodo]

They get hold of your old client and grill them. If they've gone then happy days. Your worst nightmare is them getting hold of someone that vaguely knew you and attempts to answer all the questions which are nowhere near the truth. 'Oh yeah that guy, we treated him like an employee I guess'
You'd hope at that point though your defence steps in and points this out and cuts them off quick so they've no choice to drop the case.

That said if you are genuinely out and enough boxes are ticked they won't pursue anyway so a bit hypothetical I think.

Seems like a lot of effort on their part. They would be better off chasing the low(er) hanging fruit by pursuing those on long, current engagements. That's where I'd put my efforts but then this is HMRC we're talking about.

[northernladuk]

Seems like a lot of effort on their part. They would be better off chasing the low(er) hanging fruit by pursuing those on long, current engagements. That's where I'd put my efforts but then this is HMRC we're talking about.

Yeah and they probably do hence me saying this is a hypothetical situation.

[quackhandle]

Interesting thread, glad of the outcome for the OP.

In 14 years contracting I've not met a contractor who had been investigated or going through process. Met plenty who would be f**ked up they do though.

If the OP can get those questions up prob worth making this a sticky thread.

qh