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

[Munchers]

Just re-read the whole thread as I missed it first time around...

I think some of the people having ago at him throughout the thread owe him an apology. Came here no doubt at the lowest point of his life and poster where arseholes with him.

FFS if we can't support each other during a IR35 investigation and stop being dicks when can we.

Shameful stuff...

Thanks to the OP for coming back and letting us know the outcome.

The lesson learnt from it for me, or not as I already do it, is use a IR35 specialist for legal and insurance AND an accountant who understand contractors.

PCG+ and Abbey Tax all the way for me...

Thanks for support - it was tough at times but more good support than negative.

For the record Abbey Tax were appalling - we moved to them from 'insured' advisors and the advice, cost, attitude was unbelievable. Must point out that it was one person only. We did complain and refused to pay - lost our deposit only.

[Munchers]

Did you ever work out what the potential total tax liability was going to be ?

I dread to think what mine would be

It was just over £100,000 before interest & fines. We thought it could be £200,000 if they went to town on us.

[Munchers]

That is pretty much the experience I had and the handful of people I know who've been investigatedhave also had. Two or three years back and forward and then they give up. Only difference being that I don't know anyone who had problems with the appointed tax consultant via insurance. It's never been a 'quick end' where your advisor sends a couple of letters and it all comes to a conclusion. Two to three years is 'normal'.

Anyone reading this should understand that you are not the only priority for either the tax consultant or the HMRC bod, so, just because the worry consumes your every waking hour, it's not the same for everyone else involved. be prepared for long periods of inactivity followed by HMRC asking the same things over and over again with gaps of months in between. Also, as stated on here, don't talk to them. With me they even tried (over numerous phone calls over months) "why won't you just answer the question we're asking ? We can probably put this to bed if you do". Answer every question with "Please put your questions in writing and they will be dealt with in due course by my advisors."

I hear what you say but coming out the other side I maintain the first advisor was shocking. A couple of points:

1) Told us over the phone he was travelling round Europe on work the week before submission deadline (had it for 2 months) and would be able draft a response in the airport lounge. Maybe it's me but...........
2) We asked to see the response before he sent it, so he sent it through and it didn't answer the questions, it provided information that wasn't requested and finally summed our case as "being inside IR35". We pointed out that he'd missed NOT out of the sentence to which he responded 'it would have been picked up'. Probably by the air hostess.

[Munchers]

Well done on winning your case and thanks for keeping us updated.

Out of curiosity how much did you end up paying your tax advisor?

We ended up with the original 'insurance' advisor - so nothing. Have to say after the initial disaster they were absolutely fantastic.

[Munchers]

FWIW, I agree as one of those that was, er, skeptical. There are so many sockies around and the reference to HMRE triggered by sock-o-meter, I'm afraid. Sincere apologies to the OP. I'm really glad it worked out for them.

Thank you.

I must admit I was gob smacked that HMRE caused such a fuss! You learn.

[dx4100]

Thanks for support - it was tough at times but more good support than negative.

For the record Abbey Tax were appalling - we moved to them from 'insured' advisors and the advice, cost, attitude was unbelievable. Must point out that it was one person only. We did complain and refused to pay - lost our deposit only.

That is not what I wanted to hear

[SueEllen]

Thank you.

I must admit I was gob smacked that HMRE caused such a fuss! You learn.

That's because they are called "HMRC" now not "HMRE".

Using incorrect terminology on forums when talking about serious subjects automatically makes people think you are trolling at worse and not serious at best.

Also the actions of your tax advisors didn't surprise me.

Like with anyone who is paid to work that greatly impacts someone's life, some people go out of their way to do the best job they can - so if possible turn down work if they can't complete it properly - while others do a just about adequate job. This is why word of mouth recommendations carry so much weight though when you are paying for blanket coverage it's harder to say you don't want a particular individual by name.

[NotAllThere]

Edited the subject for you.

[theroyale]

That's because they are called "HMRC" now not "HMRE".

Using incorrect terminology on forums when talking about serious subjects automatically makes people think you are trolling at worse and not serious at best.

Maybe you do. Not everyone does. It could be that they're using the old-fashioned name because that's the one they're more familiar with. Equating with 'troll' seems ridiculous to be honest.

[jamesbrown]

That is not what I wanted to hear

As SueEllen notes, it depends on the individual to some degree. As a counterpoint, I've always found Abbey Tax to be absolutely top notch, the best of all advisers that I've used over the years (although I haven't used them for an investigation, only for detailed reviews). I can only imagine that it was quite stressful for the OP if there was a question about the advice being given. In these circumstances, it's probably worth escalating internally, as Abbey is an excellent company, at least in my experience.