A couple of points to ponder.
Firstly, if you really expect to give up contracting and will have a "real" business in the very near future, you may decide to take the risk and not adopt IR35 rules. After all, there are loads of IR35-caught companies who are blatantly ignoring it despite having no intention of having a "real" business. At present, it appears HMRC have a very low success rate in catching people. If your company starts other income streams and its company accounts clearly shows a growing asset base and "doesn't look like" a typical IT contractor, then your risk of being caught reduces. Please note that I am not advocating this approach, but you appear to be in a much better position to argue your case than someone who is just hoping never to be caught. Of course, it would be even better if your contract was marginal as to its IR35 position. But, don't forget, you do run a very real risk as it is each individual contract that matters, not necessarily the overall picture. As far as I know, the fact that other business activities are being operated alongside contracting has not yet been tested in the caughts for IR35 purposes.
A second thought is whether you could at least save some tax by operating your new business venture as a sole trader. Losses made as a sole trader can be offset against other taxable income, so you could at least get tax relief for the losses, though there is no corresponding relief for the NIC paid under the IR35 regime. This is only useful if you aren't adverse to the personal risk exposure of not having limited liability - it depends what you are doing whether this is relevant or not. When the new ventures start to be profitable, transfer them into your limited company.
Firstly, if you really expect to give up contracting and will have a "real" business in the very near future, you may decide to take the risk and not adopt IR35 rules. After all, there are loads of IR35-caught companies who are blatantly ignoring it despite having no intention of having a "real" business. At present, it appears HMRC have a very low success rate in catching people. If your company starts other income streams and its company accounts clearly shows a growing asset base and "doesn't look like" a typical IT contractor, then your risk of being caught reduces. Please note that I am not advocating this approach, but you appear to be in a much better position to argue your case than someone who is just hoping never to be caught. Of course, it would be even better if your contract was marginal as to its IR35 position. But, don't forget, you do run a very real risk as it is each individual contract that matters, not necessarily the overall picture. As far as I know, the fact that other business activities are being operated alongside contracting has not yet been tested in the caughts for IR35 purposes.
A second thought is whether you could at least save some tax by operating your new business venture as a sole trader. Losses made as a sole trader can be offset against other taxable income, so you could at least get tax relief for the losses, though there is no corresponding relief for the NIC paid under the IR35 regime. This is only useful if you aren't adverse to the personal risk exposure of not having limited liability - it depends what you are doing whether this is relevant or not. When the new ventures start to be profitable, transfer them into your limited company.
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