Service Company Question in Personal Self assessment

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

As I understand it the declaration of your IR35 status on your self-assessment is mandatory and stating you are outside will then result in a letter asking you to prove it

Really, so you saying now that if I complete the services companies sections I will be default get a letter from HMRC to prove I'm outside of IR35 ?

[Redcar]

I've just received my tax return from my accountant and he has included a note:

"I have not addressed the service company question on Page TR4 as I do not believe this information is reasonably required as part of a personal return or necessary for the calculation of my income tax liability for 2011/12 under self-assessment."

I know that it isn't the P35 question but is this going to get me into trouble with HMRC if I send it off?

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

I've just received my tax return from my accountant and he has included a note:

"I have not addressed the service company question on Page TR4 as I do not believe this information is reasonably required as part of a personal return or necessary for the calculation of my income tax liability for 2011/12 under self-assessment."

I know that it isn't the P35 question but is this going to get me into trouble with HMRC if I send it off?

Almost certainly not.

Most penalties are tax or delay geared, and there is little if any chance of HMRC being able to penalise this. More over I think the question is so imprecise, and the nature of answers, if given at all, so variable, that HMRC are not extracting any useful compliance information from it.

My partner is a contractor, and I left it blank on her form.

[Redcar]

Thanks Jessica

[ELBBUBKUNPS]

Almost certainly not.

Most penalties are tax or delay geared, and there is little if any chance of HMRC being able to penalise this. More over I think the question is so imprecise, and the nature of answers, if given at all, so variable, that HMRC are not extracting any useful compliance information from it.

My partner is a contractor, and I left it blank on her form.

If you answer 'Service Company' = Y on your P35 does that mean you need to answer the Service Company question £ on your SA as well or can I just leave it blank ?

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

I wouldn't loose sleep over the discrepancy, although answering either in affirmative could put an alert on you with HMRC.

However this is a personal view - but one I would defend professionally - and there's little definitive hard and fast evidence out there on this.

[ClearSky Accounting Dan]

I recently did an interview, dealing with the service company question on the self assessment tax return:

Contractor guide to answering the self-assessment tax return service company question

[Sockpuppet]

Fill it in and don't worry about it.

HMRC inspectors are not useless. They are good at what they do so they will find you even if you try to hide. If your agonising that much over a single box I'd hate to see what an IR35 investigation would do for your state of mind.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Completing this box has become part of the PAYE regs for 2013/14 tax year so you will be required by law to enter yes or no in next year's SA form

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Completing this box has become part of the PAYE regs for 2013/14 tax year so you will be required by law to enter yes or no in next year's SA form

I may be wrong, but my understanding was that only applied to the P35 post RTI and then with a cut down question, one part rather than two parts ("Have you operated the Intermediaries Legislation"). And yes, that was becoming compulsory.

Off the top of my head, I can't see PAYE regs effecting SAR - they would have to do something with TMA for that.

But, I emphasise, I may well be wrong...