Will I be caught by IR35 in this situation?

[dynamicsaxcontractor]

So I spoke to my company and have informed them that I will be going through my Limited Company. They said thats fine and have agreed to a daily rate much more than my current salary whether its in or out of IR35.

I also spoke with a IR35 specialist company, roughly outlining my situation with regards to going back to work at my current place of work as a contractor and they said its very unlikely I will be outside IR35 here, as it is the sole reason the legislation was brought about. Thats fine for me, but will this be the case everytime I go back to this company? or will each contract be looked at individually?

If I am to get a small job come in, (such as a HTML email creation) which may only be a few hours work that I can do at home, do I have to have a contract in place for such a small job? I understand for the purposes of IR35 it is preferable to have a contract in place but is it a legal issue where you need one for each little job? Or do you need just one contract with each client you work for?

If you are planning to do lots of smaller pieces of work for one client, why don't you sign a general contract between you and then a schedule for each piece of work? The schedule could include just the piece of work to do and the sum you will charge them.

[malvolio]

If you are planning to do lots of smaller pieces of work for one client, why don't you sign a general contract between you and then a schedule for each piece of work? The schedule could include just the piece of work to do and the sum you will charge them.

WHS. Think and operate like a business.

Anyway, you're not listening. The reason there are no clear cut answers on IR35 is becuase there aren't any, every case is different. If you read the guide I suggested you read, you will understand that each individual contract is potentially an IR35 situation. Given the way you plan to work, I suggest it is probably not worth worrying about the miniscule chance of getting caught out. NEvertheless, read up on it and learn the criteria (as a starter for 10, try reading The Potted Guide to IR35 | Contractor Accountants )

For the immediate future, for you current ex-employer you are inside IR35 so pay yourself accordingly for that piece of work only. If you then have some other clients, even concurrently with this one, you probably aren't for those contracts. If you go back to your current people later, then you almost certainly aren't. If you get this work direct, rather than through an agency, IR35 becomes merely an irritating irrelevnace.

The whole point is that you must not let IR35 influcence everything you do. Run your business the best way you can to suit you, not the sodding taxman.

[Wanderer]

If I am to get a small job come in, (such as a HTML email creation) which may only be a few hours work that I can do at home, do I have to have a contract in place for such a small job? I understand for the purposes of IR35 it is preferable to have a contract in place but is it a legal issue where you need one for each little job? Or do you need just one contract with each client you work for?

The original spirit of IR35 was that if you were a high earning city banker or TV presenter working as a permie who quit their permie job Friday and continued the job as a LTD company contractor on Monday then structure their tax affairs to avoid paying large amounts of tax.

As malvolio says, each contract would be judged on it's merits in an investigation but I don't think they are going to bother investigating someone who has worked with multiple clients. They would be pretty hard pressed to argue that you were a "disguised permanent employee" if you did (say) 20 different jobs in a year. No, what they are after is the big fish - the ones who take on a contract and work for 3 years with a single client as a 9-5 worker.

Firstly, No permie would work on the basis of a week's work here and there. There is no mutuality of obligation and that's the silver bullet against IR35.

Secondly, make sure the contract with the client makes it clear that your company will do the job (not you personally). ie you could subcontract it out (to India if you wanted to). Right of substitution, that's an IR35 silver bullet too.

Thirdly, they don't dictate where, when and how you do the work. They spec it, you quote for it and do it when and how you want. There is no control so that's a sliver bullet too.

Fourthly, if you give them a quote to do a piece of work at a fixed price, supply your own equipment and work from home then you have an even stronger case. Get it done early, you make a profit. Mess it up and you make a loss. That's a strong IR35 pointer.

It sounds to me like the IR35 specialist company doesn't quite understand how you will be working from your limited explanation. I don't think you have anything to worry about... If it bothers you then phone them back and explain in detail, dropping in the points I mentioned above (presuming they reflect the way you will work). They will then understand that you are outside IR35.