IR35 Buddy - worth a closer look, maybe

[Craig at Nixon Williams]

It looks like this is a service designed around scoring points on the Business Entity Tests...it will not automatically exempt you from IR35. If your contract fails on Personal Service, Control and MOO then you are caught by IR35 irrespective of the outcome of the Business Entity Tests.

The Business Entity Tests mean nothing, I can only imagine that they were devised by HMRC to make more people believe that they were caught by IR35!

Craig

[Qdos Contractor]

We have been involved with IR35 Buddy since its conception, including multiple presentations to HMRC. It's not a money making scheme because there is no cost to using the site unless you purchase a passport - which includes Qdos cover as standard.

It's been created as an educational tool for which there is no charge and it's addressing the historically 'difficult to evidence' issues such as substitution, premises and advertising. The site has plenty of tools/resources that you are free to use.

IMHO any concept that allows contractors to evidence their actual position re IR35 is a good thing. Anything related to IR35 is understandably going to be met with cynicism, but it might just be possible that there are things on there that could be of genuine benefit to you one day!

[northernladuk]

The fact this 'article' leaves so much confusion shows CW's poor approach it.

[kevpuk]

Duly noted. I'd put that in your sig.

latest-and-greatest solution (TM) kevpuk 2013.

Duly complied

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Seems to be a company called Contractor Finance behind it - guy called Alf Gordon - don't know the name but it looks as though the company was set up pretty recently

[eek]

The fact this 'article' leaves so much confusion shows CW's poor approach it.

And the poor quality of the information IR35 buddy is sending out.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

We have been involved with IR35 Buddy since its conception, including multiple presentations to HMRC. It's not a money making scheme because there is no cost to using the site unless you purchase a passport - which includes Qdos cover as standard.

It's been created as an educational tool for which there is no charge and it's addressing the historically 'difficult to evidence' issues such as substitution, premises and advertising. The site has plenty of tools/resources that you are free to use.

IMHO any concept that allows contractors to evidence their actual position re IR35 is a good thing. Anything related to IR35 is understandably going to be met with cynicism, but it might just be possible that there are things on there that could be of genuine benefit to you one day!

What about the 'buddy' concept - it looks as though totally artificial arrangements will be created purely to avoid IR35 e.g. 'advertising buddy' - there will be no actual spend on advertising as the contractor will just update their profile on the site occasionally - I can't see how HMRC would accept 'time spent' as equating to actual expenditure

[NickNick]

"Created by leading industry experts"
And for that reason, I'm out.

:O)

[Wanderer]

Too much use of the copyright sign on everything, so that you might think that it's a registered trademark, instead of just a spurious ASCII character.

Comes across as a but amateur doesn't it.

Good luck to them though.

[TheFaQQer]

Seems to be a company called Contractor Finance behind it - guy called Alf Gordon - don't know the name but it looks as though the company was set up pretty recently

There's plenty of boilerplate on the website which needs correcting / removing / updating, eg. all the "promotions" for accountants just go to a blank page and have a "Your Promotion Goes Here" kind of text hovering over the image.