IR 35 viewpoint (risky business)

[northernladuk]

Whilst I suspect you are right in this instance, not all IR35-caught roles are dodgy or awful.

Anyone who got caught by Danny Alexander's review in the wake of the Ed Lester affair will tell you that

I don't disagree. Dodgy was meant in relation to it being in or outside Ir35.

[BolshieBastard]

I always get my contracts reviewed up front, but in this situation, why don't you just assume you're not caught and put the extra away somewhere safe? The odds are very small that you'll be investigated and caught, and you don't even know if you're inside or out.

Do you have D+C, MOO and RoS in your contract? What are your working practices like? Do they match the contract?

I wouldn't definitely ditch a contract just because it's inside IR35.

That's a very dangerous strategy imho. Burying your head in the sand will worsen the situation if HMRC investigate and find one inside because you've made no attempt to determine your status and acted with impunity. You'll likely get stiffed for massive penalties.

[gables]

That's a very dangerous strategy imho. Burying your head in the sand will worsen the situation if HMRC investigate and find one inside because you've made no attempt to determine your status and acted with impunity. You'll likely get stiffed for massive penalties.

Does that mean that if you don't have a contract review then HMRC will view you as making no attempt to determine your status?

[VectraMan]

Does that mean that if you don't have a contract review then HMRC will view you as making no attempt to determine your status?

That's the theory, though I don't think anyone can say with any certainty. Needless to say all of this is great for the contract review lawyers.

A couple of contract reviews a year plus IPSE membership and that's £500 spent with no guarantees that you won't ultimately have to pay all your tax anyway. Perhaps it's better to just get on with life.

[SueEllen]

That's the theory, though I don't think anyone can say with any certainty. Needless to say all of this is great for the contract review lawyers.

A couple of contract reviews a year plus IPSE membership and that's £500 spent with no guarantees that you won't ultimately have to pay all your tax anyway. Perhaps it's better to just get on with life.

If you take care e.g. to stay outside then IPSE (and FSB) will fight your case for you.

It seems from the reports here and contractors I've met HMRC don't like fighting if you can afford legal representation. (That's because they are fighting against people who use to work for them.)

If you can't that's when you have to cough up.