QDOS Tax Investigation Insurance

[TheFaQQer]

It's my understanding that IPSE+ won't pay fines and taxes, they will only pay for representation, whereas QDOS will pay all fines and taxes.

Not on the standard IR35 investigation insurance they won't.

[mudskipper]

It's my understanding that IPSE+ won't pay fines and taxes, they will only pay for representation, whereas QDOS will pay all fines and taxes.

Tax Enquiry Insurance - no
Tax Liability Cover (TLC35) - yes

Details are here
https://www.qdoscontractor.com/ir35/ir35-insurance - it looks like the QDOS offering provides contract assessments for an additional charge of £49+VAT

QDOS cover up to £50K, IPSE up to £75K

You can also buy the liability cover through Abbey Tax who provide IPSE's protection (Survive35) - I don't know the details of the similarities/differences of the two providers.

[NibblyPig]

I'd suggest you grow some... And quick. You are in a strong position being and a daybor so either way isnt going to phase anyone. You can get a QDOS review done in less than a day.

If you don't have the gumption to negotiate with clients what makes you think you know enough to review a contract?

IMO this is a poor situation opening you up to some very expensive risks for no reason whatsoever.

Didn't realise QDos did a more basic package for IR35, thought they just did the whole lot. In that case you have a choice, I picked IPSE+ for the other fringe stuff like jury duty cover.

[northernladuk]

Didn't realise QDos did a more basic package for IR35, thought they just did the whole lot. In that case you have a choice, I picked IPSE+ for the other fringe stuff like jury duty cover.

I'm getting lost with all these covers. They give 3 free contract checks with PI/PL cover but they also do a full check for £90. For a 1 day turn around it costs a bit extra. The IR35 cover I thought they did is TLC 35. Don't know anything about a basic cover unless something has changed recently. Either way, £240 is cheap enough for the TLC35 for me.

[PerfectStorm]

Remember this is the famous 'cover' that has never been paid out on...

[TheFaQQer]

Remember this is the famous 'cover' that has never been paid out on...

Both Qdos and IPSE have successfully defended numerous cases, which would be covered by IPSE membership and Qdos IR35 investigation insurance.

Qdos haven't paid out under TLC35 because they haven't lost the case.

[kaiser78]

So to sum up in my own mind as this is very confusing, it seems that IPSE Plus membership + QDOS TLC35 cover are the way to go to provide the right level of cover for a 'standard' contractor setup, yes ?

[NibblyPig]

So to sum up in my own mind as this is very confusing, it seems that IPSE Plus membership + QDOS TLC35 cover are the way to go to provide the right level of cover for a 'standard' contractor setup, yes ?

Depends what you want. Minimum risk would just be the QDos complete IR35 package, ensuring that you abide by their small print which last I checked required certain clauses to be present in your contract, and probably get the contracts reviewed and changes made prior to signing.

Acceptable risk might be to get investigation cover (to pay cost of representation) combined with contract review, which will be cheaper, and probably fine due to the reputation of QDos never losing a case and the fact they've reviewed it themselves.

Greater risk would be to skip reviewing your contracts and get some investigation cover to cover legal costs (but not fines if you are found in violation). This choice is only recommended because it makes NLUK sad. Personally I do this at the moment because I've had some tumultuous times with agents happy to drop you if you can't sign immediately and get to the client site ASAP, and I need the money atm because I am just starting out and funds are low, so reluctant to rock the boat. When I get to the stage that I can relax more and not be in a hurry to get into a job I will probably switch to the least risk option above. I'm familiar with the rules and criteria for IR35 so I ensure I have named deliverables, the usual boilerplate stuff also found in the sample contracts offered by IPSE, and work as if I were providing a service, not as an employee. I am happy with this level of risk atm, and it's up to what you decide how much risk you want.

The greatest risk is to pretend you don't know (or genuinely not know) what IR35 is, which is what more than 75% of contractors I know and have met are doing.

Whether you get cover from IPSE or QDos is up to you. I think for the full complete package, QDos is a bit cheaper (IPSE uses a 3rd party I think for its complete cover). For their investigation only cover, I think they were about the same (may have changed now) but IPSE offered stuff like jury cover.

Basically just compare them both and see because things have probably changed.

All my stuff is up for renewal in April so I will be shopping around too. Good luck.

[SueEllen]

So to sum up in my own mind as this is very confusing, it seems that IPSE Plus membership + QDOS TLC35 cover are the way to go to provide the right level of cover for a 'standard' contractor setup, yes ?

No too much cover.

Choose IPSE+ and get your contracts reviewed by someone competent, which is not your accountant.

OR

Choose QDOS and make sure you follow their small print.

[Contreras]

I'm getting lost with all these covers. They give 3 free contract checks with PI/PL cover but they also do a full check for £90. For a 1 day turn around it costs a bit extra. The IR35 cover I thought they did is TLC 35. Don't know anything about a basic cover unless something has changed recently. Either way, £240 is cheap enough for the TLC35 for me.

The "basic cover" is Tax Enquiry Insurance and, like IPSE+ (not standard IPSE), also covers PAYE compliance review.

The other one worth looking at is Jury Service and Legal Protection.