IR35 appeal success

[northernladuk]

You are able to work while an investigation is happening but you and other members of your household will be under a lot of stress.

I would have thought over the few years an investigation goes on you are going to have to take some time off from a client to sort this so will be a financial penalty. Visiting court, your solicitor and so on.

BB is right in as much as it's the investigation that should be feared, regardless of outcome. They might not have won anything (ignoring the JLJ case) but they've made a lot of people very miserable for many years whilst losing everything.

[pauldee]

Does anyone else just leave an amount in the warchest in case of IR35? Am I right in assuming you just need to leave 6 years worth of difference plus interest to be safe? (I have to admit I have no idea what the fines are).

[northernladuk]

Does anyone else just leave an amount in the warchest in case of IR35? Am I right in assuming you just need to leave 6 years worth of difference plus interest to be safe? (I have to admit I have no idea what the fines are).

Nope. Just get IR35 insurance.

[Batcher]

Does anyone else just leave an amount in the warchest in case of IR35? Am I right in assuming you just need to leave 6 years worth of difference plus interest to be safe? (I have to admit I have no idea what the fines are).

They aren't fines as such, they are taxes HMRC decide you are due plus penalties

£52k in my case.

It didn't stop me earning but the 4 years it took for the investigation was bit stressful.

[jamesbrown]

This was a construction worker, wasnt it? Yeah, I know all about the pillars and principles being the same etc but I really wonder if he had been an IT contractor whether the ultimate decision would have been the same.

No, that's the thing, the principles are just principles, and they are applied to each individual case in a subjective way. Each principle can be given materially different weight/nuance, depending on the specifics of any one engagement. That's the central problem with IR35. So, indeed, if would be different for "IT contractors" - it would be different for each individual IT contractor and contract

[pauldee]

They aren't fines as such, they are taxes HMRC decide you are due plus penalties

£52k in my case.

It didn't stop me earning but the 4 years it took for the investigation was bit stressful.

That sounds like a tremendous amount. Am I right they only go back 6 years? That would be about £8600 a year, which actually doesn't sound that unrealistic, but I assume you are on a decent rate (£500-£600?). How much of that was penalties and how much taxes if you don't mind me asking?

[TonyF]

Am I right they only go back 6 years?

They have 6 years to start the investigation, but the contract could go back further than that.

[Batcher]

That sounds like a tremendous amount. Am I right they only go back 6 years? That would be about £8600 a year, which actually doesn't sound that unrealistic, but I assume you are on a decent rate (£500-£600?). How much of that was penalties and how much taxes if you don't mind me asking?

They initially covered 1 year then stretched it out over 4 years and it took 4 years to complete. £9,600 of it was interest they said I was due since I hadn't paid the NICs etc when they would have been due.

I did load up redacted scans of the payment slips but they seem to have gone now.

[northernladuk]

They initially covered 1 year then stretched it out over 4 years and it took 4 years to complete. £9,600 of it was interest they said I was due since I hadn't paid the NICs etc when they would have been due.

I did load up redacted scans of the payment slips but they seem to have gone now.

This is only one contract isn't it? 6 years or more only matters if you were on that contract that long. If you weren't there that long then the length of time they can go back is irrelevant.

[pauldee]

They initially covered 1 year then stretched it out over 4 years and it took 4 years to complete. £9,600 of it was interest they said I was due since I hadn't paid the NICs etc when they would have been due.

I did load up redacted scans of the payment slips but they seem to have gone now.

Did you have to pay it all in the end?