Using your own equipment

[DS23]

aside from my first gig (when i had a swimming pool behind my ears) i have always used my own equipment. sometimes the clients let me have a desktop too which is nice but my equipment has all my stuff on it and i need it.

[Ardesco]

It's also a good outside IR35 pointer if you supply your own stuff. At the start of this contract I used my laptop quite often as the loan one I had until the real one came through was rubbish. Also on my last contract they couldn't sort out a laptop for the first couple of weeks, so again I used mine simply to make myself useful. So they are handy to have and tax deducatble.

I would say that generally speaking the own equipment thing is generally the government looking for ways to trap you when nothing exists.

Does a contract Truck driver bring his own truck, or does he used the one supplied?

Does a contract PM bring his own employee's or does he make best use of the ones supplied?

If you are going into another company to provide some sort of consultancy service you are bound to use some of thier resources/equipment.

[BoredBloke]

By the same logic, would you employ a plumber who had to use your spanners? You could, using the IR35 logic argue that a truck driver not supplying his own truck should be an employee of the person who owns the truck.

"Does a contract PM bring his own employee's or does he make best use of the ones supplied?"

I know a few who take on people out of the same pool. When the PM pops up, soon after a few familiar faces pop up also.

"If you are going into another company to provide some sort of consultancy service you are bound to use some of thier resources/equipment. "

Agreed, but it can be useful to have some of your own also.

[Ardesco]

So we agree that you could use the clients resources, or your own resources while providing services to a client.

This is why all this posturing about what/whose equipment you use is mainly bulltulip and proves nothing.

[BoredBloke]

I didn't say it proved anything. I said

"It's also a good outside IR35 pointer if you supply your own stuff"

It in itself does not indicate you are outside it but coupled with a few more ticks in a few more boxes it can help in the IR35 fight.

[malvolio]

I didn't say it proved anything. I said

"It's also a good outside IR35 pointer if you supply your own stuff"

It in itself does not indicate you are outside it but coupled with a few more ticks in a few more boxes it can help in the IR35 fight.

Actually it isn't any kind of significant IR35 differentiator, simply because the case can be argued both ways as we have just demonstrated. And FWIW, like a lot of contractors I usually end up using the client's kit for client work on site - mainly to get on to shared areas and email - and my own for everything else