IR35 - Working for overseas company as remote worker (from UK home)

[northernladuk]

Is this direct or through an agent? I ask as if it's through an agent you'd think they've informed the client of the situation when taking UK people on and could also advise the OP of what he has to do. The fact that's not even been mentioned I assume this is direct.

[eek]

It doesn't matter whether you, personally, or your company have any ties to the UK head office or where you do the work from within the UK, that is completely irrelevant. What matters is whether your client has a UK connection and you said this:



Which means that your client probably has a UK connection for the purposes of Chapter 10 of Part 2 of ITEPA.

Your best bet is to get expert advice from a professional with whom you can share all the facts, as you know them, rather than trying to convince yourself one way or the other. In principle, the supply chain above YourCo is responsible and liable under Chapter 10, but it's important that you do your own due diligence and understand the risks.

And to be clear - HMRC don't care that the Norwegian office isn't at all connected to the UK head office. What they care about is:

1) that there is a UK head office that they can chase up
2) they don't want more dubious companies with UK head offices using disconnected foreign subsidiaries to bypass the IR35 rules.

Which means that you will need an SDS determination from someone and the Norwegian subsidy is going to have to ask the UK Head Office what to do.

[jamesbrown]

My apologies….

Maybe I was unclear in my wording of my response, please see my corrected text below.

All of my work would be performed fully remotely, from *my own* UK home, contracted to a Norwegian client.
The UK is my permanent establishment and tax residency (I am a UK citizen and the only property I own is in the UK). I will have no ties whatsoever with any UK entity/ office and will be dealing directly with the Norwegian Oil company (A/S registered).
I would only be making very infrequent business trip to the Client in Norway, fully paid out of my own UK Ltd.

Many thanks.

It doesn't matter whether you, personally, or your company have any ties to the UK head office or where you do the work from within the UK, that is completely irrelevant. What matters is whether your client has a UK connection and you said this:

There is a UK company (head office)

Which means that your client probably has a UK connection for the purposes of Chapter 10 of Part 2 of ITEPA.

Your best bet is to get expert advice from a professional with whom you can share all the facts, as you know them, rather than trying to convince yourself one way or the other. In principle, the supply chain above YourCo is responsible and liable under Chapter 10, but it's important that you do your own due diligence and understand the risks.

[jlo1983]

Thank you very much - the link is very helpful and I will delve into it further.

I think I need to wrap my head around the link between the overseas Norwegian office (who want to hire me) and the UK entity.

The Norwegian A/S company/ entity details state it’s legal jurisdiction is in the Norway, incl. legal address and registered headquarters. The registration authority is also listed as Norway. It’s entity relationship with the UK appears purely to be for accounting consolidation for reporting to the PLC listed on the stock exchange.

[jlo1983]

My apologies….

Maybe I was unclear in my wording of my response, please see my corrected text below.

All of my work would be performed fully remotely, from *my own* UK home, contracted to a Norwegian client.
The UK is my permanent establishment and tax residency (I am a UK citizen and the only property I own is in the UK). I will have no ties whatsoever with any UK entity/ office and will be dealing directly with the Norwegian Oil company (A/S registered).
I would only be making very infrequent business trip to the Client in Norway, fully paid out of my own UK Ltd.

Many thanks.

[jamesbrown]

More guidance here:

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-man...anual/esm10025

[jamesbrown]

Well, in that case, you probably fall under the Chapter 10 rules, not the Chapter 8 rules. It's pretty clear that, if you're working from the UK office, there is a UK connection. It doesn't matter whether you could be employed by the UK company. By all means, solicit expert advice, but this contract probably falls under Chapter 10, in which case the overseas entity is responsible for issuing an SDS and the UK connection will be pursued in the event of a compliance failure.

[jlo1983]

Hello,

Thanks for this - it’s really useful.

There is a UK company (head office) but the Norwegian company is a separate A/S entity and does not have direct ties with the UK company in terms of HR/ employment. I.e I could not be employed via the UK company/ HR. I would only be contracted directly to the Norwegian company (and paid in NOK).

All of my work would be performed from the UK home office, remotely. The UK is my home/ permanent establishment and tax residency (I am a UK citizen). I would only be making the odd business trip to the Client, fully paid out of my own UK Ltd.

Thanks.

[jamesbrown]

Is there any UK entity (an entity with a UK permanent establishment, for example) in the supply chain (like a branch office)?

If not, you'll fall under the Chapter 8 (Part 2, ITEPA) rules w/r to IR35 and you will be responsible and liable for assessing IR35 status on behalf of YourCo.

Regarding your tax status in Norway, speak to Sue B. The general rule is that you pay tax where the work is done (and on your worldwide income where you're tax resident). If you are literally just spending a few days in Norway engaged in meetings, that's probably fine, but it's not entirely clear from your post.

[jlo1983]

Hi,

I am considering a freelance contract offer from an Oil Company based in Norway. Due to my specialist skills they will allow me to work fully remotely from my home office (permanent residence) in the UK.

The contract would be 12 months, with the possibility for extension, and with a day rate paid in the local currency (NOK). The role is full time but will also have some flexibility in terms of the hours work, limited only to some core business hours I would be expected to be available online. I will spend less than 90 days in Norway per year and only travel infrequently for important ad-hoc meetings (envisage approx 30 days/yr max), which would be paid at own cost and reclaimed as expenses.

I wondered if there is any guidance on if IR35 would be applicable in this situation, assuming I set up a Limited company.

Any relevant resources/ pointers would be really appreciated.

John