The ultimate guide to IR35 guides (redux)

July 28th, 2010 by Derek_Kelly

In the maze of information that is the IR35 legislation, contractors may well wonder where to start and how to go about assessing the law and what it means for them in practice. To this end, I’ve checked out some of the main sources of information and advice available over the internet and reviewed them for you. Let me know what you think…

Blatant self promotion alert!

If I couldn’t recommend ClearSky’s own guides to IR35, I’d have egg on my face but I honestly do feel it’s worth a read. We’ve written this guide in what we hope are layman’s terms so that you don’t have to wade through pages of jargon. It’s also deliberately short as it’s only meant to give you an overview, not specific advice. To get a proper assessment of your IR35 status, it’s always best to speak to a qualified person who can get under the skin of your specific circumstances.

Contractor UK’s ‘Insider’s Guide to IR35′ is another decent starting point for contractors wondering what IR35 is all about and whether they’re affected by it. Put together with assistance from former tax inspector Ray McMahon, the 12 pages are well organised and concise if not a little formal.

Contractor Calculator has a very useful contract reviewing facility geared towards identifying IR35 relevance, as well as a free IR35 report for download that covers the genesis of the legislation and practicalities around it. We’d love to see Contractor Calculator develop a true IR35 calculator as the one on the site will only give you a topline idea of your earnings if you are caught by the legislation or not.

Contract Eye is an excellent website that always publishes useful information in user friendly chunks. As well as overviews of the legislation and how to check if your contract is compliant, there’s an interesting review of the famous Dragonfly case which helps put all the legalese into context and brings home the frightening realities of falling foul of the law.

Great Expectations - For those who want a more comprehensive guide to all things IR35 (as well as a great deal more on flexible working in the UK), Great Expectations, written by Bel Grant, a leading commentator on flexible working, is a must read. IR35 section highlights include: setting out the differences between a ‘deliverable’ and a ’role’, lots of anecdotal workplace examples of likely inside and outside IR35 work, a borderline IR35 investigation case study with a happy ending – eventually, and the main risk factors to being caught by IR35. Bel’s on-screen guidebook is available at Flexible Working Expert. Bel has written about freelancing in the UK for a number of national newspapers as well as business and trade titles and websites, as well as having firsthand experience of flexible working herself.

How do our competition fare?

Various accountancy firms have produced IR35 guides specifically for contractor clients. SJD Accountancy’s ‘Plain English IR35 Advice’ is worth looking at, although cheekily they will expect you to register your details with them first. Holdsworth & Co’s information is provided in a similar vein in a 30 page document that includes a section on umbrella companies but also requires you to email them first. Finally, Virtue Accounting also provides relevant information in a different format which includes a user rating facility.

Business Link has a useful ‘one stop shop’ page around IR35 which includes a guide to the legislation, their IR35 helpline number and related events – although when I checked the events page there was nothing specifically relating to IR35, which was disappointing.

Smallbusiness.co.uk have a disappointingly static outline guide that doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2006 – and the title (Are You an IR35 Tax Case?) sounds somewhat pathologising!

Finally, no review of information sources could ignore HM Revenue & Customs which naturally has its own IR35 guide and helpful tools such as a ‘deemed relevance’ calculator. This is the first and last word on the detail of the legislation but if you’re anything like me, you’ll find the formal language difficult to wade through. I felt like I needed a translator at times, but maybe that says more about me!

So as you can see, the information is out there. Some of it fairly lightweight, some of it totally detailed and sometimes bamboozling. If you have any worries about IR35, an hour or two spent perusing the better guides will be time well spent but you should expect your accountant to be able to offer expert, tailored advice after a quick conversation too. Let me know if you spot any other resources that you feel I should add to this list.

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