Understanding the Impact of IR35
If you are a contractor or freelancer when the IR35 rules came into force a few years ago you were probably affected by them. It will have changed the way you work and how much you can earn.
Years later some people are still adapting to the change and trying to work out how to get the most out of working as a freelancer. However, fully understanding the IR35 rules and not falling fowl of them is not easy. Like a lot of rules and regulations they are written in legalise which makes them quite hard to understand. In addition, of course, they are open to interpretation.
For this reason, most contractors and freelancers have taken the safest course of action and got help from professionals. They employ IR35 accountants.
What IR35 Accountants Can Do For You
IR35 accountants can help you to understand the rules and regulations, which is important. However, they can also save you money. Because they fully understand the rules, they know how to declare your income, so that you remain legal, but pay as little tax as possible.
There is nothing illegal about what they are doing. They just help you to make the most out of the situation. The very best IR35 accountants will even advice you about how to draw up a contract.
Why You Need IR35 Contract Advice
Because of the nature of their work many contractors or freelancers end up working for certain firms for long periods. If you are not careful, the fact that you are doing this it can look to HMRC like you are not working on a freelance basis. It can appear to them that you are in fact a permanent employee of a particular company. This means that instead of being paid as a freelancer you should be paid as an employee, i.e. under the PAYE system.
HMRC want as many people as possible to be paid using PAYE because they can easily collect more tax. You do not want this and an IR35 accountant can ensure that your contract and work patterns are structured to keep you out of the PAYE system.
Beevers and Struthers specialise in freelancer and contractors accounts. They have decades of experience, so give the best IR35 advice available.
