MarkA74 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I'm looking at the possibility of going back to freelancing again, but I'm hearing more & more about "IR35" having an impact from April onwards, for the new tax year. Please could anyone share whatever they believe / know what IR35 means for what we used to refer to as sole traders? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryNattrass Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 It and similar schemes is why I took up a staff job after 25 years of freelancing in film and TV. I got sick of the rates being the same as ten years ago and having to pay for all my own travel and accommodation then to be told that I can no longer claim for those expenses against my end tax bill. OK I still have to fork out around £7k a year to be working 300 miles from my home and can't offset that against my tax either but I now don't have to pay for an accountant anymore or do tax returns or worry about if I have enough work to live. If I have to do work that is away from the company base my employer has to pay that cost and any accommodation required. I also get a 6% contribution into my pension fund and 35 days paid leave as well as sick and dental care but the best bit is that I get paid every month on the 27th. Ok I was lucky to get a staff job at the age of 55 but two years on I still feel it is a better overall life choice than the uncertain world of freelancing or being self employed as a sole trader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior8 Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 For the sole trader who passes the test for self-employment it will have no effect. IR35 is designed afaik to catch the worker who would be consdered an employee but for a device to avoid that status. There is nothing new in this or the tests used to decide the issue. The HMRC online employment status tool is a good place to start. Also as Gary points out the amount of travel and subsistence you can claim as a sole trader even if you have that status is increasingly limited by a much stricter interpretation of travel to 'place of work' etc. There have been many threads on here about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkA74 Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 Hi, Thanks for that, I'll go & have a look at HMRC's test... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryNattrass Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Just a side not to add that when I challenged the HMRC for the 2014 commonwealth games they stated for film and TV that they no longer issued lorimar letters. I also challenged their list of self employed / sole trader criteria as it was written in 1984 and has never ever been updated, it was also based on the film industry at the time so many roles simply just do not exist. I argued that as a commentary systems manager working as part of a TV production that did not appear on their list it was similar to a production manager as I was in a management position working on a TV production so therefore akin to a production manager. It's a farce in the TV and film industry and I once had some idiot from HMRC say that when I was on The Bill as an Editor and Dubbing mixer sat in front of an AMS Neve AudioFile and a Logic 1 that I had to work out how many minutes each day I was sat editing the programme and how many I was mixing it as one role was deemed self employed and the other PAYE. As I said I have given up freelance now as it is just not worth the arguments and paying out to justify my employment status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerdydd Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 HMRC are still doing Larimer letters thankfully.......... Mines a few days old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.