April 2020 looms ever closer and there are still many who are asking for a delay to the introduction of this legislation into the private sector or scrapping it altogether.
HMRC’s response is to offer guidance in the form of their ‘Talking Points’ webinars aimed at Tax Advisers and Agents. In their most recent webinar the talking point was none other than the off-payroll working rules. Below are links to various pages that give an HMRC perspective and guidance around changes and responsibilities.
Check Employment Status for Tax service
April 2020 changes for clients
April 2020 changes for intermediaries
Off-payroll working for agencies
Fee-payer responsibilities under the off-payroll working rules
Off-payroll working rules from April 2020- summary of consultation responses
Defining the scope of the changes- small organisations
Hot on the heels of these came the announcement that HMRC will now be offering support to those companies that will be affected by this legislation. Companies that do not meet the criteria as laid down by the government need not concern themselves with this legislation at this time, however it is always useful to stay up to date no matter the circumstance.
For those who are affected 1-2-1s will be offered this is expected to be approximately 2,000 employers and for the remaining 15,000 or so communication will be via email. The guidance and support will primarily be around educating on where responsibility lies to determine the status of an individual who provides their services through their own personal services company. Although legislation currently permits such workers to determine their status within the private sector, best practice should have always been to determine this independently by using the status tool on gov.uk. That status is where some of the issues lie; and also in the issuing of those ‘Status Determination Statements’ after all no one will like being told they fall within the IR35 legislation after years of not doing so. Not only is this an issue, but also, how do you deal with the ‘Client-Led Disagreement Process. All of these topics and possibly more HMRC’s dedicated team will be able to offer the appropriate guidance. Of course employers can help themselves in the interim by reviewing the information readily available on the gov.uk web pages.
