IR35 news and analysis
The latest news and commentary on IR35, employment status and the off-payroll working rules.
If you have a story, industry insight, or an opinion you would like to share, please feel free to contact us at info@ir35update.co.uk.
New right-to-work rules raise questions over contractor substitution clauses
New right-to-work rules taking effect on 1 October 2026 could affect some contractor substitution arrangements. While they do not alter IR35 or the off-payroll working rules, the changes could have…
Read moreConservatives pledge to replace IR35 with new system
The Conservatives have strengthened their position on IR35, pledging to replace the current regime with a new system if the party returns to government. In his first major speech as…
Read moreForeign Office changes 42 IR35 decisions amid HMRC review
The Foreign Office changed the IR35 status of 42 contractor engagements during 2025-26, according to its latest annual report. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office reassessed 50 engagements during the…
Read moreTreasury again rules out further IR35 review after MPs’ questions
The Treasury has again declined to provide any fresh assessment of the economic impact of the off-payroll working rules after an MP asked how the reforms were affecting specific industry…
Read moreBusinesses identify IR35 as top reform priority in government questionnaire
The results of a recent government questionnaire asking businesses which rules and regulations were holding them back found that IR35 was the most frequently cited measure that requires reform The…
Read moreHMRC won’t appeal PGMOL case after decade of litigation
HMRC has confirmed that it will not appeal the latest First-tier Tribunal decision in the long-running PGMOL employment status case. The decision brings more than ten years of litigation over…
Read moreIR35 Shield FOI data shows CEST usage down 71% in two years
New figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request suggest businesses are continuing to move away from HMRC’s Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool when assessing IR35 status. The…
Read more63% of contractors reject inside IR35 roles as hiring friction worsens
Almost two-thirds of contractors have turned down work because it was deemed inside IR35, according to new research from IPSE and Qdos. The survey of 505 contractors found that 63%…
Read morePGMOL status case: Tribunal rules referees are not employees
After more than ten years of legal proceedings, the First-tier Tribunal has today ruled that National Group football referees are not employees for tax purposes. The decision brings this phase…
Read moreApril 2026 joint and several liability rules – no direct impact on IR35
New tax rules affecting umbrella company supply chains will take effect from 6th April 2026, introducing joint and several liability (JSL) for unpaid PAYE and National Insurance. The changes introduced…
Read morePost Office IR35 fallout deepens after offset not applied to £104m tax liability
The fallout from the Post Office’s £104m IR35 liability has taken a new turn, with contractors potentially owed millions in tax after it emerged that HMRC will not offset tax…
Read moreRupert Lowe’s new Restore Britain party vows to scrap IR35 from day one
Rupert Lowe, the independent MP for Great Yarmouth and former Reform UK member, launched Restore Britain as a full national political party last week. One of the new party’s key…
Read morePost Office to receive over £100m to settle historic IR35 tax bill
The Post Office is set to receive more than £104m in government funding to settle a historic tax bill linked to non-compliance with the off-payroll working rules. Newly published government…
Read moreIR35 remains the top concern for UK’s contractor workforce in 2026
IR35 remains the main concern for the UK’s contractor workforce – even more so than tax rises – according to new data from a leading tax consultancy. Research published this…
Read moreEmployment status consultation delayed until 2026, report suggests
The government’s planned consultation on employment status, intended to address uncertainty around employment and self-employment, has been delayed until 2026. The consultation was expected by the end of 2025 but…
Read moreFarage steps back from Reform UK tax cuts but keeps IR35 repeal pledge
Nigel Farage has lowered expectations that Reform UK would make sweeping tax cuts if it forms a government in the future. However, the potential repeal of IR35 is still being…
Read moreWelsh public body hit with £14.6m IR35 bill after years of errors
A Welsh government-sponsored body has confirmed it will pay more than £14.6m to HMRC after a long investigation into how it handled off-payroll contractors. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the…
Read moreConservatives say they will “look again” at IR35 reform if elected
The Conservative Party has signalled that it would revisit the IR35 off-payroll working rules if it wins the next general election. The commitment was made by Shadow Business Secretary, Andrew…
Read moreContractors may have to wait for ‘small company’ clients to be free from off payroll burden
Recently enacted changes to company size thresholds mean that many ‘small company’ clients will not see a reprieve from their off-payroll obligations until the 2027/28 tax year at the earliest.…
Read moreIR35 specialist expects employer NI hike to impact blanket ban clients the most
A leading IR35 specialist says the recently implemented hike in Employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions is expected to place the greatest financial strain on companies that opted to ban the…
Read moreAtholl House (Kaye Adams) IR35 case – Q&A with IR35 expert
After 9-years of trying, HMRC have been told by the courts, yet again, that they were wrong to claim that Kaye Adams of Atholl House Productions Limited was caught by…
Read moreGovernment launches consultation into IR35 double taxation issue
The Government has announced a new consultation on a ‘double taxation’ issue, which occurs when a client incorrectly determines a contractor’s IR35 status, and both the deemed employer and the…
Read moreWhat does the IR35 Offset fix mean for the contracting market?
In the Autumn Statement, the government confirmed that it will legislate to fix the ‘IR35 Offset’ issue – to prevent cases of double taxation when HMRC successfully overturns an employment…
Read moreRenewed HMRC focus on how clients set IR35 status
We caught up with a leading IR35 expert after reports that HMRC has increased its compliance activity in recent months, with an apparent focus on how clients have been assessing IR35…
Read more‘Insidious’ IR35 tax yield set to double to £1.5bn per year
The tax yield from IR35 is set to reach £1.5bn per year – double the previous Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimate. IR35 tax receipts set to double On the…
Read moreGary Lineker wins ‘IR35’ case against HMRC
Gary Lineker has successfully won his battle with HMRC over a £4.9 million tax bill. But what, if anything, does the ruling mean for contractors when, in the end, the…
Read moreHMRC IR35 investigation shut down after contractor hounded for £100,000 despite CEST-pass
HMRC has been forced to abandon a three-year tax investigation into an engineering contractor’s tax affairs. The taxman pursued the worker for £100,000 despite the CEST employment status tool showing…
Read moreApril 2023 IR35 reform repeal cancelled – more pain for contractors
The Government has confirmed that the planned repeal of the off-payroll working rules will not go ahead after all. Jeremy Hunt made the announcement on 17 October 2022, as part…
Read moreOff Payroll rules to be scrapped! ‘Old’ IR35 to return from April 2023
In his ‘mini Budget’, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced that the Off Payroll working rules will be abolished from April 2023. [Update: Oct 17th – Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has cancelled the…
Read moreReport slams Off Payroll reforms, survey shows major IR35 impact
Just over a year since the introduction of the Off Payroll rules in the private sector, the Public Accounts Committee has released a damning report on the implementation. A new…
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