IR35 insurance

Blonde Accountant

Hi, can any-one help me please?? I have a client who is a director of a supply management company. He wants IR35 insurance, but from what I can tell, it is better to get one which allows you to keep your own accountant if you are investigated. I have looked into a few providers but seem to be getting no-where quickly. Does any-body have any experience with this and can they please advise??

groundy

Have you tried PFP - Professional Fee Protection. I don't know if they cover IR35 but certainly cover all forms of investigation. Plus you can earn a small commission for the referral.

Monsoon

I'm not sure what you mean by IR35 insurance? Do you mean fee protection insurance in the event of HMRC making a status enquiry? In which case someone like PFP (mentioned above) may well be worth looking into.

Along with fee protection insurance, any client at risk of IR35 enquiry really has to make sure they have covered themselves first by way of reviewing the contract, making sure it accurately reflects the working practices and where possible making sure those working practices satisfy the independence tests to show that the contract doesn't fall inside IR35. Insurance for an enquriy only helps a little if the result is still that they owe back-tax under IR35!

One of the partners in my firm is an IR35 specialist and can offer further advice and a consultation if you wish.

payrollpro

Yes, I was wondering about the extent of this insurance, whether it is for recovery of the lost income as a result of discovering that IR35 applied to a contract when the client originally thought it would be a standard contract for services, or to cover the fees needed for professional advice during an IR35 enquiry.

Don't forget, also, if it is to cover your fees on any additional work make sure the insurers know the difference between an enquiry and an information request! The amount of work needed for an information request can be as much as a full enquiry and some insurers are being pedantic about it. One agent found their insurers would not pay out because it was information (HMRC's preferred way of doing things now) and not a formal enquiry and the client refused to pay up because they were told by the agent that the insurance would cover it, ouch!

Payrollpro