IR35 investigations

I enjoyed reading David Harmer’s insightful article into handling an IR35 claim (‘I will handle it’ Taxation 3 August 2023) but I would like to raise some additional considerations that I think an adviser in this field should be taking account of at least in the case of the old (Chapter 8) rules that still apply where there are small company and foreign clients in play.

There may be few of these cases being opened now but much of what I write below will also apply to managed service companies (MSC) investigations which HMRC appears to be pursuing with a vengeance at the moment.

Meetings with HMRC

First though I will raise one point where I shall register what I might call ‘a nuanced disagreement’. Mr Harmer says that it is ‘an option’ for the client to meet HMRC where the client is comfortable...