IR35 accounting that reads the small print, not the headline.

It comes down to how you actually work, judged on three tests: personal service (can you send a substitute?), control (does the client tell you how to do the job?), and mutuality of obligation (must they give you work and you take it?). If you genuinely operate like a business, your own equipment, multiple clients, real substitution rights, and freedom over how you deliver, you're likely outside. We assess your contracts and working practices against these tests and run HMRC's CEST tool to document the position.

For medium and large private-sector clients, and all public-sector bodies, yes. Since April 2021 the client makes the determination and must give you a Status Determination Statement (SDS). The decision only stays with your own company when the end client is genuinely small, which means it meets two of these three: turnover not more than £15m, balance sheet total not more than £7.5m, 50 or fewer employees. It is two of the three, not any single one. The thresholds rose on 6 April 2025, but that does not immediately move the decision back to you: client size is based on its last filed accounts and must be met for two years running, so for most existing medium clients the earliest practical effect is the 2027/28 tax year, often later. We confirm which rules apply to each engagement so you're not paying tax you don't owe.

Yes. The client must operate a status disagreement process and respond within 45 days with their decision and reasons, if they don't, the determination is invalid and the tax liability can shift back to them. Blanket 'inside' decisions made without looking at your real terms are challengeable. We help you build an evidence-based case, citing your substitution rights, lack of control and other markers of self-employment.

Not at all. Many contractors have a mix of inside and outside engagements, and your company still works for the outside ones, for pension contributions, and for limited liability. Even on inside work, the original Chapter 8 rules give a flat 5% allowance for running costs (though this 5% is withdrawn for public-sector and large-client off-payroll engagements). We model your actual mix rather than assuming the worst-case position.

If you have sole-trade or rental income above the thresholds, yes. MTD for Income Tax starts April 2026 for qualifying income over £50,000, April 2027 for over £30,000, and April 2028 for over £20,000, meaning digital records and quarterly updates. Income drawn through your limited company as salary and dividends isn't directly in scope, but any personal self-employment or property income may be. We get you onto compliant software early so it's a non-event.

Fixed monthly pricing at £129, £250 or £499 depending on the support you need, no hourly surprises and no charge for asking a quick question. You get a named, qualified accountant, replies within 72 hours, and we work in Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage. It's rolling monthly with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so there's no long tie-in if it's not the right fit.

Yes. You must register once taxable turnover passes £90,000, and many contractors default to the Flat Rate Scheme, but the 16.5% limited-cost-trader rate often makes it worse than standard VAT once input tax is counted. We run the numbers on FRS versus standard accounting for your specific spend and handle quarterly returns through your accounting software.

It's straightforward and we handle the awkward parts. You give your current accountant notice, we send a professional clearance letter to request your records, and we deal with the handover of your accounts, payroll and VAT registrations directly with them, so you're not stuck in the middle. We can move you mid-year, review any live contract or Status Determination Statement as part of onboarding, and make sure nothing, a filing deadline, a VAT return or a Confirmation Statement, slips through the gap while you change over. Most contractors are set up with a named, qualified accountant within a couple of weeks, on a fixed monthly fee with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

HMRC can look back at how a contract really worked and, if it decides you were inside IR35 when you were treated as outside, assess the unpaid tax and National Insurance, plus interest and potentially penalties. Which years and which party carry that risk depends on whether you assessed your own status or the end client did. The single thing that protects you is contemporaneous evidence: the contract, your CEST result, the Status Determination Statement and notes on how you actually delivered the work, kept at the time rather than reconstructed under pressure. That's why we file it as we go. If an enquiry lands, we help you respond, present the evidence for your status and deal with HMRC's questions, so you're answering from a documented position rather than a standing start.

We read both the upper contract, between the agency and the client, and your lower contract, and we weigh the wording against the real tests: substitution, control, mutuality of obligation, financial risk and whether you're part and parcel of the client's organisation. Wording alone isn't enough, so we also check it against how the engagement actually runs day to day, because that's what HMRC weighs most heavily. You get a clear read on whether you sit inside or outside, the specific clauses that weaken your position, and practical wording or working-practice changes to fix them before you sign. A standard review is usually turned around within a few working days, and for existing clients a contract review is scoped into your fixed fee rather than charged as a surprise extra.