HR File: IR35 to be delayed for a year

IR35 implementation in the private sector will be delayed for a year given the current coronavirus pandemic, it was confirmed on March 17.

Chief secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay said this is a deferral, not a cancellation, and the government is still committed to introducing the policy.

The new tax measures, planned to make organisations responsible for determining whether a contractor carrying out work for them should be treated as an employee for tax purposes, will now come into effect on April 6, 2021.

James Poyser, CEO of inniAccounts and founder of offpayroll.org.uk, said in a statement: ‘The Lords made it pretty clear... that the Treasury’s IR35 position was increasingly untenable, with the rising backdrop of coronavirus.’