Day: April 5, 2021

DMS Posts, PAYE, Tax

Tax and National Insurance rates and bands

Debonair Management Services Limted

Here are the changes that will come into effect in April 2021:

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Changes will come into effect on 1st April. Note the different age bands for rates in 2021/22.

2021/222020/21
Employees aged under 18: NMW£4.62£4.55
Employees aged 18-20: NMW£6.56£6.45
Employees aged 23 and over: NLW£8.91N/A
Employees aged 25 and over: NLWN/A£8.72
Employees aged 21-24: NMWN/A£8.20
Employees aged 21-22: NMW£8.36N/A

England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Changes will come into effect on 6th April 2021.

2021/222020/21
Personal allowance£12,570£12,500
Employee’s NI becomes due at£9,568£9,500
Employer’s NI becomes due at£8,840£8,788
Higher rate tax becomes due at£50,270£50,000
Class 2 NI becomes due when profits exceed£6,515£6,475
Class 2 NI per week£3.05£3.05
Class 4 NI becomes due when profits exceed£9,568£9,500

Scottish tax rates and bands

Changes will come into effect on 6th April 2021.

2021/222020/21
Personal allowance£0 – £12,570£0 – £12,500
Starter rate 19%£12,571 – £14,667£12,501 – £14,585
Basic rate 20%£14,668 – £25,296£14,586 – £25,158
Intermediate rate 21%£25,297 – £43,662£25,159 – £43,430
Higher rate 41%£43,663 – £150,000£43,431 – £150,000
Top rate 46%Over £150,000Over £150,000

Student Loan repayment thresholds and new Scottish student loan plan

Changes will come into effect on 6th April 2021.

2021/222020/21
Undergraduate loan: plan 1£19,895£19,390
Undergraduate loan: plan 2£27,295£26,575
Scottish student loan: plan 4£25,000N/A
Postgraduate loan£21,000£21,000
DMS Posts, Tax

What is IR35?

Debonair Management Services Limted

Definition of IR35

IR35 is a piece of legislation that allows HMRC to collect additional payment where a contractor is an employee in all but name.

If a contractor is operating through an intermediary, such as a limited company, and, but for that intermediary, they would be an employee of their client, IR35 kicks in.

If the contractor’s contract is in the public sector, it’s up to the engager (the contractor’s client) to determine whether IR35 applies. If it does, the engager will place the contractor onto their payroll and will deduct income tax and National Insurance before paying the contractor.

If the contractor’s contract is in the private sector, IR35 requires the intermediary to make an extra payment to compensate for the additional tax and NI that HMRC would have received on an equivalent employee’s wages.

From April 2021, the rules are due to change for contractors working with medium to large sized clients in the private sector. Like the public sector, these clients will have to determine whether the contractor falls inside or outside IR35.

When IR35 legislation applies, a contract may be described as ‘within IR35’ or ‘caught by IR35’.

Determining IR35

Whether a contractor is an employee in all but name may vary from client to client and from project to project. When determining this HMRC will look at the whole picture, but key factors are:

  • Does the contractor have to carry out the work personally, rather than being able to send a substitute?
  • Does the client have to provide the contractor with work, and/or does the contractor have to carry out any work that the client requests?
  • Does the client have control over how, when and where the contractor carries out the work?

Answers of yes to these questions will indicate a quasi-employment relationship. You can also use CEST, which is HMRC’s online tool to help determine IR35.

Note that HMRC will look at what actually happens (or would happen) in practice, rather than the terms of the contract. HMRC will also look at other factors, such as whether the contractor has an office at the client’s site, an email address and/or job title indicating that they are part of the client’s business, and so forth.

DMS Posts, PAYE

What is CEST?

Debonair Management Services Limted

Definition of CEST

CEST is short for Check Employment Status for Tax. It’s a digital tool designed by HMRC to help public authorities decide if a worker falls inside or outside the scope of IR35.

The tool comes in a quiz-like format and can be accessed here.

Why was CEST introduced?

When off-payroll working rules were introduced to the public sector in 2017, the onus to certify whether a worker fell inside or outside IR35 shifted from the worker to the public sector authority.

HMRC produced the CEST tool to help public sector authorities make these decisions quickly and cheaply.

An updated version of the CEST tool was released in November 2019.

Does CEST only apply to the public sector?

CEST can be used in both the private sector and the public sector but it’s important to note that the private sector is assessed differently under the off-payroll regulations. In the private sector, the onus is on contractors to declare whether they fall inside or outside IR35, rather than their clients.

From April 2021, the rules on off-payroll working in the private sector are set to change, bringing it in line with the rules that apply to the public sector for contractors working with large and medium-sized business clients.