The check employment status for tax (CEST) digital tool is being updated with effect from 30 April 2025. According to HMRC the revisions will make it ‘easier to use the tool and receive an accurate outcome’. To support the changes HMRC will also publish updated guidance that offers help on how to answer the revised questions.
Dave Chaplin chief executive officer of IR35 Shield said ‘nothing has changed’ and warned that for anyone ‘serious about getting status right using CEST doesn’t offer the protection some might claim’.
He said: ‘It is frankly baffling that HMRC’s press office continues to claim that HMRC “stand by” the tool. Based on years of first-hand experience handling IR35 compliance checks all the way to tribunal I can confirm HMRC caseworkers consistently disregard CEST outcomes and instead focus – as they always have –...
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