News
IR35. It’s time for change: reform, repeal or replace?
From taxing clients instead of contractors to creating a new legal status for freelancers, alternatives to IR35 have been proposed for years. ContractorUK is examining…
Body
Topic
News & HMRC
Budgets, HMRC moves and the contracting market. 3,105 articles, newest first.
Latest on News & HMRC
News
The government wants substitution to count for less. Should contractors be worried?
The government wants substitution to count for less when deciding who qualifies for employment rights, putting one of the most important tests of self-employment under…
News
FCA warns debt collectors over disputed loans as Trethowans sends fresh demands to contractors
The Financial Conduct Authority has warned debt collection firms against putting inappropriate pressure on customers over disputed debts, as contractors report receiving…
News
AI powers IT contractor demand in September 2026 to highest level since 2023
As REC’s temporary tech staff index hits 53.7 (its strongest reading of 2026), IT recruiters and contractors say the AI bounce is real — with 53% of its roles being…
News
Budget 2026: a nothing Budget for growth that does nil for contractors
A contractor sector entrepreneur who built a firm to £100million turnover says Budget 2026 was a missed opportunity, making her increasingly ask if it’s all worth it…
News
Cabinet Office’s £38.5m IR35 bill: should contractors be worried?
HMRC found the Cabinet Office failed to take reasonable care on IR35, lumping it with a £38.5million bill and a potential £8.9m penalty. Contractors aren’t liable, but…
News
Autumn Budget 2026 for contractors: IR35 untouched, an AI mystery and 10 HMRC battle lines
Six top advisers regret Autumn Budget 2026’s total inaction on IR35, as John Healey halves BADR’s lifetime limit from £1million to £500,000, takes tax changes in an …
News
Is a social care levy in Autumn Budget 2026 set to raise income tax on the over-40s?
Ahead of John Healey’s Autumn Budget 2026 this Wednesday (October 28th), SG Accounting assesses Sir Steve Webb’s social care levy plan: putting an extra 1p on the income…
News
West 28th: Has interest written off in April resurfaced in contractors' latest loan demands?
More than £21,000 in interest has appeared in repayment demands sent to a contractor and his wife, despite earlier statements confirming that certain interest charges…
News
Healey’s Budget 2026 looms as Churchill Knight MSC hearing over ‘his’ rules gets axed
November’s Churchill Knight MSC hearing has been vacated, an ironic prelude to Wednesday October 28th’s Budget from chancellor John Healey — the very financial secretary…
News
Exit interview: Parasol’s Ashley Olliver on 18 years of umbrella company goings-on
Umbrella regulation alone won’t drive out the cowboys, says the veteran sales director, who marks his 2026 exit by answering 26 questions on JSL, licensing, kickbacks…
News
Weakening Substitution: the wrong employment status fix for outside IR35 contractors
Despite being far from comprehensive, new employment status proposals could still help more than 900,000 people. But weakening Substitution to get there risks…
News
Employment status consultation: good news for genuine contractors, but inside IR35 is left outside
A long-promised government consultation on employment status could protect vulnerable workers without undermining genuine contractors. But officials leave inside IR35…
News
Who is Coldbath Solutions? Why do two solicitors share a debt-collection company with Kenneth Arnold?
Two senior solicitors share a debt-collection company with a director of West 28th Street. ContractorUK investigates the links and what they could mean for contractors…
News
Mortgage rates going up and down? Pre-Budget, contractors can still get the edge on deals
Before the chancellor even gets to his feet on October 28th, the UK mortgage market is already pulling in two directions. Yet for contractors, the headline rate tells…
News
What Labour plans for the UK’s self-employed: 7 policy moves to watch
Workers’ rights, not tax, look set to reshape UK contracting under Labour — a prospect my chat with chancellor John Healey reinforced. This month’s Autumn Budget may be…
News
What if my UK umbrella company is being sold or bought?
Will you still get paid on Friday if your umbrella company is sold? An adviser who’s been in the deal room sets out 10 questions to ask, now that JSL has made running an…
News
ITS Plant-Tech v HMRC: a £569,175 VAT lesson for contractors
Not all umbrellas are equal. Two with no written contracts, with ‘their’ workers or their client, and which didn’t actually pay workers themselves, have cost a wind-tech…
News
Contractor loan demands: Is W28 playing litigation roulette?
Why now, why all at once — and will Trethowans really take contractors to court after 27 October?
News
Sean’s Story: He settled his contractor loans. Then they were sold for about £10. Now he’s being chased for £131,000
A contractor who settled historic loans for £1,994 is now being pursued for £131,000 after the settled debt was apparently sold to West 28th Street.
News
Contractors warned as HMRC petitions to wind up ‘FCSA umbrella’ MyPay
FCSA has expelled MyPay after HMRC’s winding-up petition, but the umbrella still claims accreditation. An ex-HMRC inspector says steer clear, the REC urges caution, and…
News
As JSL squeezes small umbrella companies, Healey must act
HMRC reckoned no other impacts of JSL had been identified. Compliant small umbrellas squeezed off agency PSLs tell a different story, as does the growing number of live…
News
Healey’s Budget 2026 to-do list for IT contractor hiring
Robert Walters’ Jason King sets chancellor John Healey three Budget 2026 tasks to boost IT contractor hiring: fund AI skills, speed up security clearance and increase…
News
Contracting Awards 2026 winners: 2025’s victors refuse to let go
Winners and judges react after the 2026 Contracting Awards in London, where several of last year’s victors successfully defended their titles, the first AI award was…