IR35 Risk Indicator 2026/27
A quick triage of the factors HMRC and the tribunals actually weigh — control, substitution, financial risk, integration and whether you are in business on your own account. It flags risk; it does not determine status.
Check your IR35 risk factors
| Your end client | Who determines status | Who operates PAYE if inside | 5% expenses allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public sector body | The client, in a Status Determination Statement | The fee-payer (usually the agency that pays your company) | None — Chapter 10 |
| Medium or large private-sector client | The client, in a Status Determination Statement | The fee-payer | None — Chapter 10 |
| Small private-sector client | Your own limited company | Your company, as a deemed employment payment | 5% — Chapter 8 |
| Wholly overseas client with no UK connection | Your own limited company | Your company, as a deemed employment payment | 5% — Chapter 8 |
What this tool does NOT assess
IR35 is decided by tribunals weighing multiple factors together, not checklists. This quick tool cannot assess:
- Practical enforceability of substitution clauses
- The actual degree of client control in day-to-day reality
- Ongoing mutuality of obligation
- Whether you're genuinely "in business on your own account"
- Sector-specific norms and expectations
- How a tribunal would weigh contradictory evidence
- Differences between your contract and actual working practices
What is IR35?
IR35 — the off-payroll working rules — is UK tax legislation that decides whether a contractor working through a limited company is genuinely in business or should be taxed as an employee of the client. It changes how much tax and National Insurance comes out of the same contract, not what the client pays for the work.
How does this IR35 risk indicator work?
It examines the risk factors that case law keeps returning to — the right to send a substitute, control over how, when and where you work, financial risk, employee-type benefits, and whether you have other clients — and reports an indicative signal. Quick mode asks the 7 most determinative questions; full mode walks all six factor groups. It does not provide a status determination. For any commercial decision, use HMRC's official CEST tool and/or seek professional advice.
Who decides my IR35 status in 2026/27?
Your client, if it is a public sector body or a medium or large private-sector organisation: it must decide, issue you a Status Determination Statement with its reasons, and if the answer is inside IR35 the fee-payer in the chain operates PAYE on a deemed direct payment under Chapter 10. There is no 5% expenses allowance in Chapter 10.
If the client is small, or wholly overseas with no UK connection, nothing was transferred: your own company decides under Chapter 8 and works out any deemed employment payment, where the 5% allowance still applies.
What counts as a "small" client?
For 2026/27 the off-payroll small-company test is still £10.2m turnover, £5.1m balance sheet total and 50 employees. A client has to exceed two of those three for two consecutive years before it stops being small, so a growing client does not flip you into Chapter 10 overnight.
The larger Companies Act thresholds (£15m / £7.5m / 50) do not feed through to the off-payroll rules yet — the earliest tax year they could affect is 2027/28.
Can I challenge a status determination I disagree with?
Yes — through the client-led disagreement process. You put your representations to the client in writing, and it has 45 days to respond with either a new Status Determination Statement or its reasons for keeping the original (ITEPA s.61T). A client that fails to respond within the 45 days becomes the deemed employer itself, which is a real incentive for it to engage. There is no appeal to HMRC or a tribunal at this stage; keep your evidence on substitution, control and financial risk in writing.
Does the April 2026 umbrella change affect my take-home?
No. For payments made on or after 6 April 2026 the agency closest to the client — or the client itself where that agency is connected to it or is not UK resident — is jointly and severally liable for PAYE an umbrella fails to account for. The umbrella still operates PAYE on your pay exactly as before. It is a change to who HMRC can recover unpaid tax from, not to any worker's net pay.
Is this tool free?
Yes, this IR35 risk indicator is completely free to use. We do not store any of your answers — all processing happens locally in your browser.
Does this replace HMRC's CEST tool?
No. This is a triage tool that provides indicative risk signals only. For any status determination or important decisions, you should use HMRC's official CEST tool and consider obtaining professional advice.
Using the result
A lower risk signal is not a defence. It means the factors you described point away from employment — most usefully, it tells you which evidence is worth keeping: a substitution clause you could actually use, a statement of work with deliverables rather than hours, your own insurance, other clients in the same year.
A higher risk signal is a prompt, not a verdict. Read it as: the engagement looks employment-like on the facts as you understand them, so get the contract and the working practices reviewed before the next renewal.
Unclear is the honest answer more often than either of the other two. Finely balanced engagements are exactly the ones that end up in front of a tribunal, and exactly the ones where a specialist review earns its fee.
Where to go next
- IR35 Tax Calculator — what inside versus outside actually costs you on 2026/27 rules.
- JSL Risk Checker — whether your umbrella chain carries joint and several liability from April 2026.
- ContractorUK's IR35 section — the rules, the case law and the contract-review options.
- All contractor calculators — take-home, dividends, corporation tax and VAT.
What ContractorUK is: We are a publisher, educator, and contractor advocate. We are not a status assessor, legal adviser, or decision-maker. This tool helps you explore IR35 risk factors — it does not make determinations.
What this tool does: This is a risk triage tool that helps identify whether further professional review may be needed. It provides an indicative risk signal based on simplified questions. Tribunals assess IR35 by weighing multiple factors together based on actual working practices — something no short questionnaire can replicate.
Working practices matter: Your answers describe your understanding of your engagement. IR35 status is determined by reality, not paperwork. If your day-to-day working practices differ from what's in your contract, the actual position may differ from this indication.
This tool does NOT replace CEST: If your IR35 status has commercial or tax implications, you should always run HMRC's official CEST tool and consider obtaining professional advice. This tool is for triage only.
Privacy: We do not store, collect, or transmit any of your answers. All processing happens locally in your browser.
Disclaimer: This tool is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HMRC or any government body. It is provided for general informational purposes only. The output does not constitute an employment status determination, legal advice, tax advice, or professional advice of any kind and must not be relied upon as such. Results may differ from HMRC's assessment or tribunal findings.
Legal: To the fullest extent permitted by law, Rocky-Messissi Limited, its directors, employees, and affiliates accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or adverse consequence arising from the use of this tool or reliance on its output, whether direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential. By using this tool, you acknowledge that you do so entirely at your own risk and that the output is indicative only. Users must seek independent professional advice from a qualified accountant, solicitor, or IR35 specialist before making any decisions regarding their employment status for tax purposes. Use of this tool does not create any professional-client relationship. No determination of employment status is made or implied.
This is a risk triage tool, not a status determination. For any determination use HMRC's CEST, check HMRC's off-payroll working guidance, and consider a qualified IR35 specialist.