As the extension of the off-payroll rules to the private sector draws near with effective date 6 April 2021, accountants increasingly find themselves being asked how a client is to assess the tax status of self-employed contractors, people whose responsibility for tax compliance sat squarely on their shoulders alone.

Indeed, the end client – to adopt IR35 parlance – would at times find utilising the flexible resource of self-employed contractors helpful precisely because the cost savings involved in not having to operate payroll and PAYE were significant.

The responsibility has now shifted in what is, in many ways, a remarkable displacement of potential liability from a small business person to a customer or client. The extent to which the new legislation will disrupt the market more generally remains to be seen, but what is clear is that in practical terms many accountancy clients find themselves in a somewhat unusual position.