BBC radio host wins IR35 case

Media personality Kaye Adams has won a case against HMRC regarding her employment status after the tax authority claimed that her personal company should have used IR35 tax rules when working for the BBC. 

According to The Times, Adams who hosts her own show on BBC Radio Scotland previously won a case in 2019 which proved she was a freelance worker. 

The issue arose after HMRC claimed that the media star was an employee and owed thousands in unpaid taxes. The outlet said HMRC appealed against the ruling, stating that she should pay more than £81,000 in tax and £44,000 in National Insurance from work she did at the BBC. 

An Upper Tribunal hearing which took place last week upheld the previous 2019 ruling which covers the tax years of 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

It has been reported that the judges accepted Adams worked for the BBC through her company Atholl House Productions Ltd – confirming that Adams’s range of work meant she could be classed as freelance.

The IR35 tax rule was first introduced in the UK in April 2000 and was designed to tax ‘disguised’ employment at a rate similar to employment. 

A spokesperson for the HMRC told The Times: “HMRC is disappointed that the Upper Tribunal has decided that the intermediary rules, also known as IR35, do not apply in this case.

“HMRC will carefully consider the outcome of the tribunal before deciding whether or not to appeal.”

Accountancy Today has contacted HMRC for a comment.