IR35 AccountantsInside-IR35 & Umbrella Support
Deemed payment checks, umbrella payslip audits and joint and several liability reviews under the rules that took effect on 6 April 2026, for contractors, agencies and end clients.
From 6 April 2026 · New Chapter 11, Part 2 ITEPA 2003 · Agencies, then end clients, jointly liable for umbrella PAYE failures
Inside-IR35 & Umbrella Support: what you need to know
April 2026 redrew the risk map for everyone in an umbrella supply chain. Under the new Chapter 11 of Part 2 ITEPA 2003, HMRC can recover PAYE and National Insurance an umbrella fails to pay from the recruitment agency first, or from the end client where there is no UK agency, and it does not need to show either party was at fault. An umbrella's compliance failure is now, in cash terms, the agency's debt.
For contractors the practical question is simpler but just as live: does the payslip add up? A compliant umbrella shows the full assignment rate, then deducts employer National Insurance, the apprenticeship levy, holiday pay accrual and its margin before your gross, which then suffers only employee tax, NI and pension. We reconcile payslips to contract rates line by line, and separately help agencies and end clients build the due diligence frameworks the joint and several liability rules now make essential.
The cost of getting this wrong has changed shape. A contractor in a non-compliant scheme can face years of unwinding, an agency can inherit an umbrella's entire unpaid PAYE bill, and an end client without a UK agency in the chain stands directly in HMRC's line of recovery. Whichever seat you occupy, we assess your exposure under the 2026 rules and put a workable checking routine in place before HMRC does the checking for you.
What you get
Payslips reconciled to the penny
Every deduction between assignment rate and net pay is traced and verified, surfacing skimmed holiday pay, phantom expenses and split-payment arrangements.
Due diligence built for the new rules
Agencies get a repeatable framework: PAYE registration checks, RTI evidence, payslip sampling and contractual audit rights, sized to the liability they now carry.
Take-home compared honestly
Umbrella versus PSC on an inside contract is a calculation on your actual rate and circumstances, and we run it both ways without a preferred answer.
Salary sacrifice verified
Pension salary sacrifice is the biggest lever on inside-IR35 take-home, and we confirm your umbrella actually operates it correctly before you rely on it.
What's covered under inside-ir35 & umbrella support
We handle the full range of work that sits within inside-ir35 & umbrella support, including:
Umbrella payslip audit
A line-by-line reconciliation from assignment rate to net pay, confirming employer NI, levy, holiday pay and margin are deducted visibly and lawfully.
Umbrella company compliance checks
Verification of an umbrella's PAYE registration, RTI behaviour and contract terms before you sign up or place workers through it.
Agency due diligence frameworks
A documented, repeatable vetting and monitoring process for umbrella suppliers, built around the joint and several liability that took effect on 6 April 2026.
End client supply chain reviews
Mapping of labour supply chains for engagers without a UK agency, where the new rules place HMRC's recovery rights directly against the client.
Deemed payment calculations
Checking the fee-payer's deemed direct payment arithmetic on inside engagements, so PAYE is operated on the right figure and nothing is taxed twice.
Holiday pay and unlawful deduction reviews
Quantifying holiday pay that accrued but never reached you, and the route to recovering it from the umbrella.
Who this is for
This service fits people on every side of the umbrella chain:
- A contractor whose new umbrella quotes a take-home percentage that looks too good and who wants the payslip mechanics checked before the first invoice.
- A recruitment agency director who has read about the April 2026 joint and several liability rules and has no documented umbrella vetting process to point to.
- An end client engaging overseas-sourced workers with no UK agency in the chain, sitting directly in HMRC's recovery line under the new Chapter 11.
- A contractor moving from an outside PSC contract to a twelve-month inside role who needs the umbrella choice, pension setup and PSC arrangements aligned.
- A worker who has discovered holiday pay accruing on payslips but never paid out, and wants the shortfall quantified and recovered.
How an engagement works
Explain your position in the chain
Contractor, agency or end client, plus what has prompted the concern. Each seat needs a different piece of work, so say which one you occupy.
Fixed written quote in 48 hours
Whether it is a single payslip audit or a full supply chain framework, we price the work as a fixed quote before any review starts.
Send the paperwork
Once you accept, you share payslips, contracts or supplier lists over secure cloud software and we work through them line by line.
Findings you can act on
You get the reconciliation, the exposure assessment or the due diligence framework in writing, with the remediation steps set out plainly.
Read before you decide
The guides library covers the rules behind this service in depth.