On Shore Agency Reporting Requirements

From 6 April 2015, HMRC will require all employment intermediaries and agencies to provide a quarterly report detailing their contractor’s personal information. This is intended to clamp down on onshore intermediaries who are paying their temporary workers on a ‘bogus’ self-employed basis, thus avoiding income tax and NIC payments.

The information that needs to be submitted to HMRC by the agency is:

• Full name
• National Insurance number (if no date of birth and gender provided)
• Address
• Date of birth (if not providing an NI number)
• Gender (if not providing an NI number)
• Passport number or ID card number (if not UK citizen)
• Reason why income tax and NIC has not been deducted by the employment intermediary
• Name and address of the business supplying the worker to the employment business
• The number of hours to which the payment relates

You may have already or if not are likely to be asked by your agency to confirm some or all of this information. The agency is under a statutory obligation to provide this information to HMRC and will be penalised if the report is late, incorrect or incomplete. Do not be surprised if your agency is pressuring you for this information or if they are not prepared to renew your contract if not provided.

Will my Limited Company need to report?

For a standard Limited Company with 1 fee earning contractor the reporting onus is on the agency that you are contracted with, so there is no need for you to complete these quarterly reports.

For Limited Companies that have more than 1 fee earning contractor (including subcontractors), you will be classed as an intermediary and the reporting requirements will apply. If you are a contractor with more than 1 fee earning contractor working through the same Limited Company please contact us to discuss your options.