Does IR35 apply to CIS subcontractors?

Does IR35 apply to CIS subcontractors? Not if you are a sole trader. As of October 2026, IR35, which GOV.UK calls the off-payroll working rules, only covers people working through their own intermediary, usually a limited company. Sole traders face the usual employed or self-employed test. No. GOV.UK says the off-payroll working rules apply when a worker provides services through their own intermediary, usually a limited company. A sole trader still has to be genuinely self-employed under each contract for CIS to apply. Not where a public sector, medium or large client has put the engagement inside the off-payroll rules: HMRC says CIS is then not operated, under section 60(3A) of the Finance Act 2004. If the client is small, your company decides on IR35 and the client still has to consider CIS on what it pays your company. A public sector client, or a medium or large private client, decides and must give a status determination statement with its reasons. If the client is a small private business, your own company decides. Read the full answer, with every source, at rightotax.co.uk.