It has been stated that accountancy firms in the UK are not subject to current Managed Service Company (MSC) regulations as stipulated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Recent legislative changes have led to many private contractors opting to use traditional, professionally qualified accountants while working through their own limited companies, according to Online Recruitment.
However, accountancy firms themselves are not subject to the HMRC's legislation in the same way. A letter from HMRC to SJD Accountancy confirms that genuine firms are not subject to the latest MSC rules.
It has been announced that the legislation exists to make a distinction between a traditional accountant and an MSC provider who may or may not have accountants on payroll.
"An accountant running an accountancy practice, providing services recognised by the accountancy regulatory bodies … is therefore outside the legislation, even where a sizeable proportion of the client base are service companies," it was stated.
HMRC details the criteria by which a service provider may be considered an MSC provider, including whether or not it is interposed between the individual or company and the recruitment business.
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