What IR35 Shield does

IR35 Shield is a UK-based compliance technology company that provides IR35 status assessments, Status Determination Statements (SDS), ongoing contractor monitoring, training, and HMRC investigation defense to hiring firms, recruitment agencies, accountants, and limited company contractors. Founded in 2009 by CEO Dave Chaplin, the company built the UK's first automated online IR35 status determination tool and has since grown its user base to more than 200,000 contractors and 100,000+ paid individual subscribers.

The platform's core technology is a proprietary assessment algorithm built in collaboration with specialist IR35 legal experts, trained on more than four million historical data points drawn from over 45,000 assessments conducted since February 2016. The company reports a 98.6% rate of definitive inside-or-outside determinations (with no indeterminate outcomes), and offers a workflow that includes collaborative multi-party assessments, monthly status re-checking, dispute management, and a dashboard for compliance oversight. Complementary offerings include IR35 Academy (online training), a Tax Investigation Service with £125,000 of defense cost cover, contract reviews and template contracts, and an M&A-focused IR35 analysis service.

IR35 Shield monetizes primarily through annual subscriptions: a £199+VAT contractor membership tier, plus tiered business subscriptions segmented by the number of contractors hired (10–24, 25–99, 100–999, 1000+), supplemented by professional services such as legal consultancy, contract reviews, and HMRC investigation defense. The company operates exclusively in the United Kingdom, is privately held and self-funded by operating revenues, and counts Markel Tax, Professional Passport, and Tax Networks Ltd among its core distribution and defense partners.

Name

IR35 Shield

Legal name

IR35 Shield Limited

Website

https://ir35shield.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IR35 Shield is a UK-based IR35 compliance technology company that provides status assessments, Status Determination Statements, ongoing monitoring, training, and HMRC investigation defense to hiring firms, recruitment agencies, accountants, and limited company contractors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IR35 Shield for Business: Subscription-based software platform for businesses that hire limited company contractors. Includes status assessments, SDS generation, monitoring, reporting, and tax investigation protection. Pricing tiers based on number of contractors hired (10-24, 25-99, 100-999, 1000+).
2. IR35 Shield for Contractors: Annual membership for limited company contractors at £199 + VAT per year. Includes unlimited assessments, instant determinations, Tax Investigation Service with £125k insurance, and exclusive members-only content.
3. IR35 Academy Training: Online IR35 training to educate staff on IR35 compliance and demonstrate compliance to HMRC. Used as evidence during investigations.
4. Contract Reviews & Legal Services: IR35 contract reviews, template contracts, and legal consultancy services for businesses and contractors.
5. IR35 Investigation Defence: Expert representation and defense services when HMRC challenges IR35 compliance. Professional fees covered under Tax Investigation Service.
6. Merger and Acquisition IR35 Analysis: Expert IR35 analysis services to protect deal value during business sales and acquisitions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IR35 Shield provides cloud-based IR35/off-payroll compliance software and expert services for businesses that hire limited company contractors and for the contractors themselves. Its core offering is a proprietary IR35 status assessment engine — the UK's first, launched in 2009 — that delivers definitive Inside/Outside IR35 determinations and produces Status Determination Statements, supported by collaborative assessments, monthly monitoring, tax investigation defence with up to £125,000 of fee cover, IR35 Academy training, contract reviews, and M&A IR35 analysis.

Product overview

IR35 Shield is a compliance-focused technology company offering a dual-platform portfolio: IR35 Shield for Business (for hiring firms and agencies) and IR35 Shield for Contractors (for individual contractors). The core offering consists of proprietary IR35 status assessment software that uses an algorithm built with legal experts to provide definitive IR35 determinations. The platforms include complementary modules for Status Determination Statements (SDS), Collaborative Assessments, Monitoring (monthly re-checking), Reporting, Dashboard, Dispute Management, and Security. Additional services include IR35 Academy (online training), Tax Investigation Service (£125k covered), Contract Reviews, and Template Contracts. The company pioneered the UK's first IR35 status tool in 2009 and continues to innovate with tribunal-standard compliance processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IR35 Shield for Business Annual subscription SaaS platform for hiring firms and recruitment agencies that engage limited company contractors; provides IR35 status assessments, Status Determination Statements, collaborative supply-chain assessments, ongoing monthly monitoring, reporting, dashboard workflow management, dispute management, and integrated tax investigation protection. Tiered by contractor headcount (10–24, 25–99, 100–999, 1,000+).
• IR35 Shield for Contractors Annual membership (£199 + VAT) for individual limited company contractors; includes unlimited IR35 status assessments, instant determinations, dashboard access, monitoring, legal assistance via partners, and Tax Investigation Service cover of up to £125,000.
• IR35 Academy Online training portal offering IR35 compliance courses and certifications for hiring-firm employees and contractors; used as documented evidence during HMRC investigations.
• Tax Investigation Service Expert defence representation for HMRC IR35 investigations with up to £125,000 of professional-fee cover, handling the entire enquiry through to closure.
• IR35 Compliance Audit Consultative audit engagement that reviews a client's past, present, and future contractor engagements to identify and remediate IR35 exposure.
• IR35 Investigation Defence Specialist defence service for businesses already under an HMRC IR35 investigation, deploying the IR35 Shield expert team to manage and resolve the enquiry.
• IR35 Settlements Service Expert-led service to negotiate and settle open IR35 cases with HMRC professionally and efficiently.
• Mergers and Acquisitions IR35 Analysis Expert IR35 due-diligence and analysis service to protect deal value during business sales and acquisitions.
• Contract Reviews Expert review of existing IR35 contracts to confirm they are robust, legally compliant, and defensible against HMRC scrutiny.
• Template Contracts Pre-drafted, IR35-compliant contract templates (e.g. Outside IR35) sold as one-time perpetual licences for contractors and consultancies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully closed HMRC IR35 investigation within months with no tax bill for long-term client (joined October 2019, investigation closed June 2023)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Markel TaxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarkel Tax has been providing advice and guidance on IR35 and underwriting IR35 based insurance policies for 20 years. They are working with IR35 Shield to help firms manage the risks associated with the off-payroll reforms, combining Markel's insurance expertise with IR35 Shield's compliance platform.
• Professional PassportcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional Passport delivers compliance across the recruitment sector and strongly recommends IR35 Shield to agencies and clients as a way to manage ongoing IR35 compliance processes. IR35 Shield is a Professional Passport supply partner.
• Tax Networks LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTax Networks Ltd worked collaboratively with IR35 Shield on IR35 tax cases, winning an appeal at the tribunal in 2019 with IR35 Shield's assistance. Their combined expertise demonstrates successful co-development in tribunal defense.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Qdos: Qdos is the UK's largest specialist IR35 advisory and contractor services provider, offering status determination, tax investigation insurance, and IR35 contract reviews. Qdos directly competes with IR35 Shield's status assessment platform and insurance bundle, serving the same contractor and end-hirer market.
• Kingsbridge Contractor Insurance: Kingsbridge underwrites IR35-based tax investigation insurance for UK contractors and offers related compliance and status determination services. Kingsbridge competes head-to-head with IR35 Shield's contractor membership bundle that includes £125k tax defence cover through Markel.
• Status Determination Ltd: Status Determination Ltd provides IR35 status determination statements and compliance tooling for UK recruitment agencies and end clients. It directly overlaps with IR35 Shield for Business on SDS generation, status assessment, and supply-chain compliance workflows.
• Aspire Business & Tax Advisers (Aspinall Verdi): Aspinall Verdi (now Aspire) is a specialist contractor tax and IR35 advisory firm offering status determination, HMRC investigation defence, and tribunal representation. Its IR35 practice directly overlaps with IR35 Shield's investigation defence and contractor advisory revenue streams.

Broad incumbents

• Brookson: Brookson is a UK-based contractor accountancy and umbrella firm offering IR35 status assessments, accountancy, and tax investigation cover. Brookson operates as a broader contractor services incumbent overlapping with IR35 Shield across status determination and contractor protection services.
• Orange Genie: Orange Genie is a UK umbrella company and contractor services provider that includes IR35 compliance support, status assessments, and tax investigation cover alongside payroll and accountancy. It serves overlapping contractor and agency segments as a broader incumbent.

Others

• Markel Tax: Markel Tax is a UK tax advisory and insurance underwriter focused on IR35, providing 20 years of IR35 insurance policies and advisory services. Markel is both a strategic insurance partner for IR35 Shield and an adjacent provider offering competing IR35 cover and guidance.

Emerging players

• Hamdan & Co / Tax Networks Ltd: Tax Networks Ltd is a UK tax advisory firm specialising in IR35 disputes and tribunal representation, having worked with IR35 Shield on a 2019 tribunal win. It competes partially with the investigation defence and tribunal support segments of IR35 Shield's offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ir35shield
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ir35-shield

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IR35 Shield