UK Broadcaster and presenter Kaye Adams has won a tribunal appeal against the HMRC in another high-profile IR35 case.

Adams, a presenter on ITV show ‘Loose Women’, successfully appealed a challenge to her self-employed status under the IR35 rules. This covered an engagement with the BBC as presenter of ‘The Kaye Adams Programme’ during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 tax years.

The HMRC had argued that Adams, who also hosts for BBC Scotland, was an employee for the BBC, and not a freelancer. HMRC was seeking payment of £43,636 in PAYE and £22,744 in NICs (National Insurance Contributions) for the tax year ending 5 April 2016, and £37,514 PAYE and £20,546 NICs for the tax year ending 5 April 2017.

However, the First Tier Tribunal found that the terms of Adams’ personal services contract were essential in determining the outcome.

The Tribunal stated that the central issue was “whether, if the services supplied by Ms Adams to the BBC had been supplied under a contract directly between Ms Adams and the BBC, Ms Adams would have been regarded for income tax purposes as an employee of the BBC.”

However, Adams had several other engagements alongside her work at the BBC which made it clear that she was her own business, and not a BBC employee. Furthermore, there were other key factors that solidified the case in Adam’s favour which showed that she was not an employee. For example, the BBC did not place any restrictions on her ability to work for other broadcasters.

Julia Kermode, CEO of the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association, commented, “HMRC pursued the case on the basis of editorial control that was contractually held by the BBC. This case demonstrates that HMRC’s approach, fixating on just one element of IR35, is flawed and that the bigger picture of someone’s employment status must be considered.”

The HMRC said it was “disappointed that the First Tier Tribunal has decided that the intermediary rules (also known as IR35) did not apply in this case.”

Last month, a tax tribunal ruled in favour of BBC presenter Lorraine Kelly in another IR35 case over her role as a performer on ITV. The HMRC had claimed Kelly was an employee and not a freelancer, however the tribunal ruled that she was a freelancer.