Ryan FowlerFormer professional footballer turned Sky Sports pundit Neil McCann has lost his appeal at the Upper Tier Tribunal, leaving him with a tax bill of around £210,000. The case centred on HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) assessment that McCann, through his limited company McCann Media, functioned as a ‘disguised employee’ while working for Sky Sports from 2013 to 2018, rather than operating in a freelance capacity as he argued.
After his initial appeal was rejected by a First Tier Tribunal in 2022, McCann’s subsequent challenge at the Upper Tier Tribunal in October 2023 also failed. The tribunal ruled that McCann could not be considered to be in business on his own account.
McCann joins a series of high-profile presenters who have been scrutinised under the IR35 legislation in recent years, including Eamonn Holmes, Kaye Adams, Lorraine Kelly, and Gary Lineker, the latter currently facing an IR35 case with a potential £4.9m tax liability.
Seb Maley, chief executive at Qdos, commented on the implications of the case, stating: “This is the latest in a long line of IR35 cases that highlight the devastating financial impact this legislation can have. Neil McCann won’t have set out to break the IR35 rules, but has been saddled with a tax bill in the region of £210,000.”
Maley further elaborated on the complexities of determining IR35 status, saying: “Fine margins and small details often decide IR35 status and in turn, whether a contractor is seen to be genuinely self-employed or a disguised employee – the key takeaway here is that contracts need to be rigorously reviewed from an IR35 perspective from the outset.”
He also pointed to the inherent difficulties in navigating IR35 legislation, suggesting: “The sheer complexity of this legislation means that honest mistakes are easily made, but as evidenced by this case, HMRC has little sympathy.”
