Revenue issues guidance on taxing of ‘gig economy’ workers

The Revenue has published new guidelines that outline how the employment status of workers in the “gig economy” should be determined for tax purposes.

The guidance sets out the tax implications of the Supreme Court judgment in October 2023 which ruled that delivery drivers for Domino’s Pizza should be treated as employees and not contractors.

A 58-page Revenue tax and duty manual now explains a five-step decision-making framework that businesses are required to use to determine whether a worker is an employee or self-employed for taxation purposes.

The manual also includes a number of practical examples and a “decision tree” that the Revenue said would assist businesses in determining what the Supreme Court decision means for the taxation of the workers they engage.

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“Revenue previously encouraged all businesses that were engaging contractors, subcontractors or other workers on a self-employment basis to familiarise themselves with the details of the judgment and review their workforce model in light of same,” it said on Wednesday.

“Revenue reminds businesses that they are responsible for ensuring the correct taxes are deducted from their employees’ pay and reported through the PAYE system, and any business which has not yet self-reviewed their workforce model in light of the Supreme Court judgment should do so now.”

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The court case that prompted the Revenue update related to delivery drivers working on 2010-2011 contracts with Karshan (Midlands) Ltd, trading as Domino’s Pizza. Karshan argued they were independent contractors under “contracts for service” rather than “contracts of service”. But after the Revenue appealed an earlier ruling, the Supreme Court agreed with the Government agency and said they should be treated as PAYE employees.

The Revenue notes in its manual that the case was concerned solely with the proper tax treatment of the drivers and the court did not consider the broader question of employment rights.

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