Leading firms including Hogan Lovells and Eversheds have joined the ranks of those asking salaried partners to increase their capital contributions in response to HM Revenue & Customs' (HMRC) crackdown on the taxation of limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

Changes introduced last Sunday (6 April) are designed to clarify the distinction between employees and partners and prevent firms from avoiding national insurance contributions for junior partners who have only small shares in the business. This means that a generation of new and existing salaried or fixed-share partners can be asked to contribute at least 25% of their annual earnings to their firms within three months.

To meet the requirements Hogan Lovells has asked around 65 salaried partners to pay between £60,000 and £100,000 each to meet HMRC's requirements. The firm has said that loans will be available from banks on the same terms as those available to equity members.

Eversheds has called on 164 partners to contribute 25% of their annual earnings to the firm to meet HMRC's threshold requirements by 5 July. The firm is also set to revisit voting rights for its fixed-share partners in the wake of the new rules. 

Meanwhile, Stephenson Harwood has confirmed that it has asked its 55 fixed-share partners to increase their capital contributions.  

Withers and Ashurst are both increasing the variable element of junior partners' pay that is linked with the firms' performance without requesting additional capital, with the former adjusting arrangements for 25 junior partners. Addleshaw Goddard and Nabarro have also called on their fixed-share partners to inject capital.

While firms cannot use the additional capital for repaying debt, they can use the contributions to help provide working capital for expansion projects, such as office launches or investment in IT, easing the headache for managers trying to balance investment against partner profits.

"Many firms have been undercapitalised, as there is never a good time to ask a partner to put capital in – I would say several have found the excuse they needed through the new rules," says Smith & Williamson's professional practices group chairman, Simon Mabey. 

"However, firms must avoid banks that require partners' capital to be used to pay down their overdrafts. Circular arrangements are a problem and are likely to trigger anti-avoidance restrictions."

Several of the largest City firms, including all members of the magic circle (except Slaughter and May, which is not an LLP and is therefore unaffected) say the changes will not have any material effect on them.

At Clifford Chance it is understood that fewer than five of the firm's partners currently fall outside of HMRC's guidelines.

Similarly, Allen & Overy, which had 83 non-full equity partners in its 2012-13 accounts, says it does not need to make changes as "all of its partners share in the firm's profits". 

"It is not necessarily a major issue for magic circle firms as typically they are looking at a small and discrete class of partners," observes Mabey. "Most partners, particularly when it comes to the magic circle, already have substantial and sufficient amounts of capital in the firm or the bulk of their profit share is variable."

Other firms stating that the changes will have limited impact on them include Herbert Smith Freehills, while Wragge & Co, where more than 20 non-equity partners will join from LG as part of their merger in May, is also not making any changes.

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The three conditions junior partners must meet at least one of to maintain self-employed status:

1) at least 20% of pay must be dependent on the firm's profits;

2) at least 25% of their fixed pay must be contributed in capital; or

3) demonstrating that they have significant influence on the overall partnership