Working in construction under the CIS scheme? We file your Self Assessment, reclaim overpaid CIS deductions, and ensure you get back every penny you're owed from HMRC.
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) requires contractors to deduct money from payments to subcontractors and pay it directly to HMRC. Standard CIS subcontractors have 20% deducted from their payments; unverified subcontractors have 30% deducted. These deductions are advance payments towards your tax and National Insurance — but they are often more than you actually owe, meaning you are entitled to a refund.
The 20% CIS deduction is applied to your labour payments without considering your business expenses, your personal allowance, your pension contributions, or your actual tax rate. Most subcontractors who claim all their allowable business expenses and apply their personal allowance find they have overpaid tax during the year and are entitled to a refund from HMRC — often of several thousand pounds.
Allowable expenses that reduce your taxable profit include tools and equipment (purchased or hired), work clothing and PPE, vehicle costs and mileage for travelling between sites, materials purchased for jobs (if not reimbursed), phone and communication costs, accountancy fees, and public liability insurance. Keeping good records throughout the year makes a significant difference to the size of your refund.
Your CIS Self Assessment return covers the tax year ending 5 April. The online filing deadline is 31 January. Missing this deadline means an automatic £100 penalty, rising to £900 after six months and 10% of your tax liability after 12 months. Filing promptly also gets your refund paid sooner — HMRC typically processes refunds within a few weeks of a correctly filed return.
Fast CIS tax returns and refund claims. Most subcontractors are owed money back from HMRC.
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