Under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), contractors take money off the payments they make to subcontractors and send it to HMRC as an advance towards the subcontractor's tax and National Insurance. The rules are strict, the deadlines come round every month, and penalties arrive quickly when something slips. We take the whole cycle off your hands so it stops being a worry.
How the Construction Industry Scheme works
CIS covers most construction work in the UK, from groundworks and bricklaying through to decorating and demolition. If you pay subcontractors, you are almost certainly a contractor under the scheme. If you are the one being paid, you are a subcontractor. Plenty of firms turn out to be both at the same time.
We handle the day-to-day work on both sides. That means verifying subcontractors with HMRC, applying the right deduction rate, issuing the monthly statements subcontractors are owed, and filing your return by the 19th of each month. If you are a subcontractor, we make sure the deductions already taken off you are set against your own tax bill, so you never pay twice.
What our CIS service includes
Subcontractor verification
We check each subcontractor's status with HMRC before you pay them, so the correct deduction rate applies from the first invoice.
Monthly CIS returns
We prepare and file your return before the 19th, including a nil return in any month when you have made no payments.
Deduction statements
Every subcontractor gets a payment and deduction statement each month, exactly as the rules require.
Correct deduction rates
We apply the standard rate, the higher rate for unverified subcontractors, or gross payment where it is due.
CIS suffered records
If you are a subcontractor, we track the deductions taken off you and offset or reclaim them against what you owe.
Gross status support
We help you apply for gross payment status and keep it, so you receive your payments in full.
Do you need CIS accounting help?
The scheme reaches further than most people expect. You are likely to need support if any of these describe you:
- A contractor paying subcontractors on building, civil engineering or related work
- A subcontractor having deductions taken off your payments
- A limited company subcontractor wanting to reclaim CIS deductions against PAYE
- A business applying for gross payment status to ease its cash flow
- A developer or landlord whose spend on construction tips you into the scheme as a deemed contractor
Common CIS problems we put right
Most CIS trouble comes from a handful of familiar mistakes, and we see them time and again among the contractors we look after. A subcontractor gets paid before they are verified and ends up taxed at the higher 30% rate. A return goes in late. Statements never get issued. Or deductions suffered sit on record but never reach a tax return. For limited company subcontractors, CIS suffered should be offset through payroll during the year, yet it is often left to pile up and tie cash up with HMRC.
We put a clean monthly routine in place so none of that happens. Deductions suffered are logged as you go, returns go in on time, and the figures feed straight into your corporation tax or Self Assessment position at the year end.
How we set up CIS for your business
Register and review
We confirm whether you are a contractor, a subcontractor or both, register you where needed, and look at how payments are handled now.
Verify and record
We verify your subcontractors, set the right deduction rates, and build a monthly routine that captures every payment and statement.
File and reconcile
We submit your returns on time, issue the statements, and reconcile CIS against your wider tax position so nothing gets lost.
Construction accountants who know the North East
The building trade is a mainstay of the regional economy, from housebuilders and civils contractors to the electricians, joiners and groundworkers keeping sites moving across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Northumberland. We work with firms of every size in the sector, and we understand how CIS sits alongside the everyday pressures of cash flow, retentions and project margins. When CIS is only one part of a bigger picture, our construction accounting support covers the rest.