£CIScalc.co.uk

Your CIS refund, explained

A contractor deducting 20% takes it off every pound of labour. HMRC, when it works out what you actually owe, gives you a £12,570 personal allowance, lets you deduct your expenses, and only charges National Insurance above the threshold. That gap is why most subcontractors finish the year owed money.

Worked example

  • Labour invoiced over the year: £45,000
  • CIS deducted at 20%: £9,000 already with HMRC
  • Expenses — van, fuel, tools, insurance, PPE: £6,000
  • Profit for Self Assessment: £39,000
  • Income tax due: roughly £5,286
  • Class 4 National Insurance due: roughly £1,586
  • Refund due: about £2,128 back from HMRC

What you can claim

Materials you paid for, tools and consumables, PPE and workwear, public liability insurance, van running costs or mileage, phone, protective boots, training and certification, CIS and accountancy fees, and use of home for admin. Keep the receipts — HMRC can ask.

How to claim

  1. Collect every Payment and Deduction Statement from each contractor.
  2. Total the CIS suffered and enter it in the CIS section of your Self Assessment return.
  3. File after 6 April for the year just ended. Filing early means an earlier refund — you do not have to wait until January.
  4. HMRC usually pays into your bank within two to four weeks once the return is processed and any security checks clear.

Missing a statement? Contractors must give you one within 14 days of the end of each tax month — chase it, or generate your own record from your invoice figures.

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