CIS
CIS Tax Returns & Refunds
Plenty of drivers also work on the tools, or moved into driving from construction. If you have worked under CIS, tax has been taken off your pay before you ever saw it — and in most cases too much of it. That is a refund waiting to be claimed.
20%
Deducted at source
30% if unregistered
£12,570
Ignored by CIS
Your allowance is not applied
4 years
How far back you can claim
Do not leave it
2 weeks
Typical refund time
Once HMRC processes it
The Problem
The problem: CIS deducts tax before your expenses exist
Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct 20% from your labour payments and hand it to HMRC on your behalf — 30% if you are not registered. That happens at source, before anything is taken into account.
Crucially, the deduction is calculated on your gross labour with no regard for your personal allowance, your tools, your travel, your insurance or anything else. So you have paid 20% on income where the first £12,570 should have been taxed at nothing.
The result is that most CIS subcontractors have overpaid, often substantially. The refund only comes back when a return is filed — and if you also drive, both trades go on the same return, with the CIS deductions offset against your combined bill.
What we do for you
- CIS deduction statements collated and reconciled
- Refund calculated and claimed in full
- Driving and construction income handled on one return
- Every allowable expense across both trades identified
- CIS registration if you are still on the 30% rate
- Filed from 6 April so the refund lands as early as possible
- Gross payment status advised on where you qualify
How the refund actually arises
Take a subcontractor with £30,000 of CIS labour income. £6,000 has already gone to HMRC through deductions.
Their real position is different: the first £12,570 is covered by the personal allowance, and they have £4,000 of tools, travel, insurance and protective equipment. Their actual profit is £26,000, and the tax and National Insurance due on it is well under what has already been handed over.
The difference comes back as a refund. That is not a loophole or a scheme — it is simply what happens when tax is deducted before anyone accounts for allowances and costs.
If you drive and do CIS work
This is more common than people expect, and it is genuinely good news at tax time.
Both trades go on one Self Assessment return. Your driving profit and your construction profit are added together, tax is calculated on the total, and then the CIS already deducted is set against that bill.
In practice the CIS deductions frequently cover the tax on your driving income as well, so drivers who expected to owe money on their fares end up owing nothing — or receiving a refund. It only works if both trades are on the same return, done properly.
What you can claim as a CIS subcontractor
The same principle as driving: you are taxed on profit, not on what the contractor paid you.
- Tools, equipment and their repair or replacement
- Protective clothing, boots and safety gear
- Travel between sites, and the mileage to get there
- Public liability insurance
- CSCS card, training and certification costs
- Van running costs, or mileage if you use the simplified rate
- Materials you paid for yourself
- Accountancy fees
Getting the refund faster
The tax year ends on 5 April, and you can file from 6 April. Filing in April rather than the following January means the refund arrives months earlier — and for a lot of subcontractors it is a meaningful sum sitting with HMRC doing nothing.
Keep every CIS payment and deduction statement your contractors give you. Without them the deductions have to be reconstructed, which slows everything down.
Questions
CIS Returns questions drivers ask
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