The accountant for construction who knows the site.

If you're registered under the Construction Industry Scheme and the contractor successfully verifies you with HMRC, they deduct tax at 20%. If you're not registered, or HMRC can't match your details, they must deduct the higher rate of 30%. Both are advance payments toward your tax and National Insurance, but the extra 10% ties up cash you'll wait until year end to reclaim. Registering and staying verified is the fix, and it's quick to sort.

You need to pass three tests: the business test (you carry out construction work through a UK bank account), the turnover test (net construction turnover over £30,000 per director or partner, or £200,000 for the whole business regardless of numbers), and the compliance test (your tax returns and payments are all up to date). Once granted, contractors pay you gross with no deduction. We handle the application and then protect the status, because a single late return can put it under review.

No, it applies to most CIS-registered, business-to-business construction services where both parties are VAT registered, but there are key exceptions. You still charge VAT normally to 'end users' (typically the final customer who isn't selling the construction on), to customers who aren't VAT registered, and on certain zero-rated work like qualifying new-build housing. Getting the boundary right is exactly where generalist setups go wrong, and we make sure your invoices and software reflect it.

Contractors must file the CIS300 monthly return by the 19th of each month, covering the tax month running from the 6th to the 5th. Miss it and there's an automatic £100 penalty the day after, a further £200 if it's still outstanding two months later, and tax-geared penalties beyond that. You must also give each subcontractor a deduction statement by the 19th. We run the cycle so the deadlines never catch you out.

As a limited company, you offset the CIS deductions suffered against the PAYE and CIS you owe each month, reporting the figures on your Employer Payment Summary. If your deductions exceed what you owe, the balance is repaid after the tax year ends. The common mistake is not reporting suffered amounts correctly, which leaves your money stuck with HMRC. We reconcile every deduction statement monthly so the offset actually happens.

Yes. A van bought for the business qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance, giving 100% relief in the year of purchase, and the same applies to tools and plant. Running costs, business mileage (claimed at HMRC's simplified 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p), PPE and protective clothing, tool insurance and a use-of-home allowance are all deductible too. These add up to real savings, and we make sure none get missed.

It depends on the working arrangement, not what you call them. HMRC targets construction hard for 'false self-employment', and if a labourer is really an employee you become liable for the PAYE and NIC you should have operated, plus penalties and interest. We review each arrangement against HMRC's status tests, document the reasoning, and keep your CIS and payroll positions defensible.