What you must do as a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contractor
File your monthly returns
You must tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) each month about payments you’ve made to subcontractors through your monthly return.
You can file returns by using:
- the HMRC CIS online service
- some commercial CIS software
On your return, you must declare that the subcontractors listed are not employees.
You could get a penalty of up to £3,000 if you give the wrong employment status for a subcontractor on your monthly return.
If you have made no payments
You should file CIS returns every month. If you’ve made no payments, you’ll need to either:
- file a return showing your payments were 0 (known as a ‘nil return’)
- tell HMRC that you’ve temporarily stopped using subcontractors (known as making an ‘inactivity request’)
Using commercial CIS software
Your return must not include any negative values if you’re using commercial CIS software.
If any entries come to less than 0, you should put ‘0’ instead.
HMRC might ask you later to give details of any entries you’ve replaced.
Deadlines
Send your monthly returns to HMRC by the 19th of every month following the last tax month.
Example
If you’re making a return for the tax month of 6 May to 5 June, it must reach HMRC by 19 June.
Penalties for late returns
You’ll get a penalty if you miss the deadline for filing returns.
| How late the return is | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 day late | £100 |
| 2 months late | £200 |
| 6 months late | £300 or 5% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher |
| 12 months late | £300 or 5% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher |
For returns later than this, you may be given an additional penalty of up to £3,000 or 100% of the CIS deductions on the return, whichever is higher.
Pay your late filing penalty.
If you disagree with a penalty
You can appeal within 30 days of the date on the penalty notice:
- through HMRC’s online service - you can also track the progress of your appeal through the service
- by writing to tell HMRC - quote your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and the payment reference shown on the notice
You cannot appeal over the phone.
Correcting or changing returns
Use the HMRC CIS online service to change or correct something on your return.
Tell HMRC by calling the CIS helpline if you need any help with this.