What you must do as a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractor
Annual review
If you have gross payment status, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will review your business every year, to decide if you can keep your status.
You must be on time with your tax returns and payments to keep your gross payment status.
If you run a limited company, HMRC will review the company itself, rather than individual directors or shareholders.
You do not meet all the conditions
You could fail the review and HMRC will remove your gross payment status. You’ll be allowed a small amount of late payments or returns.
Contact HMRC if you have problems paying your tax on time. If HMRC give you more time to pay, this will not affect your gross payment status.
You fail your review
You’ll get a letter explaining you’re about to fail the review, along with the reasons why.
If you disagree, you can write back with your reasons.
If HMRC accept your explanation, they will not remove your gross payment status.
If you do not reply to the letter or HMRC does not accept your explanation, they’ll write to explain:
- what conditions you have not met
- that they’re withdrawing your gross payment status in 90 days
If you think HMRC have made the wrong decision, you have 30 days from the date of this letter to appeal.
Reapplying for gross payment status
If HMRC cancel your gross payment status, you need to wait a year from the date of the cancellation before you can reapply.