Enter your labour and materials, pick your CIS rate, and see the correct HMRC deduction (labour only) and net amount payable. Designed to match how Wedge generates real CIS invoices.
The labour element only. CIS deduction applies to this figure.
Excluded from CIS deduction per HMRC rules. Keep this on a separate invoice line.
Standard rate for CIS-registered subcontractors. Deducted from labour only.
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Breakdown
CIS deduction is applied to the labour figure only — materials, plant hire and qualifying expenses are excluded per HMRC rules. Your contractor pays the deducted amount directly to HMRC on your behalf and it counts as tax already paid when you file Self Assessment.
Get Wedge to do this from a WhatsApp message →The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is HMRC's mechanism to make sure subcontractors in the UK construction sector actually pay their tax. The main contractor deducts a percentage from your labour cost and pays it directly to HMRC on your behalf. You reconcile the deduction when you file your Self Assessment — sometimes you've overpaid and HMRC refunds you, sometimes you owe more.
CIS applies to subcontractors working under a main contractor on construction projects in the UK. It covers most physical construction trades — bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, plasterers, roofers, joiners, painters, decorators, groundworkers — when they invoice another contractor (not the end customer) for construction services.
The total amount you're charging for labour on this job — net of VAT. Materials go on a separate line below.
Materials are excluded from CIS deduction. Keep them on a separate line so the calculation applies the deduction only to labour, per HMRC's rules.
20% if you're a registered subcontractor (most common). 30% if you're not registered. 0% if you have gross-payment status.
Gross total (labour + materials), the CIS deduction (rate × labour only), and the net amount your contractor will pay you after deduction.
Same template Wedge uses to generate real CIS invoices — labour and materials as separate lines, 20% deduction applied to labour only, reverse-charge VAT wording included, and HMRC-compliant sequential numbering.
Under HMRC's Construction Industry Scheme, only the labour element of a CIS invoice is subject to deduction. Materials, plant hire, fuel, and any qualifying expenses you re-charge to the main contractor are excluded from the deduction. This is the rule most generic invoice templates get wrong — they apply the deduction to the whole invoice total, which is wrong and costs you money on the day.
20% is the standard CIS deduction for subcontractors who are registered for CIS with HMRC. 30% is the higher rate applied when the subcontractor isn't registered. Registration is free, takes about 10 minutes online via gov.uk, and the higher rate is HMRC's incentive to register — there's no upside to not being registered.
Gross-payment status (sometimes called 'CIS gross status') lets a subcontractor receive payments without any deduction at source. You apply for it via HMRC and have to meet three tests: a business turnover threshold (£30,000+ if you're a sole trader), good tax compliance history, and operating through a UK bank account. Once approved you invoice as normal and reconcile your tax position annually through Self Assessment.
No. CIS only applies to subcontract construction work — i.e. you invoicing another contractor who then bills the end customer. If you're working directly for a homeowner, landlord, or business that isn't itself a CIS contractor, you invoice as normal with no deduction.
If you and your contractor are both VAT-registered and the work falls within CIS scope, reverse-charge VAT applies. You don't charge VAT on the invoice — you note the VAT amount instead, and the contractor accounts for it on their own VAT return. CIS deduction still applies to the labour portion of the net (pre-VAT) figure. Wedge handles this combination automatically when you flag the customer as VAT-registered under CIS.
Your contractor gives you a CIS statement (typically monthly) showing the deductions taken. At year-end, these deductions count as tax already paid on your account. When you file your Self Assessment, you report your gross income, claim your expenses, and the CIS deductions are credited against your final tax bill. If they exceed what you owe, HMRC refunds the difference. If they're less, you pay the balance.
Yes — message Wedge in plain English: "Invoice James £3,000 labour plus £2,000 materials for the bathroom job at 14 Marsh Court, CIS at 20%." Wedge generates the invoice with labour and materials as separate lines, applies the 20% deduction to labour only, shows the net amount payable, and adds reverse-charge VAT wording if both parties are VAT-registered.
Same template Wedge uses to generate real invoices — HMRC sequential numbering, VAT, CIS section included.
Full HMRC walkthrough — sequential numbering, VAT, CIS, reverse-charge VAT, late payment terms.
Staged payments, retentions, CIS deductions, reverse-charge VAT — built for builders running £10k+ jobs.
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