What Is CIS?

Anthony Galvin & Rebecca Hudson Directors
Altion Law

What is CIS?

The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a special tax deduction scheme. A scheme that deducts tax at source from certain payments relating to construction work. It is designed to counter the black economy, that is perceived to exist in the construction industry. Particularly its poor record of tax compliance.

The burden of CIS is mainly on those making the payments. CIS is similar to the PAYE system in that, where tax is to be deducted. However it is deducted at source by the person making the payments. This ensuring that the tax is collected. However, unlike PAYE, tax is deducted under CIS at one of two rates. This is depending on the status of the recipient.

HMRC often open CIS Compliance Investigations into both Contractors and Sub Contractors. There can be enormous penalties involved in not complying with HMRC CIS rules and regulations.

If you are undergoing a CIS tax investigation you will need the assistance of our tax lawyers.

CIS regulations are complicated and it is easy to make a mistake and incur HMRC penalties. Innocent or careless mistakes by accounting staff can have wide reaching financial penalty implications.

Altion Law has successfully contested and   significantly reduced the proposed penalties from HMRC and in some cases has been able to argue for the removal of all penalties.

For a confidential free discussion, call us today on 01908 414990,  alternatively email us at Hello@altion-law.co.uk or complete our Free Enquiry Form and we will call you back.

Details CIS Control

What is Gross Payment Status?

What happens if I don't pay tax?

Whats happens if I dont pay CIS?

All sub-contractors within the CIS should register with HMRC. This gives one of two CIS payment statuses before they are paid under the construction contract. Net or gross payment status.Failing to register with HMRC, will mean that the contractor or client can only pay after deducting 30% tax. Therefore it makes good commercial sense to register for a CIS payment status.

Further Facts

  • Net payment status allows payment for work done with a 20% tax deduction (VAT and the cost of materials can be paid without tax deduction).
  • Gross payment status is generally given to some of the larger firms; it allows contractors or clients to pay in full without any tax deduction.

Gross Payments

This gross payment status is extremely valuable commercially because, it gives a cash flow advantage. It means that no tax deduction is made on payments. The sub-contractor pays any tax due at the normal due dates for income, or corporation tax.

Possible Revocations of CIS Status

Status Reviews

HMRC annually reviews a sub-contractor’s compliance with the CIS gross payment criteria. This is known by HMRC as a “scheduled review” or an “onging Tax Treatment Qualification Test or TTQT”. HMRC also reviews 2% of gross payment status holders each week.

HMRC will not inform sub-contractors of the review date. If a sub-contractor has never had its gross payment status threatened or removed by HMRC, it can assume that it has always passed its TTQT reviews.

Loss of Gross Payment Status

If, following a TTQT review, gross payment status is to be revoked, HMRC will write to a sub-contractor using its standard letter (CIS 308).

The CIS 308 letter will include information such as:

The date from which gross payment status will be revoked as being 90 days from the date of the letter itself.

The reasons for revocation of gross payment status.

The deadline for appeal.

If Status is Revoked

If your CIS gross payment status is revoked, refused or cancelled there is an appeals process. It is important to note that the appeal notice must be given within 30 days after refusal, or cancellation.

If on review of the reasons listed in the letter are considered to be incorrect. There is a reasonable excuse as to why one or more of the listed obligations was not met, the sub-contractor should consider lodging an appeal.

Case Study: Retaining Gross Status when Accountant had said it was a lost cause

Our client was a construction contractor and held multiple contracts where gross CIS status was a requirement of these contracts. He had experienced some HMRC issues and had received letters stating his gross CIS status would be revoked. The client had been advised by his accountant that there was categorically no chance of him being able to retain this CIS gross status and he was preparing for the company to lose its contracts and essentially cease becoming a going concern as a result.

Our client contacted us as ‘a last shot’ and was not expecting to be able to successfully challenge HMRC.

Upon our instruction we reviewed the history and advised we believed a challenge could be raised. We subsequently raised this challenge and were able to have the clients gross status retained. We also managed to retain the status without having to go through the process of going to the tax tribunal and the matter was resolved within a number of weeks.

Within a period of weeks we were able to take the client from facing total loss of business to continuing to successfully trade.

 

If you receive a CIS 308, first review the reasons given by HMRC for revocation of gross payment status:

Do you believe the facts are correct?

For example, are the dates shown for the receipt of returns, and payments matching the posting and payment transmission dates on your records?

For each failure, is there a reasonable excuse(s) that lasted until the return was posted? Or the payment was transmitted?

It is also important to note that once a sub-contractor lodges an appeal, its gross payment status is reinstated until that appeal is decided.

What is CIS?Deciding whether to appeal against Revocation of Gross Payment Status

Should I appeal?

In deciding whether to appeal, a sub-contractor should consider the following:

Once HMRC revoke gross payment status, sub-contractor cannot re-apply for gross payment status for 12 months. However, it may decide to accept the revocation now. This would be on the basis that it can then re-apply for gross payment status in a year’s time.

Conversely, a sub-contractor may choose to appeal tactically regardless of the merits of the appeal. This can happen if it is expecting a large one-off payment, or experiencing cash flow problems. Once it has appealed, its gross payment status is reinstated until the appeal is decided. This may allow time to collect outstanding payments gross of tax.

Further Implications

Will the contractors of the sub-contractor stop giving it work once they are informed that the subcontractor has moved from gross to net. The powers of HMRC to remove gross payment status are discretionary. If workload will be affected materially it is essential that an appeal is made.

Altion Law are specialists at advising and representing parties with Construction matters. For a confidential free discussion, call us today on 01908 414990,  alternatively email us at Hello@altion-law.co.uk or complete our Free Enquiry Form and we will call you back.