Where to find your CIS details

If you are paid under CIS you may have tax deducted at source from your pay at either 20% or 30%. We explain more about the scheme in our dedicated guidance on CIS.

The rules of the scheme require contractors to provide sub-contractors with at least one ‘payment and deduction’ statement, sometimes called a PDS, each tax month. A tax month runs from 6th of one month to the 5th of the next, for example 6 May 2024 to 5 June 2024. This should be given to the subcontractor within 14 days of the end of the tax month. For example, for the tax month 6 May 2024 to 5 June 2024 it should be given by 19^th June 2024.

The statement must show the contractor's name, details of the payments made to you, the cost of any materials incurred by you, and the tax deductions taken from your payments. These statements are very important as you need them to complete the self-employed section of your tax return. There is also a requirement for self-employed workers, including sub-contractors, to keep business records which would include things like these statements.

Despite this, we know that sometimes contractors don’t provide the statements and even where they do, they can be lost. If you have missing statements, then we set out below a few options for you to try to find them so that you can do your tax return. It is a good idea to do this as early as possible – not least because you might be due a tax refund! 

How to find your CIS details

Ask the contractor for them.

This should be your first step. They have a legal obligation to provide them to you. If you aren’t sure how to contact the contractor, you could try the following:

• Check any old paperwork for their contact information.
• Search online for their name to see if they are still in business. If they have a website, check the "About Us" or "Contact Us" sections to find their contact details or the company's main contact information.
• Check local business directories or the phone book.
• If they are part of any professional associations or groups, such as the National Federation of Builders, you might find their contact information through those channels.
• You could also search for their details on the Companies House website.
• Reach out to any former colleagues or contacts who may still be in touch with the contractor. They may have updated contact information for the contractor.
• Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to search for the company or any former colleagues who may have connections to the old contractor.

Approach HMRC for the information

The contractor should be reporting and paying over any CIS deductions that they have withheld from you to HMRC. This means that HMRC should have a copy of your pay and tax details. However HMRC will only provide you with information from their own systems where it can be shown that you have a genuine need and you’ve made every effort to get the missing information. There is an article on AccountingWeb that explains more about what help HMRC may be able to provide. 

From 1^st July 2024, we understand HMRC stopped issuing pay and tax details by phone through the Construction Industry Scheme helpline. The HMRC announcement can be found in their recent Agent Update on GOV.UK.

You can still get your details by writing to HMRC. The information you need to include can be found on GOV.UK. (see under ‘If you do not have all your CIS statements’). HMRC say they will aim to respond to the written requests for pay and tax details within fifteen working days.

We have produced a template letter that you can send to HMRC. As stated above, you should only write to HMRC for the details after trying to get them from your contractor.

Please bear in mind that we cannot take any responsibility if you choose to use this template. It is up to you to ensure that whatever letter you send is appropriate in your particular case. Where you need to choose options in the letter or consider tailoring it to your own circumstances, we have given instructions (in brackets).

What to do if you still can’t find your CIS details

If you are still unable to obtain the information you need, then it may be possible to work out the amounts you need for your tax return from looking at your bank statements. For example, if you are a typical CIS registered, labour-only worker and received £260 into your bank account, then as this is the amount after 20% tax has been deducted, you can work out that the ‘gross’ payment will have been £325 by doing the sum £260 x100/80. The difference – £65 – should be the amount of CIS withheld.

  Note that if you use this method and the amount of CIS you calculate does not match with HMRC’s records, they may ask some questions and for proof of the tax deducted under CIS. Assuming you don’t have any PDS, you may need to provide them with other evidence. For instance, any invoices you issued, the sums you received (per your bank statements) and what you consider to be the tax deducted. If you don’t have invoices, you should include any paperwork or correspondence from the contractor about the arrangements - in particular, your agreed pay rate. If you don’t have a contract, this could be emails or texts.

What if it looks like my contractor hasn’t reported or paid my CIS deductions to HMRC?

You could try talking to the contractor in the first instance (see above for how to contact them). If your direct supervisor or manager isn’t helpful, try asking the HR or accounts team about the status of your tax payments. They may be able to provide clarification or help resolve any discrepancies.

What if this doesn’t work or they have gone bust?

If tax has been deducted from you but not paid to HMRC by the contractor, then the law says this should be HMRC’s problem to sort out with the contractor – you will not have to pay the tax again.

Indeed, HMRC’s own guidance manual confirms “If a contractor makes a deduction from a subcontractor payment but does not pay the sum over to HMRC, it will be treated as having been paid when calculating the subcontractor’s liability: SI2005/2045 reg 9(10).”

You should therefore report the contractor to HMRC so they can investigate.

In terms of your own tax position, the law means that you can take a credit for the tax and National Insurance contributions that were deducted from you through CIS in your tax return. You may have to explain what has happened in the ‘additional information’ section of your tax return and indicate the use of estimated figures. If you need help with completing a tax return in these circumstances, you may need to ask a professional adviser. You can find information about how to contact a tax adviser, including one from the tax charities on our getting help page.

Again, if HMRC ask any questions, you may wish to quote the guidance manual while providing any evidence you have that tax was deducted from your pay. See the text next to the warning triangle above for more information on how you might do this.