What you must do as a Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) subcontractor

Skip to contents of guide

How to get gross payment status

You can apply for gross payment status either:

  • when you register for the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
  • at a later date, after you register for CIS

This means contractors will pay you in full, without deductions. You’ll pay all your tax and National Insurance at the end of the tax year.

Apply for gross payment status when you register for CIS

  1. Sign in to Government Gateway - you’ll need a Government Gateway user ID. You can create one when you register for CIS.

  2. From ‘Your tax account’, go to ‘Other services’.

  3. Choose ‘Construction Industry Scheme – Subcontractors’.

Apply for gross payment status after you’ve registered for CIS

If you’ve already registered for CIS, you can apply for gross payment status by either:

If you fill in a form

Fill in the form online, print it and send it to the address on the form.

There are different forms depending on whether you’re a sole trader, partnership or limited company.

To qualify

You must show HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that your business passes some tests. You’ll need to show that:

  • you’ve paid your tax and National Insurance on time in the past
  • your business does construction work (or provides labour for it) in the UK
  • your business is run through a bank account

HMRC will look at your turnover for the last 12 months. Ignoring VAT and the cost of materials, your turnover must be at least:

  • £30,000 if you’re a sole trader
  • £30,000 for each partner in a partnership, or at least £100,000 for the whole partnership
  • £30,000 for each director of a company, or at least £100,000 for the whole company

If your company’s controlled by 5 people or fewer, you must have an annual turnover of £30,000 for each of them.

You could be fined if you provide false information and so could anyone who helps you to make a false registration.

Paying tax when you have gross payment status

You must declare your payments as income at the end of the tax year in: