Are you owed a CIS refund?
On CIS, your contractor takes tax off your pay before you ever see it. Most subcontractors are owed some of it back. Put your numbers in and see your likely refund.
Everything your contractors invoiced you, before they took CIS off.
Add up the CIS amounts from your monthly statements. Usually 20% of your labour.
Tools, materials, fuel, insurance, phone, the lot. This is where most refunds grow.
Based on 2026/27 rates, for a sole trader subcontractor with this as their only income. An estimate to show the shape of it, not a filed figure.
Income tax is worked out at the England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates.
CIS takes 20% off your labour before you are paid, as if all of it were profit. But you get a £12,570 tax free personal allowance, and every tool, every drop of fuel and every bit of material lowers your real profit. So the tax actually due is usually a good bit less than the CIS already taken. The gap is your refund. The trick is logging every expense, all year. Miss them and you hand HMRC money that is yours.
Let Lekhio track every expense for you →This is a general estimate using 2026/27 rates and assumes your subcontracting is your only income with standard 20% CIS. It is not tax advice or a filed figure. Your real refund depends on your full circumstances, which HMRC settles when you file. Lekhio prepares your figures and you always approve them.
Questions people ask
How much CIS tax is deducted from subcontractors?
Contractors deduct 20% from registered subcontractors and 30% from unregistered ones, on the labour element only, never on materials. Subcontractors with gross payment status have nothing deducted.
Can I get CIS tax back?
Often, yes. CIS deductions are tax you have already paid. When your Self Assessment is worked out, the deductions come off your bill, and many subcontractors are due a refund because 20% was taken off their labour before expenses and the personal allowance were counted.
Is CIS deducted on materials?
No. CIS is deducted on the labour element only. If your invoice splits labour and materials, the contractor should deduct nothing on the materials part.