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Stratford-upon-Avon

13 The Courtyard
Timothy's Bridge Road
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Warwickshire CV37 9NP

01789 294484

enquiries@gjassociates.co.uk

London

7-8 Stratford Place
Mayfair
London
W1C 1AY

0207 495 0304

enquiries@gjassociates.co.uk

How CIS off-set works in practice

Articles

The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a set of special rules for tax and National Insurance for those working in the construction industry. Businesses in the construction industry are known as 'contractors' and 'subcontractors' and should be aware of the tax implications of the scheme.

Under the scheme, contractors are required to deduct money from a subcontractor’s payments and pass it to HMRC. The deductions count as advance payments towards the subcontractor’s tax and National Insurance.

Contractors are defined as those who pay subcontractors for construction work or who spent more than £3m on construction a year in the 12 months since they made their first payment.

Subcontractors do not have to register for the CIS, but contractors must deduct 30% from their payments to unregistered subcontractors. The alternative is to register as a CIS subcontractor where a 20% deduction is taken or to apply for gross payment status whereby the contractor will not make a deduction, and the subcontractor is responsible to pay all their tax and National Insurance at the end of the tax year.

In practice the subcontractor company could apply the off-set rules and must simply reduce their PAYE, NIC, any CIS liabilities and student loan repayments due from company employees or their own subcontractor’s, by the amount of any CIS deductions the subcontractor company made from their payments. 

If in any month or quarter the company’s own CIS deductions are greater than the total liabilities due, the company can set-off the excess against future payments of PAYE, NIC, or CIS liabilities and student loan repayments due in the same tax year.

The subcontractor company must keep a record of the amounts set-off in order to fully complete the form P35 at the end of the tax year.

Grenfell James Technology Adoption Index

How does your business perform against others adopting financial tech? Find out with our interactive diagnostic:

1.

How does your business receive invoices?

A)

Invoices are mainly received in paper form

B)

Invoices are mainly received by email

C)

Invoices are emailed then automatically forwarded to a designated mailbox

2.

How are purchase invoices processed?

A)

Invoices are entered manually

B)

Invoices are attached to manually raised invoices

C)

Automated software (e.g. ReceiptBank, 1Tap, HubDoc etc) collates invoices

3.

How are accounts processed?

A)

Using Excel/paper-based

B)

Using Computer-based, offline software

C)

Using cloud-based accountancy software

4.

How often is business data revised?

A)

Data is updated annually

B)

Data is updated quarterly

C)

Data is updated monthly or more often

5.

How is banking updated for your business?

A)

Banking is updated manually

B)

Banking is updated by imports

C)

Banking is updated via a live feed

6.

How are bank payments made?

A)

Bank payments are manual

B)

Bank payments are made using bulk imports

C)

Bank payments are made directly via accounting software

7.

How are bank receipts reconciled?

A)

Receipts are chased and reconciled manually

B)

Receipts are chased and reconciled automatically

C)

A third-party platform is used to chase debts and collect fees

8.

How often are management reports produced?

A)

No reports are provided

B)

Reports are provided but often too late to be valuable

C)

Reports are automated with real-time information

Score 8-12:

Curious Exploration

Your financial technology phase is Curious Exploration

% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.

Switching accountancy systems may seem like an upheaval, but can be much more straightforward than most businesses imagine. From talking to our clients, they have found moving from paper invoicing and desktop-based accounting software to the cloud and apps quickly makes the transition process a worthwhile investment of time. Digital accounting solutions bring in streamlined processes, up-to-date business data and greater confidence in the accuracy of information when making financial decisions.

Grenfell James works with your team to fully assess the needs of your business and minimise the impact of any transitions for solutions we recommend.

Find out more about App Advisory

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Score 13-19:

Measured Discovery

Your financial technology phase is Measured Discovery

% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.

Once cloud accountancy software is in place, there’s still plenty of scope to improve your accountancy processes and make sure your business is maximising the benefits of adopting a digital accounting solution. Grenfell James assesses each business to understand how any implemented solutions are being used, identify areas for improvement and the needs of the business overall to support your business goals and achieve success.

Our team of experts can discuss a range of time-saving automation and get different apps and cloud-based solutions talking to create and manage a digital accountancy eco-system to help your business grow.

Find out more about App Advisory

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Score 20-24:

Bold Innovation

Your financial technology phase is Bold Innovation

% of respondent businesses are in this phase too.

You know the benefits of accounting technology and the impact it can have on your business goals. If you want to take it a step further, our team can conduct a systematic review of your processes, apps and business goals to ensure your digital accountancy ecosystem is keeping pace with the changing needs of a growing business.