[drive surgeon]

hi i have been asked am i c i s registered. my accountant has said i dont need to be as im not classed as construction really.

are any of you pressure washing guys c i s registered?

[Gilbert Sprous]

I am not a pressure washer but I do some cleaning for builders.  CIS registration is free so it does not hurt to get a unique tax reference.  If you subcontract for builders (I do builders cleaning) then they will want you to be CIS registered.  Be aware that if you do not have a turnover of 30,000 plus in the builders area, not total turnover, then they will hold back 20% and credit it to an account with HMRC that is identified by your unique tax reference.  At the end of your financial year you should be able to claim it back or get a refund if nothing is owed.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions or if I have not answered this one to the point you require, let me know

Gilbert

[drive surgeon]

thanks gibert 

[BDCS]

I'm CIS registered - big building firms won't look at you if your not. They do stop 20% tax  but I look at that as a good thing as its less I've got to find at tax return time.

[drive surgeon]

i will have to see as in 6 years this is the forst ime i have been asked.  is this only a recent thing?

[Andy Foster]

Was introduced in about 2000.

[martin19842]

hi there

it sometimes depends if you are a contrator for them or a supplier,  contractors and sub contractors are dealt with in a different manner to suppliers.

if you do any work in construction of any sort, then you should be subject to CIS.

regards

Martin

[Rob_Mac]

That isn't entirely correct!

I was asked the same question recently and it is more to do with where you are doing whatever you are doing.

I was asked if i was CIS registered and I said No as I had been asked previously and if your work is such that you are not adding to construction - cleaning and it is not in a covered environment( internal) or by a canopy then it is not covered by the CIS card.

If you were a cleaning company that did covered cleaning (internal) then you would need CIS. External cleaning has no requirement for CIS.

That little lot came from my accountant who spoke directly to HMRC.

Rob

[Andy Foster]

Spot on M-Clean, but if the customer wants it then who is going to argue?

[Rob_Mac]

If they want it and it means a new client or a few more quid, whether I need it or not I would be waving one under their noses before they asked

Rob

[Andy Foster]

Me too, in fact, that is waht happened a few years ago.  No big deal getting the card, so why not?

[BDCS]

It makes no odds if we think you do or not - if the employer thinks you need one and asks if you have one then all they want to hear is YES

[Rob_Mac]

Again I would disagree with that as well. I am sure if they were corrected in their presumption that all contractors are required to have CIS then if that was done diplomatically and with the correct information given then they could easily check it themselves and if they still had a blanket policy you could choose whether you wanted to get the card or not.

As has been said it is neither here or there and no real aggro to get one. Most of my work is on construction and has been for the last three years. I have been asked by two different clients and have told them both the same and they were happy with the info given.

Rob

[Griffus]

It is possible to apply to HMRC for an exemption certificate.

Not sure on the thresholds, I think it is somewhere around £32000 revenue per Company Director (if Ltd.), but they'll be well documented on HMRC website.

[Paul Heath]

I thought if you are registered with HMRC as a PAYE employer they paid your invoice total. All they needed was your reference no: ?? This tax thing is not easy to get your head round, i'm sure they keep moving the goalposts.....

[Andy Foster]

I thought if you are registered with HMRC as a PAYE employer they paid your invoice total. All they needed was your reference no: ?? This tax thing is not easy to get your head round, i'm sure they keep moving the goalposts.....

Unfortunately not, wish it were as i could do with the money when i earn it not when the government feel like letting me have it back but hey ho!

Most builders will not pay you unless you are CIS registered as it is a prerequisite to getting the job.  Although strictly speaking you don't need to be registered for CIS if the only cleaning is external, rather than argueing the toss, best to just get the card and play the game.

[Paul Heath]

We have worked for a couple of national firms in our area and once i supplied them with our PAYE ref no, they seem happy and paid all our invoices.

[Andy Foster]

If you do any cleaning other than external cleaning at all, they are obliged by law to retain 20% (ex VAT) and pay this to the HMRC at the end of the month in which they retained it.  The only way to avoid this is to get an exemption certificate from the HMRC

This is then kept safe for you by the government (aren't they kind) until you can prove to them at the end of the year that they owe it to you.  You get no interest on it and you must present the certificate issued to you by the company who retained it.

If you are out by a penny to what they have on their records that has been retaind on your behalf, they can refuse to pay it to you until the amount you ask for tallies with the amount they say it should be.

They are a pain in the butt, and should be taken to task on the bureaucracy of the system, but we have to comply.