Miss one monthly CIS return and HMRC charges you before your subcontractors have even been paid.
Nasir Rasheed, Director
CIS returns for contractors, filed monthly, with verification handled and deductions reclaimed
CIS returns for contractors and subcontractors are run alongside your payroll, VAT and year-end accounts, so verification, monthly filing and deductions suffered sit in one routine rather than three.
Most construction directors hear about a CIS problem when HMRC writes, or when a subcontractor is deducted at the higher rate because nobody verified him. The fix is dull and it happens before the 19th. Here is what the first ninety days look like.
Nexus Tax and Accounting Solutions is a Milton Keynes accountancy practice run by Nasir Rasheed MAAT AATQB. It files CIS returns for contractors and subcontractors, covering verification, monthly returns and deductions reclaimed through payroll, inside one monthly fee that also covers accounts, corporation tax, VAT and the director’s self assessment.
Accredited and certified
- Nasir Rasheed MAAT AATQB
- Established 2024
- Three new clients a month
- Milton Keynes · UK-wide remote
What you get with Nexus on CIS
Every subcontractor verified before he is paid
Verification happens ahead of the payment run, so the deduction rate applied is the correct one.
Monthly returns filed before the 19th, every month
Including nil returns in the months when you have paid nobody.
Deductions suffered reclaimed through your own payroll
CIS taken off your invoices is offset against the PAYE you owe each month instead of sitting with HMRC.
Three CIS decisions that cost construction companies money
These are the things directors tell me when they call about CIS for the first time.
- Verification
“We took on four lads in a rush and paid them before anyone checked them against HMRC, so the deductions came out wrong.”
Unverified subcontractors get deducted at the higher rate. Correcting it after the return is filed takes far longer than verifying them in the first place.
- Deductions
“We had CIS deducted from us all year and only found out at the year end that it could have offset the PAYE bill.”
Deductions suffered are reclaimed month by month through payroll. Leaving them until the year end ties up cash you needed for wages and materials.
- Switch
“I was on my fourth account manager in two years and the monthly return was being filed by someone who had never asked about the job.”
Rotation means nobody holds the detail of who is verified and who is not. One construction client asked to be switched back to me every time the big firm reassigned them.
- Day 90
What changes once the advice is in the room
The CIS routine stops being a monthly scramble and becomes a date in the calendar. Verification, the return and the payroll offset are done by the same person, so nothing falls between them. You also get your corporation tax and dividend position a month before the bill lands.
Quick check · no email
If your accountant can’t tell you whether every subcontractor is verified, what your next CIS return will show, and get back to you this week, you have the wrong accountant
Answer three questions about the accountant you have now.
Question 1 of 3
Could they tell you this week which of your subcontractors are verified and at what rate?
Could they show you the CIS deducted from your own invoices and where it was offset?
Could they reply to a question about a new subcontractor before your next payment run?
No yeses means the CIS routine is running on memory rather than a process. The set-up review is where verification, the monthly return and the payroll offset get checked properly.
That is a reasonable position with one gap, and the gap is usually the deductions suffered. Entry 01 is a construction company that moved for exactly that reason.
Three yeses and you are well served, so stay where you are. Read the guides if you want to sanity check the monthly routine yourself.
Filing the return against running the whole CIS routine
Both get the return in. Only one of them protects your cash and your subcontractors.
A filing-only accountant
Files the monthly return from the figures you send.
Verification is left to whoever is on site that week.
Deductions suffered surface at the year end.
Does the job properly, but only the job you asked for.
CIS run by Nexus
Subcontractors verified before the payment run, not after.
Return filed monthly, nil returns included.
Deductions suffered offset against PAYE each month.
Corporation tax and dividend position forecast a month ahead.
Eight things to check on your own CIS set-up
If you answer no to more than two of these, the routine needs work.
- 01
Is every active subcontractor verified with HMRC?
Verification is per subcontractor and needs doing before the first payment.
- 02
Are nil returns filed in quiet months?
A month with no payments still needs a return or a notice of inactivity.
- 03
Do your payment and deduction statements go out each month?
Subcontractors need them, and they are the first thing asked for in a check.
- 04
Is materials cost split out before deduction?
Deducting on the full invoice takes money off subcontractors that should not be taken.
- 05
Are deductions suffered claimed through payroll monthly?
Limited company subcontractors offset them against PAYE rather than waiting.
- 06
Do your CIS figures agree with your bookkeeping?
If the books and the returns disagree, the year-end accounts will not reconcile.
- 07
Has your VAT scheme been checked since reverse charge came in?
Construction reverse charge changes what your scheme is actually worth.
- 08
Does one named person hold all of this?
Split across a bookkeeper, an office manager and an account manager, detail gets lost.
What sits around the CIS returns
CIS is one filing in a company that has several, and they share the same numbers.
Payroll, pensions and the CIS offset
Payroll is run on schedule, with deductions suffered claimed through the same submission.
VAT returns and scheme review
Your scheme is chosen for your actual costs and the reverse charge position, not left on the default.
Accounts, corporation tax and the forecast
Year-end accounts, CT600 and confirmation statement, with your tax bill flagged a month before it is due.
Entry 01
A construction company that kept asking to be moved back
One entry from the library, described by type.
Clients described by type. Names withheld.
What clients say
What the first ninety days of CIS with Nexus look like
Four steps, in order, so the routine is in place before your next return is due.
Your CIS position is checked end to end
Nasir reviews your contractor and subcontractor status, verification records, payroll and VAT scheme, and tells you what needs to change.
Your first monthly return goes in on time
Subcontractors are verified ahead of the payment run, deductions are applied at the right rate and the return is filed before the 19th.
Deductions suffered start coming back through payroll
CIS taken off your invoices is claimed each month through the payroll submission and offset against the PAYE you owe.
You know your tax bill before it lands
Corporation tax and dividend headroom are forecast ahead of the year end, with a check-in every few months to flag anything early.
Who this is not for
Start-ups in their first year or two are not a fit, because Nexus works with established companies.
Sole trader subcontractors under £150,000 are better served elsewhere until incorporation is the obvious move.
Cash businesses and property-only landlords are declined.
Owners buying on price alone will find cheaper filing elsewhere, and should take it.
If you are not sure which side of that you sit on, the set-up review will tell you before anything is signed.
CIS questions construction directors ask
What does the monthly fee include for a construction company?
One monthly fee covers year-end accounts, corporation tax, the confirmation statement, VAT, bookkeeping, payroll and pensions, CIS returns and the director’s self assessment. Proactive advice is included on a fair-use basis: VAT scheme review, salary and dividend planning, and a corporation tax forecast a month before the bill lands. Capital gains returns are charged separately.
We already have an accountant, so why move?
Only move if there is a reason. The usual ones are a CIS return filed by someone who has never asked about the jobs, deductions suffered that surfaced at the year end, or a fourth account manager in two years. If your current accountant covers those, stay.
Do we have to change our software?
No. Nexus works with what you already use, provided the records reconcile and CIS can be tracked properly. Software is one of the things reviewed when you join, and if a change would genuinely help you will be told why. If nothing needs changing, nothing changes.
What happens with our current accountant when we switch?
You do not chase them yourself. Nexus writes for professional clearance, collects the records, runs the set-up review and sets out the first-year timetable, including the next CIS return due date. There is no separate charge for the handover. Most switches are done without the client speaking to the old firm.
Who has to file CIS returns for contractors each month?
Any business paying subcontractors for construction work under the scheme files a monthly return to HMRC by the 19th of the following month. That includes months where no payments were made, which need a nil return or a notice of inactivity. Penalties start the day after the deadline.
How does a limited company subcontractor get CIS deductions back?
Deductions suffered are reported through the payroll each month and offset against the PAYE and National Insurance the company owes. Any balance left at the end of the tax year can be set against corporation tax or refunded. Claiming monthly keeps the cash in the business rather than with HMRC.
Three ways to take the next step
Take the two-minute quiz
If the fit looks right, Nasir books the set-up review and comes back with what your CIS, VAT and pay structure need changed.
See if Nexus fits your firm 02 · A question firstGot one CIS question first?
Call or email and Nasir answers it himself, whether or not you go any further.
Ask Nasir a CIS question 03 · Still decidingStill deciding
The guides set out the monthly CIS routine and the deadlines, so you can check your own set-up before you speak to anyone.
Read the guides →