Nation: Northern Ireland

Construction software for Northern Ireland, and the rules that are its own

Northern Ireland writes its own versions of most of what Great Britain calls the construction regulations: its own Building Regulations of 2012, its own CDM regulations of 2016 with the same notification thresholds, its own gas safety regulations of 2004, and a 1997 Order rather than the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act for payment. What is not its own is HMRC: CIS and the VAT reverse charge apply in Northern Ireland as they do in Kent. A firm that also works south of the border meets a different withholding tax altogether, Relevant Contracts Tax, run by Revenue online at 0%, 20% or 35%. Estimark handles the HMRC side; it does not operate RCT.

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Where Northern Ireland is different

The same thresholds, a different form of words

The F10 thresholds are the same numbers as Great Britain’s, but the regulation is a Northern Ireland statutory rule and the notice goes to HSENI, not HSE.

Payment law is an Order, not the Act

The right to stage payments, the payment notice and the pay less notice are Articles 8 to 10 of a 1997 Order, and a contract clause that cites section 111 is citing the wrong statute.

Two withholding taxes on one firm

A Newry contractor deducts CIS on a Belfast job and has RCT deducted on a Dundalk one, on different rates, filed with different revenue authorities.

The 12th of July is a working day in London

Northern Ireland has bank holidays nobody else has. Deadline arithmetic on the English list counts the Twelfth as a working day.

Sector: how it works

What are the CDM rules in Northern Ireland?

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 have been in operation since 1 August 2016 and mirror CDM 2015. A project is notifiable if the construction work is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point, or to exceed 500 person days, and the client gives written notice to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland as soon as is practicable before the construction phase begins.

The notice carries the particulars in Schedule 2 to the regulations, is displayed at the site office and is updated where it changes.
A construction phase plan, the appointment of a principal designer and a principal contractor where there is more than one contractor, and the health and safety file follow the same pattern as Great Britain.
Estimark’s CDM project record holds the appointments, the pre-construction information, the construction phase plan and the health and safety file, and the F10 record holds the particulars. Submitting the notice to HSENI is yours.

How does construction payment law work?

The Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 does the work Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 does in Great Britain: the right to stage payments, dates for payment, payment notices, the requirement to pay the notified sum, the right to suspend for non-payment and the prohibition on pay-when-paid clauses are Articles 8 to 12 of the Order.

The mechanism is the same shape: a payment notice, a pay less notice, and a notified sum that becomes payable if neither is served in time.
Estimark’s payment application and notice dates follow the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 defaults where the contract is silent. A Northern Ireland contract with no express periods needs its own periods entered rather than the English fallback.
Retention, cumulative valuation and the reverse charge on the application work the same on either side of the Irish Sea.

How do CIS and RCT fit together?

CIS is HMRC’s and applies to construction work in Northern Ireland exactly as in Great Britain: 6th-to-5th tax months, the CIS300 by the 19th, deduction on the labour element at 0%, 20% or 30%. Work in the Republic of Ireland falls under Revenue’s Relevant Contracts Tax instead, a withholding tax on payments by principal contractors to subcontractors at 0%, 20% or 35% depending on the subcontractor’s compliance record, operated entirely online through the Revenue Online Service.

The two schemes do not talk to each other. A CIS verification says nothing to Revenue, and an RCT rate says nothing to HMRC.
Estimark verifies subcontractors with HMRC, deducts on the labour element, issues the payment and deduction statement and records the CIS300. It does not operate RCT, does not file to ROS, and holds no Irish VAT treatment.
The VAT domestic reverse charge under section 55A applies to UK supplies in Northern Ireland as elsewhere in the UK, and is set on the client record once.

NoteA firm with Republic of Ireland work keeps that side of the books outside Estimark, in whatever it files ROS from.

What else is Northern Ireland’s own?

Building control runs under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 rather than the 2010 Regulations of England and Wales, landlord gas safety under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, and the bank holiday list includes St Patrick’s Day and the Twelfth of July, which Great Britain’s lists do not.

Awaab’s Law applies to social homes in England and not in Northern Ireland, and Estimark’s Awaab’s Law cases are written to the English regulations.
The Property Compliance register renews landlord gas safety at 12 months and EICR at 60 months per property, with every interval editable so a Northern Ireland stock records its own authority for each.
Estimark’s Building Control Pack drafts for the England and Wales routes and does not prepare a Northern Ireland building control application. The planning bolt-on reads English datasets only.
The estimating benchmark carries a Northern Ireland labour rate index of its own.

NoteEstimark’s working-day arithmetic for Awaab’s Law uses the England and Wales bank holiday list, and that engine is not in scope in Northern Ireland. Every other date in the product is one you set.

Northern Ireland, in dates and thresholds

CDM (NI) 2016: In operation since 1 August 2016
F10 thresholds: 30 days and 20 workers, or 500 person days
Payment law: Construction Contracts (NI) Order 1997
CIS rates: 0%, 20%, 30%
RCT rates, Republic of Ireland: 0%, 20%, 35%
Awaab’s Law: Does not apply

Which plan

Every plan

From £39 +VAT/month

CIS, the reverse charge, the certificates and the CDM record are on the plans that carry them everywhere in the UK. RCT is not operated on any plan.

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What you get

CIS and the reverse charge on every plan
CDM project record and F10 particulars
Certificates: EIC, EICR, Minor Works, PAT, CP12
Payment applications with retention
Compliance register with editable intervals

Health & Safety is included from Solo and Payment Applications from Pro. Solo is £39/month +VAT for 2 users.

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Questions

Northern Ireland: frequently asked

Does CIS apply in Northern Ireland?

Yes. CIS is HMRC’s and applies to construction work anywhere in the UK, Northern Ireland included, with the same 6th-to-5th tax months, the CIS300 by the 19th and deduction on labour at 0%, 20% or 30%. Work in the Republic of Ireland is under Revenue’s RCT instead, which Estimark does not operate.

When is a project notifiable in Northern Ireland?

Under regulation 6 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016: where the construction work is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously, or to exceed 500 person days. The client notifies HSENI in writing as soon as is practicable before the construction phase begins.

Do pay less notices exist in Northern Ireland?

Yes, under the Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 rather than the 1996 Act. Articles 9A, 9B and 10 carry the payment notice, the payee’s notice in default and the requirement to pay the notified sum. Estimark’s default periods are the England and Wales Scheme’s, so a Northern Ireland contract with no express periods needs its own entered.

Does Awaab’s Law apply in Northern Ireland?

No. The 2025 Regulations apply to lessors of social homes in England. Estimark’s Awaab’s Law cases are written to those regulations and are not in scope for a Northern Ireland landlord, who sets repair targets on the repairs register.

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