Sector: plastering & drylining
Labour-only CIS, day rates and invoicing for plasterers
Plastering is the trade CIS bites hardest, because the deduction base is the whole payment. Where a firm supplying materials has half its invoice outside the deduction, a labour-only plasterer has none of it outside. Verified at 20% against unverified at 30% is therefore ten per cent of everything you invoice, held back until you reclaim it. Estimark verifies subcontractors with HMRC, applies the right rate to the labour figure, issues the payment and deduction statement, and files the CIS300 with its declarations.
What actually goes wrong
Deducted at 30% because nobody verified
The higher rate applies to anyone HMRC has not matched, whatever status is written down locally. It is ten per cent of every invoice, sitting with HMRC.
A deduction taken on the whole invoice including materials
On the rare job where you did supply the beading and the bonding, the contractor deducted on the lot.
Statements that never arrive
A year of deductions and no statements, and a self assessment nobody can evidence.
VAT charged where the reverse charge applied
The invoice is rejected by the contractor’s bookkeeper and re-raised three weeks later, unpaid in the meantime.
Sector: how it works
How does the CIS side work?
Verification with HMRC, the rate that verification produces, and a deduction taken on the labour element only.
| Status | Rate |
|---|---|
| Verified for gross payment status | 0% |
| Verified and registered | 20% |
| Unverified, unmatched or higher rate | 30% |
- The deduction base is the payment less materials, VAT, plant hire and other allowable costs. On labour-only work that is the whole payment, so the rate matters more in this trade than in any other.
- The deduction rounds down, following HMRC, and stated amounts round to the nearest penny.
- A payment and deduction statement is issued per subcontractor per tax month, which is the evidence they need to reclaim.
- The CIS300 is recorded with both statutory declarations, and a CIS tax month runs 6th to 5th rather than by calendar month.
- CIS Compliance is included from Solo, so it is on every plan.
What about VAT on a subcontract invoice?
The domestic reverse charge is set against the client and applied to every invoice raised for them, with the section 55A wording on the document itself.
- Set once rather than remembered per invoice, so it cannot be forgotten one invoice at a time.
- The rate that would have applied is stated for information and is not added to the total, which is the error that gets an invoice sent back.
- The charge applies where the customer is VAT and CIS registered and is not an end user, and that last part is theirs to confirm in writing.
NoteEstimark applies the treatment you record against the client. It cannot decide whether your customer is an end user, because only your customer knows that.
How are day rates and hours handled?
Timesheets book hours to a job with a rate, compute the labour cost per entry, and carry an approval with the approver recorded.
- Hours against a job are what turn a day rate into a job cost rather than a payroll number.
- Approval is recorded against a person, so a disputed week has an answer.
- QR site attendance can create timesheet entries automatically on clock-out.
- Timesheets are included on every plan.
Which plan does a plastering firm need?
Solo at £39 a month +VAT for up to 2 users and 20 open jobs is enough for a two-man outfit, because CIS is already included on it.
- CIS Compliance is included from Solo, so the whole reason a plasterer needs this is on the entry plan rather than behind an upgrade.
- Core at £129 a month +VAT covers up to 5 users with no job limit and adds Job Costing and Purchase Orders.
- Payment Applications is included from Pro for work priced as a subcontract valuation rather than invoiced.
Plastering, in numbers
- Unverified rate
- 30%
- Verified rate
- 20%
- Labour-only base
- The whole payment
- CIS tax month
- 6th to 5th
- Solo
- £39/month +VAT
- CIS Compliance
- Included from Solo
Solo
£39 +VAT/month
Solo covers 2 users and 20 open jobs at a time, and it already includes CIS Compliance, which is the whole reason a labour-only trade needs a system at all.
What you get
- CIS verification, deduction and the CIS300
- Payment and deduction statements per tax month
- Reverse charge set on the client and applied to every invoice
- Timesheets, quotes, jobs and invoicing
Completed, invoiced and cancelled jobs stop counting against the 20 cap. Core is £129/month +VAT for up to 5 users with no job limit.
Questions
Plasterers: frequently asked
Why is CIS deducted at 30% from my invoices?
The higher rate applies to any subcontractor HMRC has not verified or could not match, whatever status is recorded locally. Getting verified moves you to 20%, and on labour-only work that is ten per cent of everything you invoice, because the deduction base is the whole payment rather than the labour part of it.
Is CIS deducted on materials a plasterer supplies?
No. The deduction base is the payment less materials, VAT, plant hire and other allowable costs such as the CITB levy and fuel. Everything excluded is still paid in full; it comes off the base the percentage applies to rather than off the payment. On labour-only work there is usually nothing to exclude, so the base is the whole payment.
Does Estimark handle the VAT reverse charge for subcontract work?
Yes. The reverse charge is recorded against the client and applied to every invoice raised for them, with the section 55A wording on the document. The rate that would have applied is shown for information rather than added to the total. Whether your customer is an end user is theirs to confirm in writing, and no system can decide it for them.
How much is Estimark for a plasterer?
Solo is £39 a month +VAT for 2 users and 20 open jobs, and CIS Compliance is included on it. Core is £129 a month +VAT for up to 5 users with no job limit. Every plan has a 14-day free trial.
Related
CIS compliance
Labour-only deduction, 6th-to-5th tax months, HMRC verification, CIS300 recorded.
VAT domestic reverse charge
Section 55A wording on the invoice, nil VAT, per-client control.
For sole traders
Solo at £39/month +VAT: 2 users, 20 open jobs, quote and invoice from the phone.
For bricklayers
Price work by measured rate, gang hours booked to the job, and CIS on the gang.
Try it on a real job.
14 days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee. All prices exclude VAT, added at 20% at checkout.