CIS invoice template
Every field a subcontractor's invoice needs under the Construction Industry Scheme, in the order a contractor's accounts team expects to see it. It includes the labour and materials split the deduction depends on, and a worked example you can check your own figures against.
Every UK invoice must show
- The word “Invoice”
- Stated clearly. A document headed “Statement” or “Receipt” is not an invoice.
- Unique invoice number
- Sequential, with no gaps. If you void one, keep the number and mark it void.
- Your business name and address
- Trading name and address. A limited company must also show its registered name, company number and registered office.
- Customer name and address
- The legal entity being billed, not just the site contact.
- Invoice date
- The date you issue it. If you are VAT registered this is the tax point unless a different one applies.
- Supply date
- When the work was done or the goods supplied, if it differs from the invoice date.
- Description of the work
- Enough for the customer to recognise what they are paying for. “Labour” alone invites a dispute.
- Amount charged per line
- Split labour from materials. It matters for CIS, and it makes the invoice easier to accept.
- Total due
- The single figure the customer pays.
- Payment terms and due date
- A specific date, not “30 days”. Interest runs from the day after it.
- Payment details
- Account name, sort code and account number, or a card payment link.
The CIS block
- Your UTR
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference, so the contractor can match the invoice to the verification they ran with HMRC.
- Labour
- Shown on its own line. CIS is only ever deducted from this figure.
- Materials
- What you paid for materials used on the job. Never deducted from. Keep the receipts, because the contractor can ask for them.
- Plant and equipment hire
- Shown separately if you hired it for the job. Like materials, it is not subject to the deduction.
- Deduction rate
- 20% if you are registered for CIS, 30% if you are not, 0% if HMRC has given you gross payment status.
- Deduction amount
- The rate applied to the labour line, written as a figure, not left for the contractor to work out.
- Amount payable
- The invoice total less the CIS deduction. This is what should land in your account.
If the domestic reverse charge applies
- Reverse charge statement
- For example: “Reverse charge: customer to account for VAT to HMRC.” Required when you are VAT registered and the contractor is VAT registered and not the end user.
- VAT rate and amount
- Show the rate and the VAT the contractor must account for, but leave it out of the total you are asking them to pay.
- Your VAT number
- Still mandatory, even though you are not collecting the VAT yourself.
A worked example
You are a VAT-registered, CIS-registered subcontractor billing a VAT-registered main contractor. Labour is £2,000 and materials are £800. The CIS deduction is 20% of the labour only: £400. The reverse charge applies, so the invoice shows VAT of £560 (20% of £2,800) for the contractor to account for, but doesn't add it to the bill. The contractor pays you £2,400: £2,800 less the £400 deduction. If the reverse charge did not apply, you would add the £560 VAT, and the deduction would still be £400, because CIS is never taken from VAT or materials.
What the contractor sends you back
For every tax month in which they pay you, the contractor must give you a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the month ending. Tax months run from the 6th to the 5th. Check each statement against your invoices, because the deduction on the statement is the figure HMRC holds against your name.
Getting the deductions back
CIS deductions are advance payments towards your tax, not a cost. Sole traders claim them through their Self Assessment return. Limited companies offset them against the PAYE and National Insurance they owe through an Employer Payment Summary. Keep every statement for at least six years in case HMRC asks to see them.
Set the due date as a date
“Payment within 30 days” starts an argument about when the clock began. A specific date does not. It also matters legally: statutory interest on a commercial debt runs from the day after payment fell due, at the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, along with fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100 by debt size. You cannot claim from a date you never set.
Questions
What must a CIS invoice show?
Everything a normal UK invoice shows, plus your UTR, labour and materials on separate lines, the CIS deduction rate, the deduction as a figure, and the amount payable after the deduction. If the domestic reverse charge applies, it also needs the reverse charge statement and the VAT the contractor must account for.
Is CIS deducted from materials?
No. CIS is deducted from labour only. Materials you bought for the job, plant hire and VAT are never part of the deduction, which is why they must be shown on separate lines.
What CIS rate should I put on the invoice?
20% if you are registered for CIS, 30% if you are not registered, and 0% if HMRC has given you gross payment status. The contractor confirms the rate when they verify you with HMRC before paying you for the first time.
Do I charge VAT on a CIS invoice?
It depends on the domestic reverse charge. If you and the contractor are both VAT registered and the contractor is not the end user, the reverse charge applies: you show the VAT but the contractor accounts for it. Otherwise you charge VAT as normal. CIS is calculated on the labour before VAT either way.
Can Love Invoicing create CIS invoices?
Yes. Set your CIS rate once and every invoice shows labour and materials separately, with the deduction taken from the labour only. There is no dedicated reverse charge option yet, so add the reverse charge statement in the invoice notes.
Guidance, not tax or legal advice. UK requirements checked against GOV.UK and HMRC guidance in September 2026. If you are unsure about VAT, CIS or the reverse charge, see the VAT, CIS and MTD guide or ask your accountant.
A template you fill in is still paperwork.
Love Invoicing builds the same document from the job, with the numbers already in it, and chases it until it is paid.
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