CIS Tax Returns · South East London
CIS tax returns in Lewisham
If you work in construction in Lewisham, CIS touches almost everything: how you are paid, how you pay others, how VAT is charged under the reverse charge, and how much tax you get back in January. We handle all of it for trades across South East London from a published fee menu, with nothing filed until you have approved it.
from £30/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- CIS monthly return and deduction statements to subcontractors
- PAYE and National Insurance for last month paid to HMRC (electronic)
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
Who this is for
CIS Tax Returns for Lewisham
Construction businesses in Lewisham on either side of the scheme: sole trader and limited company subcontractors with 20% or 30% deductions to reclaim, contractors who pay subcontractors and must file monthly, businesses that do both, and established subcontractors with turnover high enough to apply for gross payment status and stop deductions altogether.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Subcontractor verification with HMRC and the correct deduction rate (20%, 30% or gross) applied each time
- Monthly CIS300 return filed by the 19th with deduction statements issued to every subcontractor
- Subcontractor annual Self Assessment with CIS deductions reclaimed and the refund chased with HMRC
- Gross payment status application prepared with the turnover, compliance and business tests evidenced
- Domestic reverse charge VAT checked on every CIS invoice in both directions
- CIS deductions offset against PAYE for limited company subcontractors through the EPS each month
How it works
CIS Tax Returns from Lewisham, step by step
Tell us your situation
A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.
Fixed fee in writing
You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.
Send records, review the draft
Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.
We file, you get the receipts
Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.
Why IGI
Why Lewisham businesses file with IGI
The price for cis tax returns is published on this page and is what a client in Lewisham pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for cis tax returns are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Lewisham client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Lewisham to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in England; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.
Continuity matters in cis tax returns: the person who prepared last year's work for your Lewisham business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Lewisham comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of cis tax returns: drafts go to Lewisham clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Lewisham
Lewisham is in South East London, in the SE13 postcode district, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Lewisham Central | 0.4 mi | S |
| Ladywell | 0.6 mi | SW |
| Hither Green | 0.9 mi | S |
| Blackheath, Lewisham | 0.9 mi | NE |
| Lee Green, Lewisham | 1 mi | SE |
| Lee, Greenwich | 1 mi | SE |
| Deptford, Greenwich | 1 mi | NW |
| Greenwich West | 1 mi | N |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Confirmation statements and identity verification
The confirmation statement is the annual check that the public register is right: officers, registered office, SIC codes, shareholders and the PSC register. It carries a £50 fee and no financial penalty for lateness, but failure to file leads to compulsory strike-off. The identity verification regime introduced in November 2025 has added a further check to every statement.
CIS deductions
CIS turns construction subcontractors into advance taxpayers: a fifth of every labour payment goes to HMRC before they see it. Registering keeps the rate at 20% rather than 30%; gross payment status, for established businesses with a clean record, removes deductions altogether. The annual return is where the overpayment comes back, and filing it early brings the refund sooner.
Salary versus dividends
Paying yourself from a company involves two routes with different tax treatment. Salary through payroll is a company expense and builds a National Insurance record; dividends come from post-tax profit at lower personal rates. Undocumented drawings that are neither become director's loans, with a 35.75% section 455 charge if not repaid within nine months of the year end.
Director's loan accounts
Money taken from a company has to be something: salary, dividend, expense reimbursement or loan. If it is a loan and remains outstanding nine months after the year end, the company pays tax at the dividend higher rate on it until it is repaid. Clearing the balance with a properly declared dividend before the deadline, where reserves allow, is routine year-end work.
The VAT registration threshold
VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Corporation Tax is not a flat rate. Profits to £50,000 pay 19%, profits above £250,000 pay 25%, and the band between is taxed at an effective marginal rate of 26.5% through the marginal relief mechanism. Associated companies share the thresholds, which catches directors who own more than one company and is the most common cause of underpaid tax in owner-managed groups.
Late filing penalties
Penalties are the clearest reason to work to deadlines. A Self Assessment return one day late costs £100 regardless of whether any tax is due; three months late adds £10 a day. Late company accounts start at £150 and reach £1,500, and double if the previous year was also late. None of this is negotiable afterwards except through a narrow reasonable-excuse appeal.
Questions
CIS Tax Returns questions from Lewisham
Can my CIS deductions be set against my VAT or other taxes?
For sole traders, no; CIS deductions are credited against your income tax and Class 4 National Insurance through Self Assessment, with the excess refunded. For companies, deductions are offset against PAYE and CIS owed, and the remaining balance is repaid by HMRC after the year end or, on request, set against Corporation Tax.
I have not filed for several years. Can you catch me up?
Yes. Late Self Assessment returns can be filed for the last four tax years to reclaim CIS deductions, and HMRC will offset refunds against any penalties. We quote a fixed fee for the set based on the number of years and reconcile each year's statements. The sooner this is done the more years remain claimable.
What counts as construction work under CIS?
Site preparation, building, alteration, repair, decoration, demolition, and installing systems such as heating, lighting and water. Professional work such as architecture and surveying, scaffolding hire without labour, and carpet fitting are outside the scheme. Mixed contracts fall within it entirely. We check borderline cases against HMRC's list.
What records do I need to keep for CIS?
Subcontractors: every deduction statement, invoices and bank records. Contractors: verification references, gross payments, materials costs, deductions made and the statements issued, for at least three years. Missing deduction statements are the most common reason refunds are delayed, so we help you obtain copies from contractors.
When are contractor returns due?
The CIS300 monthly return covers the tax month to the 5th and must reach HMRC by the 19th. Deduction statements must go to subcontractors by the same date. A nil return is still required if you paid no subcontractors. Late returns cost £100 immediately, rising to £200 after two months and then percentage-based penalties.
What rate do I deduct from a subcontractor?
You must verify each new subcontractor with HMRC before the first payment. HMRC tells you 20% if they are registered, 30% if not, or 0% if they hold gross payment status. Deductions apply to the labour element only, never to materials, VAT or plant hire. We verify every new subcontractor and record the result.
Do you have an office in Lewisham?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Lewisham and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for cis tax returns is the same in Lewisham as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is cis tax returns in Lewisham really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Lewisham pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.
Let us take the deadlines off your plate in Lewisham
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.