CIS accounting

Specialist accountants for cladding installers.

Cladding installers work across one of the most active and technically demanding sectors of UK construction. Post-Grenfell remediation programmes have driven substantial volumes of recladding work on existing buildings, and fire-rated cladding systems now make up a significant share of new-build facade contracts. Cladding installation is an alteration to a building and falls squarely within CIS as a construction operation under s.74(2) Finance Act 2004. The allowable expense picture is strong: cladding panels, fixings, rails and insulation boards should be excluded from the deduction base, while working-at-height equipment and training costs add to the expense pool.

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20%

Deducted on labour by main contractors

~£2,000

Average first-year CIS refund (illustrative)

55p

Mileage rate per mile from April 2026

The specific challenges

What makes cladding installers accounting different.

Cladding materials excluded from the deduction base

CIS deductions apply only to the labour element of a cladding invoice. Panels, rails, brackets, fixings, fire-rated insulation boards and membranes you supply are excluded from the deduction base. Fire-rated cladding systems in particular carry substantial materials costs relative to the labour content of the contract. If your main contractor applies the 20% deduction to the full invoice, the overpayment on a high-specification fire-rated contract can be considerable.

Working-at-height costs

Cladding work frequently requires working at significant height. IPAF (powered access) and PASMA (mobile scaffold towers) card costs are mandatory professional costs for working at height and are fully allowable business expenses. Harness, lanyard and PPE costs are allowable, and scaffolding or MEWP hire charges passed through to the main contractor at cost should be excluded from the deduction base.

Fire-rated materials: remediation contracts

Post-Grenfell remediation programmes often involve large contracts replacing non-compliant cladding systems with fire-rated alternatives. These contracts typically involve a high proportion of materials cost (ACM removal, fire-rated panel systems, insulation replacement) relative to labour. Getting the labour/materials split right on remediation contracts, where invoices may run to large sums, is especially important.

Registration and verification on large contracts

Large remediation and new-build facade contracts are typically with major contractors who have formal CIS compliance processes. If you are not registered or your status cannot be verified, you will be deducted at 30% rather than 20% on every payment. We ensure your CIS registration is current and that any verification issues are resolved before the first payment on a new contract.

How we help

What we do for cladding installers.

CIS refund including materials split review

We review your deduction statements, confirm that panels, rails, fixings and other materials are correctly excluded from the deduction base, account for IPAF/PASMA fees, PPE, vehicle costs and mileage at 55p per mile from April 2026, and submit your Self Assessment return to recover the full refund owed.

Working-at-height and training cost claims

We include IPAF and PASMA card fees, harness inspection costs, safety training and PPE in your allowable expenses. These are frequently overlooked in self-filed returns by cladding installers who treat them as incidental costs rather than legitimate deductions.

Gross payment status application

If your net annual CIS turnover (labour income, excluding materials and VAT) exceeds £30,000, you may qualify for GPS. We manage the application, the three qualifying tests and the ongoing compliance record that keeps GPS in place.

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“The remediation contracts have a lot of materials in them and nobody had told me the contractor should only be taking the 20% from the labour side. The first properly filed return made a real difference.”

Self-employed cladding installer, South East England

Composite snapshot based on client patterns. Name and figures anonymised. The tax mechanics are real.

Questions from cladding installers

Is cladding installation within CIS?

Yes. Installing or replacing cladding on a building is an alteration or repair to a building or structure and is a construction operation under s.74(2)(a) Finance Act 2004. All payments from contractors to cladding subcontractors for this work are subject to CIS deduction unless the subcontractor holds Gross Payment Status.

I supply fire-rated panels and rail systems. Should my contractor deduct CIS from the materials element?

No. The cost of panels, rails, brackets, fire-rated insulation boards and fixings you supply is excluded from the CIS deduction base. Only the labour element of your invoice is subject to the 20% deduction. On fire-rated and remediation contracts, where materials costs can be a large proportion of the contract value, this exclusion is particularly significant. If your contractor is deducting from the full invoice, you are overpaying.

Are my IPAF and PASMA card fees tax deductible?

Yes. IPAF (powered access) and PASMA (mobile scaffold towers) card fees and renewal costs are mandatory professional costs for cladding installers working at height and are fully allowable business expenses. They are deductible against your CIS income on your Self Assessment return.

I work on post-Grenfell remediation contracts. Do the same CIS rules apply?

Yes. Remediation contracts replacing non-compliant cladding are construction operations in the same way as new-build facade work. The same CIS deduction rules apply, the same labour-only deduction base, and the same GPS qualifying tests. The main difference in practice is the higher proportion of materials cost relative to labour, which makes correct deduction base splitting especially important on these contracts.

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Talk to a specialist cladding installers accountant

Book a free call. We will talk through your CIS position, your deduction history and whether there is anything worth changing. No hard sell, no obligation.

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Specialist in CIS and construction accounting, not a generalist practice

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24-hour response guarantee

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Fixed fees, quoted before we start

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