CIS accounting

Specialist accountants for fencing contractors.

Fencing contractors face a genuine scope question before CIS even enters the picture: is the work they are carrying out a construction operation at all? The answer depends on context, not just on the fact that fencing is involved. Construction-site fencing (security hoardings, boundary fencing on a development, permanent fencing forming part of a built structure) is within CIS. Agricultural fencing on farmland that has no connection to a building project is generally outside it. Getting that boundary wrong, in either direction, has real consequences.

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20%

CIS deducted on qualifying fencing contracts

~£2,000

Average first-year CIS refund

Deducted on materials (posts, rails, wire, panels)

The specific challenges

What makes fencing contractors accounting different.

Inside or outside CIS? The context test for fencing

The HMRC CIS 340 guide and Finance Act 2004 s.74 establish that what matters is whether work is part of a construction project, not whether the activity could abstractly be called construction. Fencing on a housing development, a commercial site, or as part of a planning condition on a build is a construction operation and the payments to a fencing subcontractor are subject to CIS deduction. Agricultural fencing on a farm that is not connected to a building project is not a construction operation. A fencing contractor who works across both types of site may find that some contracts are within CIS and others are not. Misclassifying a CIS contract as outside the scheme (and therefore not registering or reclaiming) costs money. Misclassifying an agricultural contract as CIS (and accepting deductions that should not be made) also costs money.

Materials make up a large part of fencing invoices

Posts, rails, chain-link, timber panels, wire, concrete spurs and aggregate for post foundations all form part of a fencing invoice. On contracts that are within CIS, these materials costs are excluded from the deduction base. Only the labour element is subject to the 20% deduction. If your main contractor is applying the deduction to the full invoice, you are overpaying on every job.

Plant and machinery: post-drivers and transport

Fencing contractors typically run a van or flatbed and use post-drivers, compactors and sometimes mini-excavators. Running costs on a van used for work are allowable. Post-driving equipment and other plant are eligible for capital allowances. From April 2026 the AMAP rate for a car or van is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles.

Unregistered rate on construction contracts

A fencing contractor who carries out construction-site fencing but is not CIS-registered will have 30% deducted rather than 20%. On contracts of any size, that 10-point gap adds up quickly. Registration is free and immediate.

How we help

What we do for fencing contractors.

CIS scope review: clarifying which contracts are inside the scheme

We review your contract mix to determine which jobs are CIS construction operations and which are not. For the CIS contracts, we check that the deduction base (labour only, not materials) is being applied correctly. For the non-CIS contracts, we confirm that no deduction should be made.

CIS refund claim and materials split review

We identify overpayments where main contractors have applied the deduction to materials, calculate all allowable expenses (mileage, van costs, plant, PPE) and file your Self Assessment return. Most fencing contractors in CIS contracts receive a meaningful refund.

GPS application for established contractors

If your net CIS turnover from qualifying construction contracts exceeds £30,000, we assess GPS eligibility and manage the application. Note that the GPS turnover test is based on CIS income only; agricultural fencing income outside CIS does not count towards the threshold.

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Questions from fencing contractors

Is agricultural fencing inside or outside CIS?

Agricultural fencing on farmland that has no connection to a building or construction project is generally outside CIS. It is not a construction operation under Finance Act 2004 s.74 in that context. Fencing on a construction site or as part of a development (even if it borders agricultural land) is a different matter: where the fencing is part of a construction project it is within the scheme. The key is whether the fencing work forms part of a broader construction operation. We review your contract mix and clarify the position for each type of work.

I do both site fencing and agricultural fencing. Do I need to register for CIS?

If any part of your work is construction-site fencing paid for by a main contractor, yes. CIS registration (cutting your rate from 30% to 20%) is practically essential for the construction-site work. The agricultural fencing falls outside CIS and those payments will not have CIS deducted regardless of your registration status. We help you track the two income streams separately.

My contractor takes CIS from the full invoice including posts and rails. Can I recover the overpayment?

Yes. Materials (posts, rails, panels, wire, concrete, aggregate) are excluded from the CIS deduction base. If your contractor has been applying the 20% rate to the full invoice, the overpayment on the materials portion is recoverable through Self Assessment. We review your deduction statements and calculate the correct refund.

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Talk to a specialist fencing contractors 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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