CIS accounting

Specialist accountants for shopfitters.

Shopfitting sits within CIS as a specified construction operation. Internal fit-out, fixtures, joinery, flooring and the installation of power and data cabling as part of a commercial fit-out project all fall within the scheme. The complication for shopfitters is the mixed supply contract: jobs often blend elements that are clearly CIS-subject with supply-only elements (manufactured units, furniture, equipment) that may not be. Getting the deduction base right on every job requires attention.

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20%

CIS deducted on labour element of fit-out payments

~£2,000

Average first-year CIS refund

Deducted on qualifying materials costs

The specific challenges

What makes shopfitters accounting different.

Mixed supply contracts and the CIS deduction base

Shopfitting contracts often combine CIS-subject construction operations (joinery installation, partitioning, flooring, electrical first-fix) with the supply of manufactured units, bespoke furniture and equipment that is not itself a construction operation. Where a contract mixes these elements, the CIS deduction applies only to the labour on the construction operations part. Manufactured units supplied as goods rather than installedruction do not attract a CIS deduction at all. Many main contractors apply the deduction to the full contract value. We review your contracts and deduction slips to identify the correct base.

Fit-out materials and the labour split

Even on the portions of a shopfitting contract that are clearly CIS, the materials you supply (timber, sheet materials, ironmongery, flooring, fixings) are excluded from the deduction base. Separating labour from materials on a shopfitting invoice, particularly on a lump-sum contract, requires care. If the split is not documented, main contractors tend to apply the deduction to the whole amount.

Domestic reverse charge on fit-out invoices

If you are VAT-registered and invoicing another VAT-registered contractor (not the end-user client) for CIS-specified construction services, the domestic reverse charge applies. You do not charge VAT on those invoices; the main contractor accounts for it instead. Getting this wrong in either direction creates VAT exposure. Many shopfitters do not apply the reverse charge correctly because fit-out can blur the line between supply and installation.

Tool costs and workshop equipment

Shopfitters carry significant tools (routers, sanders, jigsaws, nailers) and may run a workshop for producing bespoke joinery items. Capital allowances and the Annual Investment Allowance cover qualifying plant and machinery. Workshop equipment used in the preparation of CIS-contract work is qualifying expenditure.

How we help

What we do for shopfitters.

CIS deduction base review and refund claim

We review your contracts and deduction statements to identify where the deduction base has been applied too broadly (for example to supply-only elements or to materials). We calculate the correct refund including all allowable expenses and file your Self Assessment return.

VAT domestic reverse charge advice

We confirm which of your invoices are subject to the domestic reverse charge and which are not, ensure your invoices carry the correct wording, and review your VAT returns for any past errors.

Gross payment status application

Once your net CIS turnover from construction operations exceeds £30,000, we assess GPS eligibility, manage the application and maintain the compliance record. GPS eliminates the 20% deduction on your CIS-subject work entirely.

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“Our contracts are always a mix of supply and installation and nobody had ever separated the two for CIS. Once the deduction base was corrected, we were getting back considerably more than we had been claiming.”

Self-employed shopfitter, North West England

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

Questions from shopfitters

Is shopfitting work within CIS?

Yes. Internal fit-out, partition installation, joinery installation, flooring and associated first-fix electrical and data cabling are specified construction operations under CIS. Where you are engaged by a main contractor to carry out any of these as a subcontractor, CIS deductions apply to the labour element of the payment.

I supply bespoke furniture units and install them. Does CIS apply to the whole contract?

Not necessarily. The supply of manufactured goods (furniture, equipment) is not itself a construction operation. If your contract blends supply of goods with installation labour, only the labour on the construction operations part is subject to CIS. The supply element may fall outside the deduction base. We review mixed contracts to identify the correct split rather than leaving that determination to the main contractor.

Do I need to apply the domestic reverse charge on my shopfitting invoices?

If you are VAT-registered, your customer is VAT-registered, both of you are CIS-registered and your customer is not the end user, the domestic reverse charge applies to the construction services portion of your invoice. You write 'reverse charge: customer to account for VAT' rather than adding 20% VAT. If you are supplying to the end-user occupier directly, normal VAT rules apply.

Get started

Talk to a specialist shopfitters 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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Other trades we work with

Plumbers Electricians Joiners and Carpenters Groundworkers Roofers

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