Construction industry scheme update

The construction industry remains one of the UK’s key sectors, which also helps to underpin the UK economy, despite experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2021, construction output grew by 1.3% on the previous month – placing the sector just 1% below its pre-pandemic level – and worth a decent share of UK GDP.

Despite this monthly fluctuation, the Government remains committed to delivering up to 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s.

Major infrastructure projects like the HS2 railway line and Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset are also edging closer to completion.

It’s easy to see how the construction sector employs “more than 9% of the UK’s total workforce”, roughly equating to around 3.1 million people.

Many of these will be familiar with the complexities of the construction industry scheme (CIS), which sets out rules for how payments to subcontractors for construction work must be handled by contractors in the industry, taking into account the subcontractor’s tax status.

From a tax perspective, there have been recent changes announced in the last 12 months which affect both the CIS and UK VAT. Not that many would know, given the lack of publicity.