Getting paid, 29 October 2026
How to invoice weekly as a labour-only subcontractor
A weekly labour-only invoice needs a unique number, your name and contact details, the contractor's name and address, the site, the week ending date, days worked and day rate, the total, and any VAT. Under CIS the contractor deducts 20% (30% if you're unregistered) from the labour, so show the expected deduction and the net figure.
What must a labour-only invoice include?
Every UK invoice must carry the same basics. For a subcontractor working weekly, a few more lines save a week of back and forth with the QS.
How does CIS work on a labour-only invoice?
The contractor takes CIS off the labour part of your invoice and pays it to HMRC on your behalf. If you're registered for CIS and they can verify you, the rate is 20%. If you're not registered, it's 30%. With gross payment status, nothing is deducted.
They don't deduct from VAT, from materials you paid for yourself, from consumables, from plant you hired for the job, or from manufacturing or prefabrication costs. HMRC's CIS guide says travel and subsistence you charge are part of the amount the deduction is worked out on, so a "travel" line doesn't escape CIS.
A bricklayer's week on a housing site
Five days on site, plus cutting discs and mortar plasticiser bought on his own account at the merchant.
| Labour5 days × £220 | £1,100.00 |
| Consumablesreceipts attached | £36.00 |
| Invoice total, no VATnot VAT-registered | £1,136.00 |
| CIS deduction20% × £1,100 labour only | −£220.00 |
| Paid into his bank£1,136 − £220 | £916.00 |
Keep receipts for anything you exclude from the deduction. The contractor can ask for them, and if you can't show them, they can estimate the cost themselves.
Groundworks contractors with several subbies still often work this out on paper every week. The owner of one seven-person groundworks firm we spoke to deducted CIS at 20% by hand for four or five subbies, which is the kind of job that goes wrong when it's done at 10pm.
Do you charge VAT on a labour-only invoice?
Only if you're VAT-registered. You must register once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the last 12 months, or you expect it to in the next 30 days.
If you are registered, the next question is the domestic reverse charge. For most building and construction services between VAT-registered businesses under CIS, you don't add VAT to the invoice. The contractor accounts for it to HMRC instead.
You can't charge VAT. Invoice the labour and any consumables, and show the CIS deduction.
Add VAT at the right rate and show it on the invoice. CIS still applies to the labour if they pay you under CIS.
Don't add VAT. Show the VAT amount the contractor must account for and add wording such as "Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC".
HMRC's technical guide gives three acceptable forms of words: "VAT Act 1994 Section 55A applies", "S55A VATA 94 applies" or "Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC". You must also show how much VAT is due under the reverse charge. Our guide to reverse charge invoice wording covers the edge cases.
The weekly invoice template
Copy this into your invoicing software or a document. Delete the reverse charge line if it doesn't apply.
INVOICE 0042 From: Your name or Ltd name, address, phone, email UTR: 1234567890, CIS status: registered, net 20% VAT number: if registered To: Contractor Ltd, address Site: Site name and address, PO / job no: PO number Invoice date: Friday 20 November 2026 Week ending: Friday 20 November 2026 Labour: 5 days × £220 £1,100.00 Consumables (receipts attached) £36.00 Subtotal £1,136.00 VAT £0.00 Reverse charge: Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC. VAT due: £227.20 Total £1,136.00 CIS deduction expected (20% of labour £1,100.00): £220.00 Net amount payable: £916.00 Payment due: 7 days from invoice date, or as per subcontract Bank: Account name, Sort code 00-00-00, Account 00000000 Please send the payment and deduction statement to email.
When should you send it, and when will you be paid?
Send it the same day every week, ideally the last day you're on site, so it lands before the contractor's cut-off for their payment run. Your payment date comes from your subcontract. If the subcontract is a construction contract under the Construction Act and it doesn't set payment dates, the statutory Scheme fills the gap. For larger packages paid by valuation rather than by day, see applications for payment.
If there are no agreed terms at all, a business payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice, and you can claim statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. See how to chase an unpaid invoice for the wording.
How should you track what you've been paid?
Match each payment and deduction statement against your invoices every month. A tax month runs from the 6th to the 5th, and the contractor must give you a statement within 14 days of the end of each one. The deductions on those statements are what you set against your tax bill at year end, so a missing statement is money you can't prove you've paid.
A simple sheet with invoice number, week, gross, CIS expected, CIS on the statement and net received will show any short payments within a month. For the overheads you can claim on top, see tax-deductible overheads for trades.
Where Nexley fits
Nexley is the AI back office for UK trade firms: five AI assistants run your tenders, quotes, buying, scheduling and invoicing. It connects to the tools you already work in, you run it all from WhatsApp, and you approve everything. £799 a month.
Send Nexley a voice note on Friday ("five days at Mill Lane, £220 a day, £36 discs") and it drafts the weekly invoice with the CIS line and reverse charge wording set from the contractor's record. You check it and approve before it goes. When the payment lands, Nexley matches it, checks the deduction against the statement and chases if anything is short.
Common questions
Should I put my UTR on the invoice?
It isn't one of the general legal requirements, but contractors need it to verify you for CIS, and it saves them asking. Most labour-only subbies include it with their CIS status.
Can the contractor take CIS off my travel?
Yes. HMRC's CIS guide includes travelling and subsistence in the amount the deduction is worked out on. Only materials, consumables, plant hire and prefabrication costs you paid for, plus VAT, are excluded.
What if I'm not registered for CIS?
The contractor must deduct 30% instead of 20%. You can claim the extra back through your tax return, but registering stops the cash flow hit every week.
Can I invoice monthly instead?
Yes, if the subcontract allows it. Weekly invoicing for day-rate work keeps each invoice small and easy to check, which usually means fewer queries.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Invoices, what they must include
- GOV.UK: What you must do as a CIS subcontractor
- GOV.UK: CIS subcontractors, get paid
- GOV.UK: CIS 340 guide for contractors and subcontractors
- GOV.UK: VAT reverse charge technical guide
- GOV.UK: How to use the reverse charge if you supply building services
- GOV.UK: VAT registration
- GOV.UK: Employment status, self-employed contractor
- GOV.UK: When a commercial payment becomes late
Every rule, rate and date above was checked against these sources on the date shown at the top.
Topic: Getting paid
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