Optimising your earning potential

We want you to get the most out of our CIS service and part of this is to help you optimise your earnings. In this regard, it should go without saying that the more work you do, the more you should get paid. Hours and rates are not the only consideration though.

As a self-employed independent contractor, you will be entitled to tax relief on the legitimate business expenses you incur while working on projects for us and in relation to any other work you carry out on a self-employed basis.

Moreover, as a self-employed individual you will need to complete a self-assessment tax return each year. We would encourage you to engage the services of a good accountant in order to ensure that you only pay the tax you owe and no more. If you wish we can do this on your behalf, because we have a dedicated team in place that does exactly that.

In our experience, most of our self-employed CIS sub-contractors are actually due a tax refund at the end of the tax year. So, all the more reason to complete your self-assessment tax return, especially as failure to do so carries with it a fine of at least £100.

As a self-employed sub-contractor, you should keep all of your payment advice notes to assist in the creation of your year-end accounts and completion of your annual self-assessment tax return. If you lose any of the payment advises that we issue you can always view those or download them from the Secure Members’ Area of our website.

Similarly, you should retain detailed records of all expenses that you incur in pursuing your business, together with all original receipts to prove your business expenditure. This is particularly relevant to your travel costs. Legitimate expenses will reduce the amount of tax payable and as mentioned above, may form the basis for a tax refund at the end of the year.