Understand CIS deductions on your labour, what HMRC lets you claim for tools and your van, and how MTD changes your record-keeping from April 2026.
If you lay bricks on new-build sites and get paid by the brick or by the day, almost every labour payment you receive will have 20% deducted at source under the Construction Industry Scheme before it reaches your bank account. A bricklayer turning over GBP 40,000 in gross labour in a tax year will have had GBP 8,000 withheld by their contractors before seeing a penny of it. That deducted money is not a final tax bill; it is a payment on account that HMRC reconciles through your Self Assessment return, and getting that reconciliation right is the whole game.
As a sole-trader bricklayer you pay Income Tax on your profits (turnover minus allowable expenses), plus Class 4 National Insurance Contributions. For 2025/26 the personal allowance is GBP 12,570, meaning the first GBP 12,570 of profit is tax-free. Profit between GBP 12,570 and GBP 50,270 is taxed at 20% Income Tax plus 6% Class 4 NIC. Above GBP 50,270 Income Tax rises to 40% and Class 4 NIC drops to 2%.
Because most bricklayers work as labour-only sub-contractors on construction sites, CIS sits at the centre of your tax year. Contractors deduct 20% from your labour element (not from materials you supply) and pay it directly to HMRC each month. By the time you file your Self Assessment return, a large chunk of your tax liability has often already been paid. If your actual liability is less than the total CIS deducted, HMRC will refund the difference.
Use the CIS tax calculator to estimate how much of your deducted tax you are likely to get back before you file, and use the sole trader tax calculator to model your full Income Tax and NIC bill for the year.
Registering as a CIS sub-contractor with HMRC is straightforward and costs nothing. The practical consequence of NOT registering is severe: contractors are legally required to deduct 30% instead of 20% from every labour payment. On GBP 40,000 of labour that is GBP 12,000 withheld instead of GBP 8,000, tying up an extra GBP 4,000 of your cash for up to 22 months until your Self Assessment return is processed. Register at GOV.UK using your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR).
CIS deductions apply to the labour element of your invoice only. If you are supplying cement, blocks or other materials and itemising them separately, those materials should not be subject to the deduction. Keep your invoices clean: show labour and materials as separate lines. Mixing them together gives contractors an excuse to apply the deduction to the whole invoice.
VAT adds a layer of complexity that is genuinely specific to bricklaying. The construction of new residential dwellings, including new-build housing and self-build projects, is zero-rated for VAT purposes under HMRC's rules. That means if you are laying bricks on a brand-new house, you charge VAT at 0% on your services, you do not add 20% on top.
Repair and maintenance work and most extensions to existing residential properties are standard-rated at 20%. Commercial new-builds are also generally standard-rated. If you work across both new-build and repair/extension sites in the same year, you are charging different VAT rates to different customers, and your record-keeping must reflect that from day one.
You only need to register for VAT once your taxable turnover exceeds GBP 90,000 in a rolling 12-month period. Note that zero-rated sales count toward your registration threshold even though you charge 0% VAT. A bricklayer billing GBP 95,000 on new-build sites and nothing else still needs to register for VAT.
This is where bricklayers routinely leave money on the table. Every legitimate business cost reduces your taxable profit pound for pound. The table below covers the expenses specific to your trade, in the language you use on site.
| Expense | What qualifies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trowels, levels, lines and jointers | Purchase and replacement of hand tools used on site | Consumable small tools expensed in full in the year of purchase |
| Cement mixers and small plant | Purchase, hire or lease of mixing equipment and small plant | Larger items may qualify for Annual Investment Allowance |
| Van costs | Insurance, fuel, servicing, repairs, road tax, MOT | Business proportion only if van has any private use |
| Mileage (if no van claim) | 45p per mile for first 10,000 business miles; 25p thereafter | Cannot claim mileage AND actual vehicle costs; pick one method |
| Protective clothing and PPE | Hard hat, steel toe-cap boots, hi-vis vest, knee pads, gloves, dust masks | Must be protective; ordinary clothing not allowable |
| Public liability insurance | Your own PL policy as a self-employed bricklayer | Fully allowable; not optional on most sites |
| Tool replacement | Like-for-like replacement of worn or broken tools | Keep receipts; HMRC expects tools to wear out in this trade |
| CITB levy | Construction Industry Training Board levy if applicable | Allowable as a business expense |
| Phone | Business proportion of mobile phone and calls | Apportion if also used privately |
| Accountancy and admin | Bookkeeping software, accountant fees | Fully allowable |
For vehicle costs, if you drive to multiple sites in a van or car, use the mileage calculator to track what your site journeys are worth at HMRC's approved rates. The 45p-per-mile rate covers fuel, servicing, insurance and depreciation in one simple figure, which suits sole traders who do not want to apportion actual costs.
Dave lays bricks on new-build housing estates under CIS. His gross labour invoices for 2025/26 total GBP 40,000, from which contractors have deducted GBP 8,000 (20%) and paid it to HMRC. Dave's bank account received GBP 32,000 in actual payments across the year.
Dave's allowable expenses for the year are:
Total expenses: GBP 5,400
Taxable profit: GBP 40,000 minus GBP 5,400 = GBP 34,600
Income Tax:
Class 4 NIC at 6% on GBP 22,030 (above the GBP 12,570 lower profits limit): GBP 1,322
Total liability: GBP 5,728
CIS already deducted: GBP 8,000
Refund due from HMRC: GBP 8,000 minus GBP 5,728 = GBP 2,272
Dave gets a refund of GBP 2,272 once his Self Assessment return is filed and processed. Without filing, that money stays with HMRC. This is why filing on time is not just an obligation for a CIS bricklayer; it is often in your direct financial interest.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the annual Self Assessment return with quarterly digital submissions for most self-employed people. Bricklayers with self-employment income over GBP 50,000 must comply from April 2026. Those earning over GBP 30,000 follow in April 2027.
In practice this means keeping digital records of every invoice and expense throughout the year and submitting a summary to HMRC four times a year via compatible software. The end-of-year finalisation then replaces the current Self Assessment return. For a bricklayer already tracking CIS deductions across multiple contractors, digital record-keeping is less extra work than it sounds if the right app is in place from day one.
Read the full MTD for sole traders guide for a plain-English walkthrough of exactly what the quarterly submissions involve and how TapTax handles them.
A CIS bricklayer who files a complete Self Assessment return often gets money back rather than owing it. The deductions already paid are the key.
Treating gross labour payments as if CIS does not apply. This is by far the most expensive error in this trade. Some bricklayers who work directly for smaller developers or house builders assume that because the contractor has not mentioned CIS, no deduction is required. The obligation is on the contractor, not you, but when HMRC audits the contractor and finds undeducted CIS tax, the reconciliation process can result in demands, penalties and interest that catch both parties off guard. If you are doing labour-only construction work, always assume CIS applies and ask your contractor to confirm their gross payment status in writing.
Claiming mileage AND actual van costs. You must choose one method per vehicle per tax year. Many bricklayers start the year claiming individual receipts and then switch, which HMRC does not allow. Decide at the start of the tax year which method works better for your van usage.
Missing tool receipts. Trowels, levels and jointing tools wear out fast in bricklaying. Keeping a simple photo record of receipts on your phone takes seconds and turns a real cost into a tax deduction.
Ignoring the VAT distinction between new-build and repair work. Charging 20% VAT on a new-build project when you should charge 0% does not just annoy the developer; it creates a VAT error on your return that HMRC can assess going back four years.
Not registering for CIS sub-contractor status. The difference between 20% and 30% deducted is real cash sitting with HMRC for up to 22 months. Registration takes minutes and is free.
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