Self-Employed Roofer
Tax Return & Expenses Guide

If you work as a self-employed roofer taking on jobs through a main contractor, there is a strong chance HMRC is already receiving money on your behalf via the Construction Industry Scheme, before you have even filed a tax return. A roofer earning GBP 46,000 in labour payments with 20% CIS deducted has already handed over GBP 9,200 to HMRC across the year. Getting your tax return right means reclaiming every penny you are owed in overpaid tax, and not leaving legitimate expenses unclaimed.

How Tax Works for a Self-Employed Roofer

As a sole trader roofer you pay Income Tax and National Insurance on your profits, not your turnover. Profit is what is left after you subtract your allowable business expenses from your total receipts. You report this once a year via Self Assessment, with the deadline of 31 January following the end of the tax year.

Income Tax is charged at 20% on profits between GBP 12,570 (the personal allowance) and GBP 50,270, and at 40% above that. On top of Income Tax you pay Class 4 National Insurance Contributions: 6% on profits between GBP 12,570 and GBP 50,270, then 2% above that. You can estimate your full bill using the sole trader tax calculator before your return is due.

The CIS Reality for Roofers

Roofing is classified as construction work under HMRC's Construction Industry Scheme, so contractors who pay you for labour must deduct tax at source. If you are registered with CIS, that rate is 20%. If you are not registered, contractors are obliged to deduct 30%, a significant extra hit to your cashflow.

Those deductions are not a final tax bill; they are an advance payment. When you file your Self Assessment return and offset your expenses, your actual tax liability is often lower than the deductions already made. Use the CIS tax calculator to work out what you have already paid versus what you actually owe.

Keep every CIS deduction statement your contractors give you. These are the evidence you need to claim credit for deductions when you file.

Allowable Expenses for Roofers: What You Can Actually Claim

This is where many roofers lose money. The following table covers the expenses that are genuinely specific to your trade, not a generic list recycled from an accountancy brochure.

Van Costs and Mileage: Get This Right

A roofer's van is not optional. You are carrying tiles, felt rolls, a nail gun, ladders and safety gear to every job. HMRC recognises this, and your vehicle costs are one of your biggest legitimate deductions.

You have two choices. You can claim actual running costs, which means totalling fuel, insurance, servicing, road tax and any repairs, then applying a business-use percentage. Or you can use HMRC's approved mileage rate of 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the year, then 25p per mile beyond that. The mileage calculator will show you which method produces the bigger deduction for your annual mileage. Most roofers covering significant distances to reach sites find the mileage rate simpler and often more generous.

Whichever method you choose, keep a mileage log. A note of the date, destination and reason for each journey is enough. Many roofers find it easiest to do this at the end of each working day rather than trying to reconstruct a year's journeys in January.

VAT: New-Build Versus Re-Roofing an Existing Home

VAT adds a layer of complexity that is genuinely specific to roofing. Re-roofing an existing residential property is standard-rated, meaning you charge VAT at 20% on top of your invoice. Roofing work on a new-build residential property, however, can be zero-rated under HMRC's rules for new construction.

This distinction matters for two reasons. First, if you work exclusively on new-build sites, you may find you stay below the GBP 90,000 registration threshold longer than a roofer doing repair and re-roofing work. Second, if you work across both sectors, you need to account for each job correctly. Charging 20% VAT on a new-build job could cost you the contract; failing to charge VAT on a re-roofing job when you are registered is a compliance error.

If your total taxable turnover from roofing and any other business activity exceeds GBP 90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, you must register for VAT. Once registered, you can also reclaim the VAT you pay on materials, scaffolding hire and tools, which can be a meaningful cashflow benefit when you are buying tiles and felt in volume.

Worked Example: Roofer Turning Over GBP 46,000

Take a self-employed roofer completing re-roofs and repair jobs for a mix of contractors and domestic customers, with total receipts of GBP 46,000 in 2025/26. His scaffolding and access costs are significant because he works on multi-storey properties.

On a taxable profit of GBP 23,610, Income Tax is due only on GBP 11,040 (profit minus the GBP 12,570 personal allowance), giving an Income Tax bill of roughly GBP 2,208. Class 4 NIC at 6% on GBP 11,040 adds approximately GBP 662. Total liability: around GBP 2,870.

If GBP 30,000 of his receipts came from CIS contractors deducting at 20%, he will have had GBP 6,000 deducted at source already. With a total liability of GBP 2,870, HMRC owes him a refund of around GBP 3,130. That refund only materialises if he files his Self Assessment return and claims every allowable expense. Check your own numbers with the sole trader tax calculator.

MTD for Income Tax: What Changes for Roofers

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT) will change how roofers report their income and expenses to HMRC. From April 2026, sole traders with self-employment or property income above GBP 50,000 must submit quarterly digital updates to HMRC and a final end-of-year declaration, rather than a single annual return. From April 2027 the threshold drops to GBP 30,000.

For a roofer earning GBP 46,000, the April 2027 mandation is the relevant date. But given that turnovers can vary year to year with the weather and the state of the housing market, it is sensible to be set up before you are compelled to. You will need to keep records in compatible software and submit four updates a year in addition to your year-end declaration.

The practical upside for roofers is that quarterly reporting forces you to keep on top of your expenses in real time rather than trying to remember in January whether that GBP 320 training course counts. The TapTax guide to MTD for sole traders explains the mechanics in plain English.

Common Mistakes Roofers Make on Their Tax Returns

Forgetting working-at-height training and harness inspections. This is the single most prevalent missed deduction for roofers. PASMA and IPAF courses, Working at Height refreshers, first-aid renewals and the legally required annual thorough examination of your fall-arrest harness by a competent person are all allowable business expenses. HMRC does not have a special list excluding safety costs; these are ordinary trade expenses, just as tiles and felt are. A roofer who ignores these deductions year after year could be leaving GBP 500 or more on the table annually.

Not registering for CIS. Working without CIS registration means contractors must deduct 30% rather than 20% from every labour payment. On GBP 40,000 of labour that is an extra GBP 4,000 withheld from your cashflow throughout the year, which you then have to wait until after January 31 to recover.

Mixing up materials and labour in CIS. CIS deductions apply only to the labour element of an invoice, not to materials. If you invoice GBP 5,000 and GBP 2,000 of that is for tiles and felt you supplied, the contractor should only deduct CIS on the GBP 3,000 labour portion. Make sure your invoices separate materials from labour clearly.

Claiming both actual van costs and mileage. You must choose one method and apply it consistently within a tax year. Claiming fuel receipts and then also adding a mileage claim for the same journeys is an error that HMRC will correct and may treat as careless.

Missing the VAT registration threshold. If you pass GBP 90,000 in taxable turnover in any rolling 12-month period, you have 30 days to notify HMRC and register. Missing this triggers backdated VAT liability and penalties.

People also ask

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When does MTD for Income Tax apply to a self-employed roofer?