CIS invoice template and example: what to include

What does a CIS invoice look like?

Here is one from a groundworker to a contractor, for a £1,600 job with £400 of materials. The groundworker is registered for CIS and not for VAT.

The contractor takes £240 off the £1,200 of labour, pays you £1,360 and pays the £240 to HMRC for you. Nothing is taken off the £400 of materials.

The invoice is where the monthly routine starts. How CIS works shows what the contractor does with it.

Is there an official CIS invoice template?

No. HMRC has no CIS invoice form, so any invoice layout or free template works as long as it shows the details below. What matters is what is on it, not whose template it is.

If you and the contractor are both VAT registered, from 1 April 2029 your invoices are set to be e-invoices sent through software, so a PDF will not count (needs Parliament to pass Finance Bill 2026-27). Who is covered and any exemptions come later in regulations.

What must be on a CIS invoice?

The same details as any business invoice. GOV.UK lists them:

• a unique identification number
• your company name, address and contact information
• the company name and address of the customer you’re invoicing
• a clear description of what you’re charging for
• the date the goods or service were provided (supply date)
• the date of the invoice
• the amount(s) being charged
• VAT amount if applicable
• the total amount owed

Source: GOV.UK, invoices: what they must include

If you are a sole trader, also show your name and any business name being used. If you are a limited company, show the full company name as it appears on the certificate of incorporation.

For CIS, add two things. Put your UTR on it, with your name exactly as you registered for CIS. Your contractor uses these details to verify you. And put labour and materials on separate lines, which is what decides your deduction.

Want a set amount to reach you after the deduction? Our CIS calculator can work back from the payment you want to the invoice to raise.

Why split labour and materials on a CIS invoice?

Because CIS tax is only taken off the labour. GOV.UK says Contractors will not take CIS deductions from amounts you charge on your invoice for:

• VAT
• equipment which is now unusable (‘consumable stores’)
• plant hired for the job
• manufacturing or prefabricating materials
• materials that you have paid for directly

Source: GOV.UK, what you must do as a CIS subcontractor: get paid

The contractor decides how much of your bill is materials. HMRC’s manual (CISR13070) says the deduction does not apply to the part which the payer is satisfied relates to the cost of the materials, and the payer is the contractor. If your invoice is one figure, they have nothing to go on and may treat it all as labour.

On the example, one line reading £1,600 would mean a deduction of £320 instead of £240. That is £80 more held back, which you only get back later, when you claim it.

Keep the receipts too. Your contractor may ask for evidence of payments you have made for materials (for example, receipts). Our guide to what counts as materials under CIS covers which costs belong on the materials lines.

How do you show VAT on a CIS invoice?

If you are VAT registered, you either add VAT or, where the reverse charge applies, show that the contractor accounts for it instead. Either way CIS is never taken off the VAT: HMRC defines the deduction as the amount withheld from a payment (exclusive of VAT) for labour.

Here is the same job three ways. The deduction does not change; only the VAT and what you are paid do.

Under the reverse charge you charge no VAT, and the invoice has to say so in wording HMRC accepts and show the VAT the contractor accounts for. Our reverse charge invoice example has the exact wording and a filled-in invoice. To check whether a job is covered, use the reverse charge guide and checker.

What a VAT invoice adds

You must use VAT invoices if you and your customer are VAT registered. On top of the details above, HMRC lists:

• a sequential number based on one or more series which uniquely identifies the document
• the time of the supply (tax point)
• the date of issue of the document (where different to the time of supply)
• your name, address and VAT registration number
• the name and address of the person to whom the goods or services have been supplied (your customer)
• a description sufficient to identify the goods or services supplied
• for each description, the quantity of the goods or the extent of the services, the rate of VAT, and the amount payable excluding VAT
• the gross total amount payable, excluding VAT
• the total amount of VAT chargeable

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700 §16.3.1

One item people miss is the unit price. For a day rate it counts, because HMRC’s example for services is an hourly rate or a price for standard services. A fixed price job needs nothing extra: If the supply cannot be broken down into countable elements, then the total tax exclusive price will be the unit price.

Should a CIS invoice show the deduction?

You can, as in the example, and it helps you both check the figure. But the contractor works out the deduction and pays it to HMRC, and their figure is the one that counts.

Each month, your contractor must give you a payment and deduction statement showing: what they paid you and what they took off. Check each statement against your invoices, and keep them: they are your proof of the tax already paid. What a payment and deduction statement must show