Every time a contractor pays you under the Construction Industry Scheme, they're required to give you a document. Not an invoice — that's what you send to them. This is what they send back: a CIS payment and deduction statement.

It's the subcontractor's equivalent of a payslip. It confirms how much you were paid, how much was deducted for tax, and how much the contractor sent to HMRC on your behalf. It's also the single most important document you need when it comes to claiming your CIS refund — and the one that subcontractors most commonly lose, ignore, or never receive in the first place.

What's on a CIS Payment and Deduction Statement?

The statement is a straightforward document, but every line on it matters. Here's what it contains:

The critical number is the CIS deduction amount. This is the tax that was taken from your payment and sent to HMRC. At the end of the tax year, you add up all the CIS deductions from all your statements and enter the total on your Self Assessment. If the total deductions exceed your actual tax liability — which they usually do — HMRC refunds the difference.

Statement vs Invoice — They're Not the Same Thing

This is a common point of confusion. An invoice and a deduction statement are two different documents that flow in opposite directions:

You need both. The invoice is your record of what you billed. The statement is your proof of what was deducted. When you file your Self Assessment, it's the statement — not the invoice — that supports your refund claim.

Why Every Statement Matters for Your Refund

When you file your Self Assessment, there's a specific box on the self-employment pages (SA103S or SA103F) where you enter your total CIS deductions for the year. That number comes directly from your payment and deduction statements — you add them up, enter the total, and HMRC offsets it against your tax bill.

If you're missing a statement, you're missing a deduction. A missing deduction means a smaller refund — or worse, paying tax you've already paid.

That's £800 you've already paid to HMRC through your contractor — money that's gone from your earnings. Without the statement to prove it, you can't claim it back. Multiply that across several missing statements or several years of not keeping them, and the numbers get serious quickly.

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When Should You Receive Your Statement?

Contractors must issue your CIS payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month. HMRC tax months run from the 6th of one month to the 5th of the next — so a payment made on 20 July falls in the tax month ending 5 August, and your statement should arrive by 19 August.

In practice, many contractors issue statements with each payment or at the end of each calendar month. From April 2026, HMRC encourages contractors to issue statements electronically where possible — by email or through payroll software — rather than on paper.

What to Do If You're Not Getting Statements

1. Ask your contractor directly — in writing (email or text). Most of the time, statements are simply overlooked, not deliberately withheld. A direct request usually resolves it.
2. Check if they're being sent electronically — some contractors email statements or make them available through payroll software portals. Ask if this is the case and where to access them.
3. Contact HMRC's CIS helpline — call 0300 200 3210 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). HMRC can check what the contractor has reported on their CIS monthly returns and may be able to reconstruct your deduction records from their data.
4. If the contractor has ceased trading — contact HMRC in writing with the contractor's details, the dates you worked, the payment amounts, and your bank statement evidence. HMRC can attempt to reconstruct records from the contractor's filed CIS returns.

How to Check Your Statement Is Correct

Mistakes happen. Contractors sometimes apply the wrong deduction rate, miscalculate materials, or report incorrect figures to HMRC. Here's what to verify on every statement:

• Your name and UTR are correct — if these don't match HMRC's records, the deductions won't be linked to your tax account
• The deduction rate is right — 20% if you're registered, 30% if not. If you're registered but being deducted at 30%, your contractor hasn't verified you properly
• Materials are separated from labour — CIS deductions apply only to the labour portion. If materials aren't broken out, you're being over-deducted
• The gross amount matches your invoice — what the contractor says they paid you should match what you billed and what landed in your bank (minus the deduction)
• The net payment matches your bank statement — cross-reference the net figure on the statement with the actual deposit in your account

How Long to Keep Your Statements

HMRC requires you to keep business records for at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for the relevant tax year. Since you can claim CIS refunds up to 4 years back, keeping statements for at least 6 years is the safest approach.

Paper statements get lost — especially on construction sites. The simplest solution is to take a photo or scan of every statement the moment you receive it and save it in a dedicated folder (phone, email, cloud drive). Digital copies are accepted by HMRC as valid records.

Statements and Your SA302

Your CIS deduction statements feed directly into your Self Assessment, and your Self Assessment generates your SA302 — the HMRC document that proves your income to mortgage lenders, banks, and visa officers. The chain is straightforward: accurate statements lead to an accurate return, which leads to an accurate SA302, which leads to a smooth mortgage application.

If your statements are missing or incorrect, the numbers on your SA302 won't reflect what you actually earned and paid — and that causes problems downstream.

Your CIS Statement Checklist

• Request statements from every contractor you work for — don't assume they'll send them
• Check each statement when you receive it — verify name, UTR, rate, materials, and amounts
• Photograph or scan every statement immediately and save it digitally
• Cross-reference net payments against your bank statements monthly
• Add up total deductions at tax year end (6 April to 5 April)
• Enter the total in the CIS deductions box on your Self Assessment (SA103S/SA103F)
• Keep all statements for at least 6 years
• If any are missing, contact the contractor or HMRC before you file