Does CIS apply to landscaping and gardening?

As of October 2026, routine gardening, garden maintenance and tree surgery are outside CIS. Building walls, drives and patios, concrete-post fencing and landscaping that finishes a building project are inside it when a contractor pays you.

The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) covers landscaping only in certain cases. Section 74 of the Finance Act 2004 lists landscaping and site restoration among the operations that prepare for or finish other construction work. HMRC's CIS manual and its CIS 340 guide explain where the line falls, and this page follows them as checked on 17 October 2026.

The test HMRC applies

HMRC's manual asks one question about most garden work: is it part of a wider project of construction? Landscaping the surrounds of a new house, or a housing or industrial estate, finishes the building work, so it is caught. The same planting or turfing on an established garden is routine landscaping and is not.

Hard landscaping is the exception. The manual says building walls, drives, patios and similar works is caught even as routine landscaping, because they are "works forming part of the land", a separate heading in the law that does not need a wider project.

Job by job

The manual also places landscaping land after buildings have been demolished inside CIS. Cleaning up an undeveloped site before the land is sold is outside it.

Fencing has its own rules

HMRC's fencing page sets 3 rules:

1. Fencing that is part of a wider building project, such as enclosing gardens on a new housing estate, is covered, whether it is light or heavy duty.
2. A one-off fence is covered if it is heavy duty, meaning the main posts sit in a concrete foundation. CIS 340 gives "a wooden fence with concrete posts" as an example of minor works forming part of the land.
3. A one-off light fence, with the posts simply driven into the ground, is not covered.

The manual also rejects the argument that security fencing is a "security system", one of the exclusions. Fencing is a normal feature of a building and its surrounds, not a system.

What this means for you

Two things decide each payment: who is paying, and what the whole contract includes. A homeowner paying you direct is not a contractor, so there is no CIS whatever you build. The full rules are in the guide to CIS for homeowner work.

When a builder, developer or other contractor pays you, look at the whole contract. CIS 340 says that if a contract includes any construction work, every payment under it falls within CIS, even if invoiced separately. A maintenance contract for a developer that also includes building a patio can bring all of it in.

The same business can sit inside and outside CIS in one week. CIS 340 gives the example of a tree surgeon whose felling is usually outside, but inside when the trees are cleared for a housing estate or road. Payments outside CIS are still business income on your tax return. The CIS expenses guide for gardeners and landscapers covers what you can claim.

Steps to check a garden or landscaping job

1. Ask who is paying. A private homeowner paying for their own garden is not a CIS contractor.
2. Ask whether the job is part of building, extending or demolishing something. If it is, landscaping, turfing and tree clearance are covered.
3. Check for hard landscaping. Walls, drives and patios are covered even on their own.
4. For fencing, check whether it is part of a wider project, and whether the posts are set in concrete.
5. Read the whole contract. One covered item brings every payment under that contract into CIS.
6. If CIS applies and you have not registered, read whether you need to register for CIS. Unregistered subcontractors have 30% deducted instead of 20%.

The free MTD check shows when Making Tax Digital starts for you, and the trades section has more on CIS.