How do I claim a CIS refund as a decorator?

You claim it back after the tax year ends on 5 April. For 2026-27, sole trader decorators can file their return from 6 April 2027. Under Making Tax Digital, the refund is requested separately through HMRC online services.

Under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), what a builder takes off your pay is an advance payment towards your Income Tax and National Insurance. It is usually 20% of the labour part of your invoice if you are registered, or 30% if you are not. Homeowner jobs have no deduction, so the refund depends on your whole year. Over-deducted CIS is claimed back through your tax return. The sooner after 5 April you file, the sooner HMRC can repay you. This page is for sole traders and follows GOV.UK as checked on 18 October 2026. A limited company uses its deductions through its payroll instead, as our guide on whether a limited company can claim back CIS deductions explains.

Which route applies to you

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders whose 2024-25 return showed self-employed and rental income over £50,000 before costs. It starts on 6 April 2027 if the 2025-26 return shows over £30,000. For CIS work, in our reading the gross pay before deductions is what counts, because that is the turnover on your return.

Which decorating jobs have a deduction

CIS 340 says painting and decorating is a construction operation, and HMRC's manual adds varnishing and French polishing of fixed woodwork. Whether anything is taken depends on who pays you.

Contractors do not deduct from paint and paper you paid for directly, though they may ask for receipts. In our reading, a labour-only decorator has the deduction taken from the whole labour price.

A worked example for a decorator

Amy is a self-employed decorator outside Scotland with no other income. In 2026-27 two builders pay her £28,000 for labour-only work, before deductions, and take 20%, which is £5,600. She also earns £8,000 from homeowners, including £1,200 of paint she bought for those jobs. Her van, ladders, brushes, dust sheets, insurance and phone come to £5,300.

Without the homeowner jobs and their paint, Amy's refund would be £2,966.20. The £6,800 of profit from homeowners is taxed with nothing paid in advance, so it takes £1,768.00 off her refund. These are 2026-27 rates. Class 2 National Insurance is treated as paid because her profit is above £7,105, so it adds nothing. This is an example only, and your figures will differ.

Steps to claim your CIS refund

1. Collect every payment and deduction statement for the tax year, 6 April to 5 April. A builder who takes a deduction must give you one within 14 days of the end of that tax month, so the last one for 2026-27 is due by 19 April 2027.
2. Ask each builder for any statement that is missing. If a builder has gone out of business, write to HMRC with your details, the contractor's details, the dates you were paid and why you have no statements.
3. Add up your pay before deductions and the total deducted, and check each statement against your bank account.
4. Total your homeowner income, including cash jobs, and your costs, such as paint, brushes and van costs. Keep the receipts.
5. If you are not in MTD for the year, complete your Self Assessment return with all your income as turnover and the total deductions in the CIS box, give your bank details and file online.
6. If you are in MTD, check the CIS deductions HMRC has added to your MTD tax return, correct them in your software if they are wrong, submit the return, then request the refund through your HMRC online services account.

What this means for you

Amy's £36,000 of turnover is over £30,000, so if her 2025-26 return was similar and her 2024-25 return was under £50,000, she joins MTD on 6 April 2027. Her 2026-27 return is still an ordinary Self Assessment return, so she claims this refund in it. From 2027-28 she requests refunds through her HMRC online services account.

Your deductions are not lost money. They sit with HMRC against your name until your return is in. The deadline for a 2026-27 return is 31 January 2028, but filing in April 2027 instead puts your claim in up to ten months sooner. Set money aside from homeowner jobs, because CIS will not cover that tax.

Be wary of anyone who promises a refund by a set date. Only HMRC decides when it pays.

If something looks wrong

• You were charged 30%. If you are registered but the builder could not verify you, it takes 30%. GOV.UK says to speak to your contractor if you think the figures are wrong. The extra still counts towards your tax on the return.
• HMRC's figures differ from your statements. Check with the builder first. Our guide on checking your CIS deductions with HMRC sets out each route.

Use the free MTD check to see when MTD starts for you, and visit the trades section for more on CIS and tax for decorators.