How do I claim a CIS refund if I have lost my CIS statements?

Ask each contractor for a duplicate statement first. If you cannot get one, write to HMRC with the contractor's details and payment dates, then claim as normal on your tax return. For 2025-26, the deadline is 31 January 2027.

Losing a payment and deduction statement does not lose you the money. Your Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions are credited against your tax bill because your contractor reported them to HMRC, not because you hold the paper. The statements are your evidence if HMRC questions the figures, so it is worth replacing them.

Where to get the missing figures

Invoices and bank statements help you rebuild the figures, but they are not a statement from the contractor. On a labour-only invoice, the deduction should be the gross amount less what reached your bank, so a £1,000 invoice paid as £800 points to a £200 deduction at 20%.

Writing to HMRC

GOV.UK says that if you cannot get your statements, for example because the contractor has gone out of business, you should write to HMRC with:

• your name, address and Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• the contractor's name and address
• the contractor's tax reference, if you know it
• the dates of the payments, or the tax months you were paid
• why you do not have statements or duplicates

Send it to PT Operations, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1BX. Keep a copy and the date you posted it.

How HMRC checks your claim

HMRC's CIS manual says the deductions you enter on your Self Assessment return are automatically compared with the payments your contractors reported on their monthly returns. A statement is checked against the contractor's monthly return too, and where the two do not agree, HMRC may not be able to accept the claim. So the contractor's return matters more than the paper.

GOV.UK says that if HMRC thinks your claim is wrong, it may ask for evidence or ask you to change the claim. If you do not respond by its deadline, HMRC changes the claim using the information it has, and you cannot make any more claims for that tax year. You can appeal.

What this means for you

Do not hold back your tax return waiting for paperwork. The sooner after 5 April you file, the sooner HMRC can repay you. If you have to use figures you have worked out from invoices and bank records, GOV.UK says you must do your best and tell HMRC when you file that you are using estimated or provisional figures. If you later get the real statements, you can correct the return within 12 months of the filing deadline.

Avoid guessing high. You can only claim credit for what was actually deducted, and figures that do not match your contractors' returns invite questions.

Steps to claim without your statements

1. List every contractor you worked for in the tax year, 6 April to 5 April, with the dates you were paid.
2. Ask each contractor for duplicate statements for the missing tax months.
3. For any contractor you cannot reach, write to HMRC at BX9 1BX with the details listed above.
4. Rebuild your totals from invoices and bank statements: gross pay, materials and deductions.
5. File your tax return with total pay before deductions as income and total deductions as CIS deductions. Say if any figures are estimated or provisional.
6. If HMRC asks for evidence, reply by its deadline with your duplicates, letters, invoices and bank records.
7. When the real statements arrive, correct the return if the figures differ.

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