How much do I take home on a CIS day rate?

At the 20% CIS rate, you are paid 80% of your day rate: £150 a day becomes £120. In our 2026-27 examples, the 20% is more than the year's tax and National Insurance, so some comes back after you file.

Under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), a contractor takes 20% from your pay if you are registered and verified, or 30% if not, and passes it to HMRC. GOV.UK calls these deductions advance payments towards your tax and National Insurance. What you actually take home is settled on your tax return. The rates below are GOV.UK's for 2026-27, checked on 17 October 2026. The day rates are round examples, not market rates.

What lands in your bank each week

Each example is labour only, for 5 days a week, with no VAT and no materials on the invoice.

If you also charge for materials you bought, GOV.UK says no deduction is taken from that part. The CIS deduction calculator works out a mixed invoice.

What the year looks like

The weekly figure is not your take-home pay, because tax is worked out on profit for the whole year. These examples assume 45 working weeks, £3,000 of business costs such as travel, tools and protective clothing, registration at 20%, no other income, the full personal allowance and living outside Scotland. All of those are assumptions for illustration.

How the £150 column works. 45 weeks of £750 is £33,750. CIS at 20% takes £6,750. Profit after £3,000 of costs is £30,750. Take off the £12,570 personal allowance and £18,180 is left. Income Tax at 20% is £3,636.00 and Class 4 at 6% is £1,090.80, a total of £4,726.80. £6,750 less £4,726.80 is £2,023.20 overpaid. Class 2 is treated as paid at these profits, so it adds nothing.

The refund shrinks as the day rate rises. Each extra £100 of pay has £20 taken under CIS, but costs £26 in Income Tax and National Insurance while profit stays in the basic rate band. Above £50,270 of profit, the rates become 40% and 2%, and the 20% can stop covering the bill. Our guide to how much tax a CIS subcontractor pays shows a higher earner who owes money.

What this means for you

Budget on what lands in your bank each week, and treat any overpayment as money you get later. It only comes back after you file your tax return. The sooner after 5 April 2027 you file, the sooner HMRC can repay you. The CIS refund estimator works out your own figure.

Your costs make a real difference. While your profit is in the basic rate band, every £100 of allowable costs saves £26. Keep receipts and a log of business miles.

If you are deducted at 30%, you pay the same tax in the end, but an extra 10% of your pay waits until after the year ends. Registering for CIS, with details the contractor can verify, fixes that.

All three example years are over £20,000 before costs. If your 2026-27 pay looks like any of them, Making Tax Digital applies to you from 6 April 2028 at the latest, unless you are exempt, because it tests income before expenses. If you work as a labourer, our guide to how much tax a self-employed labourer pays covers your costs and whether you count as self-employed.

Steps to work out your own take-home pay

1. Check you are registered for CIS and give each contractor the exact details you registered with, so they can verify you at 20%.
2. Check every monthly payment and deduction statement against what you invoiced.
3. Add up your year's pay before deductions and your business costs.
4. Work out your profit, take off £12,570, and apply 20% Income Tax and 6% Class 4 National Insurance up to £50,270.
5. Compare the total with your deductions to see whether money comes back or is owed by 31 January 2028.
6. Use the free MTD check to see when Making Tax Digital starts for you.

The trades section has more guides on CIS and tax for the building trades.