In this section:
- Reporting changes to a subcontractor business
- Reporting changes to a contractor business
Reporting changes to a contractor business
If your business is registered as a contractor under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), you need to tell HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as soon as possible about certain changes in your business circumstances.
Changes you need to tell us about include:
- death of a contractor - business ceases trading
- a new address
- you choose to use your PAYE (Pay As You Earn) employees rather than subcontractors
If you're an agent for a CIS registered business you may need to report a change in business circumstances to us on behalf of your client.
If you're also a registered as a CIS subcontractor, please see our
related guide 'Reporting changes if you're a CIS subcontractor' under
'More useful links' at the end of the page.
On this page:
- Death of a contractor - business ceases trading
- CIS contractor - change of address
- Switching to PAYE employees temporarily
- Getting help and advice
Death of a contractor - business ceases trading
If a contractor dies, their business may cease there and then. But there could still be some outstanding obligations and responsibilities under CIS.
The contractor's personal representatives have to meet the contractor's outstanding CIS obligations for the last period of trading. These include:
- completing the monthly CIS return and sending it to us
- paying over any CIS deductions that have been made from subcontractors' payments
- paying over any PAYE that's been deducted from employees
- completing a tax return to cover the part of the tax year up to the date they died
A contractor's personal representatives could be the executors named in their will - or perhaps several close relatives.
Read about how to deal with the tax affairs of someone who has died
CIS contractor change of address
You should call our CIS Helpline on Tel 0845 366 7899 as soon as possible if you're changing any of these addresses:
- the address that you trade from
- your registered office address
- your own private address
The helpline is open from 8.00 am until 8.00 pm, seven days a week.
Switching to PAYE employees temporarily
If you employ both subcontractors and PAYE employees there may be times when you choose to use just your PAYE staff and cease to have any contracts with subcontractors. You must inform HMRC if you are not operating CIS for periods of up to six months but you intend to use subcontractors again in the future.
During the period of CIS inactivity you will not need to send back a monthly return but you must inform us at the beginning of this period by phoning our CIS Helpline on Tel 0845 366 7899 as soon as possible.
You must also let us know when you start to pay subcontractors again by phoning the CIS helpline.
Getting help and advice
If you've got any questions about the types of change you need to tell us about under CIS you can call our CIS Helpline on Tel 0845 366 7899. If a change has happened - or is about to happen soon - you can also use the helpline to contact us and let us know. You'll need to have all the relevant details of the change to hand.
The CIS Helpline is open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Find out about reporting changes if you're a CIS subcontractor
Find out about contractors' obligations under the CIS
