Specialist CIS, VAT & Tax Support for Contractors and Subcontractors in Birmingham and Across the West Midlands.
If you run a construction business in Birmingham, whether you’re a sole trader, a limited company contractor, or a subcontractor working across multiple sites, HMRC compliance doesn’t get simpler with growth. It gets harder. At MyCleartax, we work exclusively with construction businesses like yours.
Most construction firms don’t lose money because of bad jobs, they lose it because of bad accounting. Here’s what we see every week from businesses that come to us after things have gone wrong:
These aren’t rare problems. They happen to well-run businesses with good intentions. The difference is whether you have a specialist who catches them before HMRC does.
The Construction Industry Scheme is one of HMRC’s most actively enforced compliance areas. We handle everything from start to finish, verifying your subcontractors before the first payment, deducting the correct rate (0% for gross status, 20% for registered, 30% for unregistered), filing your monthly CIS returns on time, and reconciling everything against your payroll.
If you’re a subcontractor rather than a contractor, we file your annual Self Assessment return as early as possible after 6 April to recover your CIS deductions quickly. We don’t sit on your refund while it earns nothing.
Gross Payment Status means HMRC stops taking 20% of every payment you receive before you see it. That’s a massive boost to monthly cash flow for any subcontractor. To qualify, you need to pass HMRC’s turnover test, business test, and compliance test, and the compliance test is where most applications fail.
We review your compliance history before you apply, fix any gaps, and submit a properly prepared application. If you already hold a GPS, we monitor your compliance throughout the year so you don’t lose it at your annual review.
The Domestic Reverse Charge for construction services, introduced in March 2021, changed who accounts for VAT on certain construction supplies. Since then, we’ve seen a significant number of Birmingham contractors issue invoices incorrectly, either charging VAT when they shouldn’t, or failing to apply the DRC notation when they must. Both create liability.
We review every invoice process you use, set up your accounting software to handle DRC automatically, and file your VAT returns correctly every quarter. We also handle VAT registration for new businesses that have hit the threshold.
IR35 remains one of the most misunderstood areas of construction taxation. If you engage workers through their personal service companies (PSCs), you need to assess their employment status correctly under the off-payroll working rules, or HMRC can reclassify them and hold you liable for unpaid tax and National Insurance going back years.
We carry out employment status reviews for your workforce, provide written Status Determination Statements (SDS) that protect your position, and advise on how to structure your engagements correctly from day one.
MTD for VAT is already mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses. We get our construction clients MTD-ready before the deadlines arrive. We set up compatible software, run quarterly submission processes, and make sure nothing catches you off guard.
Running payroll for a construction business is more complex than most sectors. You may have directly employed workers alongside CIS subcontractors on the same site, with different treatment under PAYE. We manage your full payroll, including pension auto-enrolment and Employment Allowance claims.
We also calculate your Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Levy accurately. Many Birmingham construction firms overpay because their levy hasn’t been calculated correctly , and they miss grant entitlements they don’t know they qualify for. We make sure you claim every penny back.
Standard bookkeeping doesn’t work for construction. You need job-level profit tracking, material cost allocation, and retention management alongside your day-to-day accounts. We use Xero with a construction-specific configuration so you can see, in real time, which contracts are making money and which are absorbing cost.
We track your retentions so you know exactly what’s owed to you at any point, and we flag any that are overdue for release. On larger projects, we produce management accounts monthly, so you make decisions based on current numbers, not last quarter’s figures.
Construction businesses typically hold significant assets, plant and machinery, HGVs, tools, scaffolding, and site equipment. The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) currently allows you to deduct the full cost of qualifying assets up to £1 million in the year of purchase. We make sure you claim everything you’re entitled to, structured in the most tax-efficient way for your specific situation.
We have in-depth experience with the following compliance and consulting services specific to the Construction sector:
If you want straight answers about your CIS position, your VAT compliance, or your tax planning options. We look at your actual numbers, tell you where the risks are, and show you exactly what we would do differently.
We are not a generalist accounting firm that takes on construction clients as a sideline. Construction tax compliance, CIS, DRC, GPS, IR35, CITB, is central to what we do. Our team holds ACCA and AAT qualifications and works with contractors and subcontractors from sole traders to limited companies, turning over several million pounds per year.
We are not a remote-only service. We meet clients, we attend sites when it helps, and we answer the phone when HMRC sends a letter, because we know that in construction, problems don’t wait until Monday morning.
The sooner we file your Self Assessment return after 6 April, the sooner HMRC processes your refund. We file as early as the new tax year opens. Most of our construction clients receive their CIS refunds within 2 to 4 weeks of the tax year end, provided their records are in order throughout the year.
The Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC) applies to most VAT-registered construction businesses supplying services to other VAT-registered businesses in the construction sector. Instead of the supplier charging VAT, the customer accounts for it. There are exceptions — including supplies to end users and businesses outside the scope of CIS. We review your specific invoicing arrangements and configure your accounting accordingly so you never apply it incorrectly.
You need to pass three tests: a business test (showing you carry out construction operations), a turnover test (minimum annual turnover of £30,000 for sole traders, or £30,000 per director for companies), and a compliance test (no outstanding returns or debts to HMRC in the past 12 months). We review your eligibility, clean up any compliance issues beforehand, and submit your application through HMRC’s online system. We also help you maintain your GPS once you have it.
Yes. If you engage workers through limited companies (personal service companies), you are responsible for determining their employment status under the off-payroll working rules. We conduct IR35 reviews, produce written Status Determination Statements, and advise on how to structure engagements correctly. Getting this wrong exposes you to significant retrospective tax liability.
If you are VAT-registered, you are already legally required to file under MTD for VAT using compatible software. MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) extends this to self-employed individuals and sole traders, initially for those with income above £50,000 from April 2026, then above £30,000 from April 2027. We help you get set up on the right software and run quarterly submissions so the transition causes no disruption.
Yes. The CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) Levy applies to most construction businesses in the UK with an annual wage bill above £120,000. The rate is 0.35% on directly employed workers and 1.25% on labour-only subcontractors. We calculate your levy correctly, ensure you submit your Annual Return on time, and make sure you claim back any training grants you are entitled to, including grants for apprentices and specific training courses.
We offer fixed monthly fees so you know exactly what you pay each month. The cost depends on the size of your business, how many subcontractors you pay, and which services you need. We offer a free 30-minute review call where we assess your current position and give you a clear fixed quote, no hidden costs, no surprise invoices.
We support construction businesses across the full Birmingham area and the wider West Midlands, including:
Our office is at 1208 Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6BY. We are easy to reach by car from the A41 and A34 corridors. We also work with clients remotely where preferred, but we are always available by phone and in person when it matters.