Free tool for UK trades

Free CIS invoice generator

Make a proper CIS invoice in a couple of minutes. Split labour from materials and Jottle works out the CIS deduction, the VAT or the reverse charge, and what the contractor pays you. Download it as a PDF.

No sign-up. Everything stays on your phone or computer: nothing you type is sent to us.

You

Your business name

Your first nameSo the contractor knows who to ring. Phone

Email (optional) Your address (optional)

Your logo (optional)

The job

Contractor you're invoicing Their address What's the job? Site address (optional)

Invoice number Invoice date

Payment due

The work

CIS is only taken off labour. Put materials, hired plant and consumables on their own line at what you actually paid for them, so no CIS is taken from them. Any mark-up goes on a labour line.

CIS and VAT

CIS deduction Your contractor checks the rate with HMRC. If you're not sure which you are, ask them. VAT

How to pay you

Account name Bank

Sort code Account number

Remember my details on this device

Your invoice

This is the actual invoice page Jottle sends: the contractor opens it on their phone and copies your bank details straight into their banking app. Here you can download it as a PDF.

Your invoice shows here.

Send it as a link, not an attachment

With Jottle the invoice is made from the quote you already sent. It asks how much is labour and how much is materials, does the CIS and VAT sums, and sends this page to the contractor from your phone. You see when they've opened it, and they can tell you when they've paid.

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What goes on a CIS invoice

Your name, address and an invoice number and date.
The contractor's name and address, and the job or site.
Labour and materials on separate lines, so the contractor can see what CIS applies to.
The CIS deduction and the amount they'll pay you.
If you're VAT registered: your VAT number, the VAT, and if it applies, the reverse charge wording.
Your bank details. Your contractor also needs your UTR to check you with HMRC: give it to them when they take you on (it doesn't have to be on the invoice).

How the CIS deduction works

The contractor takes CIS off the labour part of your invoice and pays it to HMRC for you. It counts towards your tax bill. The rate is 20% if you're registered for CIS, 30% if you're not, and nothing if you have gross payment status.

It isn't taken from VAT, from what you paid for materials, from plant hired for the job, from consumables that are used up, from fuel used on the job (except for travelling), or from manufacturing or prefabricating materials. Only what you actually paid is free of CIS, so a mark-up on materials is treated like labour. If you can't show what the materials cost, the contractor can estimate it.

A worked example

£1,200 of labour and £400 of materials, at the 20% CIS rate:

Line	Not VAT registered	VAT as normal (20%)	Reverse charge (20%)
Labour	£1,200.00	£1,200.00	£1,200.00
Materials	£400.00	£400.00	£400.00
VAT	none	£320.00	£320.00, not added: the contractor pays it to HMRC
CIS (20% of labour)	-£240.00	-£240.00	-£240.00
They pay you	£1,360.00	£1,680.00	£1,360.00

Reverse charge or normal VAT?

Since 1 March 2021 most standard and reduced-rated building work supplied to a VAT-registered contractor under CIS uses the domestic reverse charge. You show the VAT on the invoice but don't charge it: the contractor pays it to HMRC instead. The invoice has to say the reverse charge applies and how much VAT is due under it, with wording such as "Reverse charge: Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC".

Charge VAT as normal when the customer isn't VAT registered, or the work isn't under CIS (a homeowner, say), or when they've told you in writing that they're the end user, or an intermediary connected to the end user. Zero-rated work, such as building a new home, never uses the reverse charge. If the reverse charge part of a contract is 5% or less of its whole value, you and the customer can agree at the start to leave it out: that's worked out for the contract, not invoice by invoice. If you're not VAT registered, there's no VAT at all.

The rate depends on the work: 20% for most jobs, 5% for some, such as converting a building into homes or renovating a home that's been empty for two years or more, and 0% for building new homes. Check with HMRC or an accountant if you're not sure.

Questions

Do I get a record of what was taken off?

If they take CIS off, yes. The contractor has to give you a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month. Keep them: they show what you've already paid towards your tax.

Can I use this for a homeowner?

Yes. Homeowners don't take CIS, so pick "Not a CIS job" and the VAT you charge. The invoice then shows your price with no CIS lines.

Is this tax advice?

No. The tool does the sums from what you enter. Your contractor confirms your CIS rate with HMRC, and an accountant can tell you which VAT treatment applies to a job.

Sources: GOV.UK, CIS subcontractors: getting paid, CIS contractors: making deductions, VAT reverse charge technical guide, VAT on buildings and construction. Checked 23 October 2026.