The primary process that occurs in every construction industry scheme cycle is submitting payments to the sub-contractors. Subcontractors are the persons who receive payments from the contractors. These payments are not rich in money rather than carry a specific amount of deduction along with them. And because of these deductions, the submission of payment to sub-contractors holds significant importance.
The primary process involves handling the money, calculating the deductions, verifying at different steps, and many more. The overall concept of the construction industry scheme is to ensure payments at each step so any misuse of VAT and VAT Reverse Charge can be encountered and avoided. An increment in VAT fraud has been observed, and all such schemes originated to eradicate such evasions and stop them from making a hole in the pocket of HMRC and the general public. The entire process of the construction industry scheme passes through many phases, and one of the crucial steps is to investigate how the payments are made to sub-contractors.
Authentication
The most important tool that can ever be achieved to check the tax status of the sub-contractor and how much tax should be deducted from the payment is to authenticate the overall quality of the sub-contractor. The investigation is crucial because the tax deductions are advance payments from the contractors to the HMRC on behalf of sub-contractors. These payments should be verified to have a smooth running of the cycle.
Confirmation Process
The contractor must acknowledge first whether the sub-contractor is registered or not. For this process, the contractor might get in touch with HMRC directly. The contractor himself does not assign the percentage of tax deduction.
A contractor approaches HMRC with the details of the sub-contractor. HMRC looks for the registration details of the sub-contractor. Based on registration, HMRC decides the tax percentage according to requirements. Then the contractor files the tax deductions made in payments to the sub-contractor.
Information Required by HMRC
Just like vitals in medicine and surgery, there are some basic details of each sub-contractor required by HMRC. These include the name, address, phone number, email address, and Unique Tax Payer Reference –UTR, National Insurance number –NIN, etc. This basic information is needed to investigate the identity of the person. To satisfy the need that people, in reality, are what they say by the tongue.
A mutual contract between the sub-contractor and contractor is signed, ensuring that both parties agree on the final statement. The contractor must also submit the essential details regarding the Unique Tax Payer Reference number and other information. A contract is made so that none of the parties withdraw itself from the contract at payment.
Penalty
In case of any false information handled by HMRC, the penalty might get issued, and both the sub-contractor and the contractor have to face loss instead of making a profit from the construction work. So, handing over the details which are up to date is a significant process to carry on. Companies are held responsible in case of any false information.
Terms and Conditions for The Process of Verification
As mentioned earlier, it is not the contractor who decides the deduction payment rather than its HMRC, the decision-maker. Likewise, the details of verification and the time limit to re-engage a particular sub-contractor again are determined by HMRC. According to HMRC, the verification process is required for a new sub-contractor you are working with for the first time. In the case of re-engaging a sub-contractor, the verification process is necessary if the time limit exceeds two years.
So, in the light of the above stance, three cases arise.
- Case 1 –the subcontractor approached you in May 2015 with no previous history engaged with a specific contractor. The tax return will have a status of never paid before, and the verification process is required before handing any money to the sub-contractor. HMRC will decide the tax deduction percentage from this payment as well as for the future prices.
- Case 2 –the sub-contractor approached a contractor in May 2017, with a previous history of being engaged with that specific contractor in August 2015. The difference between both years is two, and therefore the sub-contractor is engaging with the contractor’s company within the specified time limit required for verification. As the sub-contractor was verified in 2015, no guarantee is required at this time.
The tax return will have a status of paid in 2015 before and no verification process requirement. A gross payment is made to the sub-contractor, and the construction work is carried out.
- Case 3 –the sub-contractor approached a contractor in May 2017, with a previous history of being engaged with that specific contractor in April 2011. The difference between both years is more than two, and therefore the sub-contractor is not engaging with the contractor’s company within the specified time limit required for verification. As the sub-contractor was verified in 2011, confirmation is needed at this time. The tax return will have a status of paid in 2011 before and a verification process requirement because the tax return was filed before two years.
Deductions in Payment
A deduction in payment is required while submitting it to sub-contractors. The deduction is decided on some of the fundamental factors, among which the main leading factor is registration. If the sub-contractor is registered, a reduced deduction will occur and vice versa.
In terms of re-engaging a particular sub-contractor again and again, deductions will be made according to the first deduction. If the first deduction occurred at the standard rate, the deductions would be made at the standard rate after re-engaging the same sub-contractor. In another case, if the first deduction occurred at the gross rate, after re-engaging the same sub-contractor, the deductions will be made on the gross rate.
Types of Deductions
Till now, you have heard words like gross and deduction. The main idea behind these deductions is to display the actual graph of deductions. The gross payments are the payments that are made without any deductions.
Some deductions are being made at a standard rate because of the advantage of the sub-contractor registration process. Moreover, some other deductions are higher rate deductions which include deductions done at a higher rate either due to no registration process or no verification limit of two years of execution.
How Are Deductions Calculated?
Although HMRC decides the tax percentage required in deductions, contractors can also manage to calculate the required amount. First, calculate the gross pay for the material or service decided to offer. This gross payment should not include the VAT charge if the sub-contractor is already registered for VAT Contractors need to jot down these gross payments on the tax return every month.
Deduct the specific amount of money from the gross payment depending upon the expenditures made on the list of things mentioned next. This list includes raw material, fuel, cost of manufacturing, and plant hire.
Let’s assume that the sub-contractor was provided with raw material worth 540 pounds and the labor charges are 400 pounds. The money spent on fuel is 100 pounds, and the amount due is 1040 pounds. The amount liable to deduction is 640 pounds because it encapsulates the labor and fuel expenses. Charging twenty percent on 640 pounds makes an amount of 128 pounds.
So, the net payment made to the sub-contractor comes out to 512 pounds. The contractor has to pay 128 pounds to HMRC in the name of the deduction made. That’s how a subcontractor gets paid.
What Happens if the Deduction Made by A Sub-Contractor Get Switches from Gross Payment to Standard Rate or Higher Rate?
There are many cases in which the mode of payment gets switched to another. In such cases, HMRC generates the information and lets the sub-contractors know almost within 90 days. The contractors who have worked with these sub-contractors for two years are also notified within thirty-five days. If the contractor had generated the payment before the notification arrived, H.M.R.C. does not force the contractor to re-originate the invoice if it is difficult to do.
The new deduction rate is applied from the following payment made after the notification arrival. The fluctuation in payment goes in either way. The payments made are higher than the new deductions or are gross in terms of deduction. In both cases, the contractor should immediately work on the notifications made, and the losses should be compensated as soon as possible.
Seeking the help of tax professionals and experts saves a lot of people from getting abused. The construction industry scheme and other schemes are made to avoid violence. As a registered sub-contractor, you can look for tax experts in the UK through online and offline firms that provide services to the people who get in touch with HMRC either directly or indirectly. Shaking hands with tax professionals lets people tackle situations more confidently and look deeper into legal ways to avoid tax at very firsthand.