Tools, workwear and travel between sites add up. When a construction worker pays those costs and nobody reimburses them, some of the tax they paid may be recoverable. How much, and how you claim, depends first on one question: are you employed through PAYE, or a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)?
PAYE or CIS: start here
PAYE employees have tax taken from their wages through payroll. They can claim tax relief on eligible work expenses they paid themselves. Relief is given at your tax rate, not as a refund of the cost: a basic rate (20%) taxpayer with £500 of qualifying expenses gets £100 back.
CIS subcontractors have money deducted by the contractor before they are paid: 20% if registered for CIS, 30% if not. Under the Construction Industry Scheme, those deductions are advance payments towards tax and National Insurance. They are taken before your Personal Allowance (£12,570 for most people) or any business expenses are counted, which is why many subcontractors overpay. The final figure is worked out through Self Assessment.
What PAYE construction workers can claim
Flat rate expenses. HMRC sets fixed yearly amounts for cleaning, repairing and replacing specialist clothing and tools, with no receipts needed. For the building industry they are: joiners and carpenters £140; cement works, roofing felt and asphalt labourers £80; labourers and navvies £60; all other workers £120 (see HMRC flat rate expenses). At basic rate that is £12 to £28 a year, and it can be backdated.
Tools you bought yourself. If you had to buy tools for the job and your employer did not pay you back, you can claim the actual cost instead of the flat rate where that is higher. Keep the receipt and a note of why you needed it. Anything mainly for personal use does not count.
Protective equipment. Employers must by law provide the PPE a job requires free of charge, so buying PPE is rarely a valid claim. Washing and repairing workwear is covered by the flat rate above.
Travel to site. This is where most of the money is. Ordinary commuting to a permanent workplace is not claimable, but travel from home to a temporary workplace usually is. A site counts as temporary if you go there for a limited task or period; it stops being temporary once you expect to spend more than 24 months working there (and 40% or more of your working time). For site workers who move between jobs, that often makes daily home to site travel claimable.
If you use your own vehicle, Mileage Allowance Relief lets you claim the gap between what your employer pays and HMRC’s approved rate: 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p after that from 6 April 2026 (45p for earlier years). Example: 6,000 business miles, employer pays 25p. The gap is 30p a mile, £1,800 in total, so a basic rate taxpayer gets £360 back for that year. Parking, tolls and public transport to temporary sites can also count.
What CIS subcontractors can claim
Subcontractors deduct allowable business expenses from their income in Self Assessment. Common ones for construction: van costs or simplified mileage, tools and equipment, protective clothing and workwear, phone and insurance, training, and accountancy fees. You will need the monthly payment and deduction statements from each contractor, plus receipts or bank statements for expenses.
A refund is likely when deductions exceed the tax and Class 4 National Insurance actually due, for example if you worked only part of the year or had high costs. It is not automatic: if your profit is high, more tax can be due.
How far back you can claim
You can generally claim for the previous four tax years. As of autumn 2026 that means 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26. The 2022/23 year closes on 5 April 2027, so older claims are worth checking first.
How to claim
- PAYE: claim online with HMRC for expenses up to £2,500 a year. Above that, or if you already file a tax return, claim through Self Assessment (HMRC guidance).
- CIS: file a Self Assessment return. The online deadline is 31 January after the tax year ends, but filing soon after 5 April gets any refund to you sooner.
- Using an agent: firms such as Taxpro handle PAYE construction tax rebates and CIS refunds for you. Taxpro is an independent, paid service, not HMRC, and you can always claim directly from HMRC for free. Check any agent’s fees before you sign up.
Common mistakes
- Claiming the commute to a permanent workplace.
- Claiming costs your employer reimbursed, or PPE your employer should have supplied.
- Treating CIS deduction statements as proof of a refund.
- Mixing PAYE and CIS income, or claiming the same cost twice.
- Leaving it too long and losing a year to the four-year limit.
Good records, the right route and an eye on which years are still open are what turn site costs into tax you actually get back.
This article is general information, not tax advice.
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