Reverse charge checker

How do I account for the reverse charge when I buy subcontract work?

Pay the subcontractor the invoice without VAT, record the reverse charge on your own VAT return and reclaim it in the usual way. First check their VAT number, that the work is on the reverse charge list, and that the invoice is right.

Free, with no sign-up. Everything is worked out in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us or stored. A guide, not tax advice. Based on GOV.UK guidance checked on 31 October 2026. Your customer's written confirmation of end user status is what counts, not an assumption.

If you are an end user or intermediary supplier, you can tell the subcontractor in writing and they will charge VAT in the normal way instead.

CIS still applies to the same payment. Work out the deduction on the amount less their own costs, as the CIS calculator shows.

On an invoice of £5,000 at 20%, the VAT due under the reverse charge is £1,000. The supplier shows it on the invoice but does not charge it, and the customer accounts for it.

Does the reverse charge apply to this invoice?

Answer in order. The first answer that settles it gives the result.

1. Is the business doing the work registered for VAT in the UK?
2. Is the customer registered for VAT in the UK?
3. Is it construction work reported within the Construction Industry Scheme?

For example building, altering, repairing or demolishing; installing heating, lighting, ventilation, power, drainage, water or fire protection systems; site clearance and scaffolding. On their own, these are not: architects and surveyors, making or delivering materials, signs, seating, blinds and shutters, and security systems.

4. Is the work zero-rated, such as building a new home?

Standard-rated items that are part of a zero-rated supply are outside the reverse charge too.

5. Is the supplier an employment business supplying workers?
6. Has the customer told the supplier in writing that it is an end user or intermediary supplier?

Being an end user is optional, and it only counts in writing. The supplier should not assume it.

7. Is the reverse charge part 5% or less of the whole contract, and did both sides agree at the start to disregard it?

Worked out on the whole contract value, never invoice by invoice, and not where the main part of the work is zero-rated.

Keep going.

The full reverse charge checker

Where SUBR comes in

SUBR is AI software for UK contractors who send work out to subcontractors. Its AI reads your client quote, your office names each trade's share, and SUBR builds every scope with your costs, margin and client price left off it. Each subcontractor answers on their own link and sees only their own price.

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