United Kingdom

Getting paid on UK construction

Between finishing the work and seeing the money there is CIS, VAT, retention and somebody else’s payment cycle. These guides cover what actually lands from a given invoice, what comes back to you and when, and the registrations that decide how big the gap is.

4 ways to move forward

Practical guidesLate Payment InterestStatutory interest at 8% over base and the £40, £70 or £100 fixed sum apply to every late business invoice by force of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, whether or not your contract says so. This is the rate, the day the clock starts, the arithmetic on a real £14,800 subcontract valuation, the line to paste onto your invoices, and what the letter before claim, Money Claim Online and the winding-up route each cost.Practical guidesNo Lien, Four Routes InsteadEngland, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no construction lien, no mechanics' lien and no holdback trust. This is the four routes that do work, ranked by how fast the money moves: suspension on seven days' notice under section 112, adjudication decided in 28 days under section 108, statutory interest and the fixed sum under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and the court routes with their real fees. Plus the three near-lien devices that exist in English law, a counted date sequence from 31 May 2026, and a decision table matching debt size, age and payer solvency to a route.Practical guidesWhen a Homeowner Will Not PayA domestic job that goes wrong is the most common non-payment situation a small UK builder faces, and section 106 of the Construction Act specifically excludes them from the statute every article is about. This is what the exclusion takes away, what the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 hand you instead, how to build a stage payment ladder that leaves you one stage exposed, and the four recovery routes with their real fees.Practical guidesSuspending for Non-PaymentSection 112 of the Construction Act lets an unpaid subcontractor stop work on seven days' notice, charge the payer for demobilising and remobilising, and take the lost programme time back. This is the notice, the preconditions in order, and the arithmetic counted from a real date.

Count it instead of estimating it

CIS deduction calculatorLabour and materials in. The deduction at 20%, 30% and 0%, with materials and plant hire stripped out of the base first.Free, no signup.VAT reverse charge calculatorSix conditions decide whether you charge VAT at all. Answer them and the page builds the invoice, CIS deduction and all.Free, no signup.

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The Construction Industry Scheme VAT for UK construction Starting a construction business in the UK CSCS cards and site tickets Finding construction work in the UK Payment notices and adjudication Retention on UK construction

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