You can manage Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) income for self-employed clients in Dext by enabling CIS, applying CIS categories to sales, and reviewing CIS suffered in reports.
Before you start
Before enabling CIS:
The client must be set up as self-employed
Only enable CIS if the client works under the Construction Industry Scheme
Enable CIS for a self-employed client
To use CIS categories and reporting, you must enable CIS in the client’s business settings.
Open the client account.
Go to Business settings.
Find the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) section.
Set Enable CIS to Yes.
You can disable CIS at any time. Disabling CIS stops deductions applying to future transactions, but previously coded CIS transactions remain unchanged.
What CIS categories are available?
When CIS is enabled, additional CIS-specific categories appear in your category list.
You can view them in Business settings > Lists > Categories.
CIS categories:
Include multiple CIS Labour rates (for example, 20% and 30%)
Sit under the Turnover tax return box
Allow you to record income where tax is deducted at source
Gross turnover (including CIS suffered) appears in turnover for reporting. CIS suffered is tracked separately to reflect prepaid tax.
This ensures turnover reflects what was earned while still recording the CIS deduction correctly.
How does the “Less CIS” calculation work?
When you apply a CIS category, Dext automatically calculates the CIS deduction.
‘Less CIS’ is calculated as a percentage of the net amount.
The final amount due is calculated as:
Amount due = Net + Tax – Less CIS
The breakdown appears under the Construction Industry Scheme section on the Item details page.
The calculated amount due matches the payment shown in the Bank workspace.
How to code CIS transactions
You can apply CIS categories in the same way as any other sales category.
Apply a CIS category from the Sales inbox
To categorise an item from the inbox:
Go to Sales.
Find the item.
In the Category column, select the relevant CIS category.
Apply a CIS category from the Item details page
To categorise an item from its details page:
Open the item from the inbox.
Go to Category.
Select the appropriate CIS category.
Apply CIS categories to line items
You can apply CIS categories to individual line items if needed.
Open the item.
Scroll to Line items.
Select Create line items.
Add new line items and choose the relevant CIS category.
How does CIS appear in reports?
Once items are categorised, you can review CIS activity in the Reports section.
Tax report
The tax report provides detailed CIS visibility.
Turnover appears as a group
CIS Labour categories are expandable beneath turnover
Only categories used during the reporting period appear
A separate line shows the total CIS suffered
This dynamic display helps identify when CIS was applied and whether the correct percentage was used.
Transaction summary report
The Transaction summary report shows high-level turnover totals.
Displays gross turnover
Only CIS Labour categories used in the period appear
Does not show an itemised CIS suffered total
What happens next?
After enabling CIS and coding transactions correctly:
Turnover reflects the full amount earned
CIS suffered is tracked separately
Reports show both income and deductions clearly
This helps ensure accurate tax reporting for self-employed clients working under CIS.