Making Tax Digital for Roofers —
CIS, Materials & Weather-Hit Quarters Explained
The Same Gross Income Rule That Catches Out Every CIS Trade
Like every CIS trade, your MTD qualifying income is based on your gross invoiced amount before the contractor's CIS deduction, not what actually lands in your account. If you invoice a main contractor £38,000 for a year of subcontracted roofing work and they deduct 20% CIS tax, your qualifying income is still £38,000, even though you only received £30,400. This is the single most common misunderstanding among CIS subcontractors checking their MTD position.
Bigger Re-Roof Jobs Bring Bigger Material Costs
Roofing carries some of the highest material costs of any construction trade — tiles, slate, felt, battens, lead flashing, and increasingly solar-ready roofing components. Where you supply materials as part of a job, itemise them separately from labour on your invoice. This protects you from over-deduction under CIS (materials should be excluded from the 20% or 30% calculation) and makes your quarterly MTD digital records far cleaner to categorise.
Records for Re-Roofs, Repairs and Material Accounts
Roofers handle large jobs with big material bills alongside small repairs, often with stage payments. Records should show each job’s margin.
- Record deposits and stage payments with the customer and job reference.
- Keep tile, slate, felt and timber supplier accounts matched to jobs.
- Log scaffold hire as its own cost.
- Record emergency repair income separately from planned work.
- Keep van, ladder and tool costs in their own categories.
Common MTD Mistakes for Roofers
- Treating materials as reducing income. The job price counts, and materials are an expense.
- Recording only the final payment. Stage payments count when they arrive.
- Forgetting scaffold hire. It is a significant cost with an invoice.
- Mixing CIS and direct jobs. Keep CIS statements apart from private invoices.
- Skipping insurance. It is high in this trade and allowable.
A Sample Quarter: What the Update Looks Like
A sample quarter for a roofer with a couple of re-roofs and repair work.
| Q2: 6 July to 5 October 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Re-roofs and large jobs | £21,600 |
| Repairs and call-outs | £5,200 |
| Total income | £26,800 |
| Tiles, slate and materials | £9,700 |
| Scaffold hire | £2,400 |
| Van, fuel and insurance | £2,250 |
| Tools and safety equipment | £680 |
| Total expenses | £15,030 |
| Profit for the quarter | £11,770 |
Scaffold and materials are costs. The £26,800 invoiced counts towards the threshold.
Worked Example
CIS labour invoiced (gross, before 20% deduction): £36,200
Materials invoiced separately (excluded from CIS): £8,400
Direct domestic repair work: £4,900
Total qualifying income: £49,500 — just under the £50,000 Phase 1 threshold, above the £30,000 Phase 2 band. Ellis joins MTD from April 2027, but given how close he sits to £50,000, one bigger contract next year could tip him into the earlier Phase 1 mandatory date, so it's worth tracking through the year rather than only checking at tax return time.
What You Can Claim
- Roofing materials — tiles, slate, felt, battens, lead, fixings
- Scaffold hire or your own scaffold tower
- Safety equipment — harnesses, roof anchors, edge protection, required for working at height
- Van costs — fuel, insurance, or the 55p/mile mileage rate
- Public liability insurance — typically higher premiums given the height risk
- CSCS card and CITB levy where applicable
- Waste disposal for old roofing materials removed from site
Best MTD Software for Roofers
Software links are affiliate, help fund CheckMyMTD. Recommendations based on ease of use for self-employed income tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my MTD threshold based on income before or after the CIS deduction?
Before. HMRC assesses your qualifying income on your gross CIS labour income, not the amount that actually reaches your bank account after the contractor's 20% (or 30%) deduction.
Do materials I supply count towards my qualifying income?
Yes, materials you invoice for are part of your business turnover and included in your digital records, even though they should be excluded from the CIS deduction calculation itself if itemised separately.
A wet winter cost me weeks of work. Does that affect my MTD status?
No, your MTD eligibility is based on your total qualifying income across the full tax year, from your most recently filed return, not on any single weather-affected quarter. A quiet quarter simply reports accurately what happened.
Can I claim scaffold hire as a business expense?
Yes, scaffold hire, or the cost of your own scaffold tower, is a normal allowable business expense for roofing work.
I work for two different contractors under CIS. Do both incomes combine?
Yes, all your self-employment income, whether from one contractor or several, combines into a single qualifying income figure for MTD purposes.