As a self-employed subcontractor, you can claim the costs you have for your work: tools and equipment, PPE and protective clothing, materials you paid for, travel to temporary sites, the business share of your phone, insurance, accountant fees, and training that keeps your current skills up to date. You can't claim everyday clothes, commuting to a permanent workplace, fines, or anything personal. Every £100 you claim cuts about £26 off a basic-rate tax bill, so it adds straight to your CIS refund.
The basic rule
An expense is allowable if you have it for your work. If something is used partly for work and partly for personal life, like your phone, you can only claim the business share. Anything bought for personal use can't be claimed at all.
There's also a £1,000 trading allowance you can take instead of claiming expenses. It's one or the other. Most subbies spend well over £1,000 a year on tools, PPE and travel, so claiming real expenses usually saves more.
The full list
| Expense | Claim? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tools and equipment: hand tools, power tools, ladders, a site radio you use for work | Yes | Under the cash basis (the default for sole traders), claim them in the year you buy them |
| Blades, bits, fixings and other consumables | Yes | |
| Tool repairs | Yes | |
| Materials you buy for jobs | Yes | If the contractor pays you back, that payment is income too, so the two cancel out |
| PPE and protective clothing: safety boots, hi-vis, hard hat, gloves, goggles, ear defenders, knee pads | Yes | |
| Workwear with your business name or logo on it | Yes | Counts as a uniform |
| Van or car costs | Yes | Either HMRC's mileage rate or actual running costs, not both (see below) |
| Parking and tolls on business journeys | Yes | Can be claimed on top of the mileage rate |
| Train, bus or taxi fares to temporary sites | Yes | |
| Digs or hotels when working away, and meals on those overnight trips | Yes | |
| Mobile phone | Part | The business share of the bill only |
| Insurance: public liability, tools cover | Yes | Van insurance only if you claim actual van costs |
| Accountant fees | Yes | |
| Business software and apps | Yes | For example, a bookkeeping or record-keeping app |
| Training and tests that keep your current skills up to date, like renewing a card or certificate you need for your trade | Usually | Training to start a new trade isn't allowed |
| Trade magazines and subscriptions | Yes | |
| Bank charges on an account you use for the business | Yes | Under the cash basis, up to £500 of interest and bank charges |
| Doing paperwork at home | Part | A flat £10 a month if you work 25–50 hours a month at home, or a fair share of the bills. Most subbies don't reach 25 hours |
Your van: mileage or actual costs
You can claim the costs of a van or car you use for work in one of two ways. You can't mix them for the same vehicle.
- The mileage rate (simplified expenses). 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p (from April 2026). It covers fuel, insurance, repairs, servicing and road tax, so you don't claim those separately. You only need a record of your business miles. Once you use it for a vehicle, you have to keep using it for as long as you have that vehicle.
- Actual costs. The business share of fuel, insurance, repairs, servicing, MOT and road tax. You need receipts and a way to work out the business share. If you bought the van for the business, you may also be able to claim part of its cost.
For most subbies who drive an older van to different sites, the mileage rate is simpler and often pays more. Either way, only journeys to temporary workplaces count. Commuting to the same permanent workplace every day doesn't.
What you can't claim
- Everyday clothes, even if you only wear them on site: jeans, hoodies, ordinary jackets.
- Commuting to a permanent workplace.
- Lunch, snacks and brews on a normal working day.
- Fines: parking tickets, speeding, bus-lane fines.
- Personal use of your phone, van or anything else.
- Loan repayments (though interest within the £500 cash basis limit can be).
- Gym memberships and anything personal, even if the work keeps you fit.
- Training for a new trade you don't do yet.
How much it saves you
Expenses come off your profit before your tax and National Insurance are worked out. For a basic-rate taxpayer in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that's 20% Income Tax plus 6% Class 4 National Insurance, so every £100 of expenses saves about £26.
| Expenses claimed in the year | Roughly saved (basic rate) |
|---|---|
| £1,000 | £260 |
| £3,000 | £780 |
| £3,000 plus 8,000 business miles (£4,400) | £1,924 |
Because CIS is taken off before any of this is counted, those savings usually come back to you as part of your CIS refund. See your own refund estimate.
Keeping records
HMRC can ask to see proof of what you've claimed. Keep receipts and records for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year. Till receipts fade, so a photo taken on the day is safer than a pile of paper in the van.
DayGraft's Expenses tab is built for this. Log what you bought in a few seconds, photograph the receipt, and pick a category: Materials, Tools & equipment, Travel & fuel, Clothing & PPE, Phone & internet, Insurance, Professional fees or Other. Mileage is worked out separately from your site postcodes, and the app reminds you not to claim fuel for the same van. At the end of the year, everything exports as a CSV with the categories intact, plus a zip of every receipt photo.
Sources (last checked 23 October 2026): Expenses if you're self-employed — GOV.UK · Simplified expenses — GOV.UK · Tax-free allowances on trading income — GOV.UK · Business records if you're self-employed — GOV.UK
This guide is general information, not tax advice. If your situation is complicated, speak to an accountant or HMRC.