Sort the records by your company's role
If your company paid subcontractors, keep the gross amount of each payment they invoiced, excluding VAT.
If contractors took CIS deductions from payments to your company, keep the monthly payment and deduction statements they gave you.
Save records for subcontractors you paid
Keep every CIS deduction your company made from subcontractor payments.
Where your company made deductions, keep the materials costs the subcontractor invoiced, excluding VAT.
Save statements for deductions taken from your company
Keep the monthly payment and deduction statements your contractors gave your company.
Keep a record of the CIS deductions your company used to pay its monthly or quarterly PAYE bill.
If a statement is missing, ask the contractor for a replacement.
For a refund claim in the current tax year after stopping trade, HMRC asks for all Payment and Deduction statements and bank statements received that tax year.
For the claim process, read how to claim a CIS refund.
Keep the records for the right period
Keep contractor CIS payment and deduction details for at least 3 years after the end of the tax year they relate to.
Your company must keep accounting records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and longer in the cases GOV.UK lists.
Keep deduction statements with the company's accounting records when they support figures in its accounts or Company Tax Return.
If you scan paper CIS records, keep a complete and unaltered image of each original document.
Keep those records available in case HMRC asks to see them.
Finish contractor reporting before closure
From 6 April 2026, a mainstream contractor with no subcontractor payments in a month must file a nil return or tell HMRC about a period of inactivity.
Once HMRC records a permanent stop, no returns are required after the requested cessation date, but outstanding earlier returns still have to be filed.
To finish that separate task, read how to deregister from CIS.