Frequently Asked Questions

Tax2U Ltd is a UK-based tax specialist helping self-employed workers, CIS subcontractors, landlords, and small businesses file accurate returns and claim rebates.

Learn more on our About Tax2U page.

As an authorised HMRC agent, we manage the filing process directly on your behalf saving you time, stress, and paperwork.

Note: Tax2U Ltd is authorised to act on your behalf with HMRC, but is not endorsed by them.

Tax2u is a registered accountancy service provider as defined by HMRC. Tax2u Ltd are a registered HMRC agent which allows us to act on our client’s behalf and deal directly with HMRC on their tax related issues.

At Tax2U, we specialise in reclaiming overpaid tax and simplifying the filing process for self-employed workers, CIS subcontractors, and PAYE employees.

If you’ve worked in the UK and think you might have overpaid tax, we’ll review your recent employment history and help you claim back what you’re owed. Whether you’re due a CIS tax return, PAYE rebate, or completing your self-assessment tax return, we’ll ensure all allowable business expenses are claimed to reduce your tax bill.

Why choose us?

• We make the process quick and hassle-free.
• Just upload your payslips, invoices and work-related receipts to your Tax2U account.
• We take care of the rest, from checking your details to submitted your return to HMRC.
  

If you’re self-employed and paid CIS tax, we’ll help recover it. If you’re due a tax refund, we’ll get it fast.

Tax2U has been helping customers with tax returns, CIS rebates and self-employment registrations for over 10 years, supporting thousands of clients across the UK.

With Tax2u you get clear pricing and a simple process that takes the hassle out of tax. We specialise in CIS rebates, Self Assessment and income tax claims and we focus on making sure you keep more of what you earn. Unlike many accountants, we don’t bury you in paperwork or charge hidden fees, just straightforward tax support designed around you.

Learn more on our About Tax2U page.

Our Self Assessment Tax Return service starts from as little as £24+VAT per month as a Direct Debit offer or just £135+ VAT with regular offers, with no percentage taken from your rebate.

The exact feed depends on your income and expenses and the monthly direct debit is more convenient for some as it allows you to spread the cost across the year rather than paying a lump sum at year end. 

Learn more about our Tax return products and pricing or read more

Filing your Self-assessment tax return with Tax2U usually takes 24–48 hours, once we receive all your documents (income, expense details and agent account authorisation).

Tax returns from HMRC typically take 7–14 working days after submission, though times can vary.

Simple returns can be submitted with in 24 hours.

Start a Self-assessment tax return with us today or read more

We help you make the process as simple as possible:

1. Register for one of our tax return services and create a Tax2U account
2. Upload your documents
3. We review your information and prepare your draft tax return
4. Your approve the submission
5. We file the tax return with HMRC and track your refund (if due)
   

It’s fast, secure and fully supported by our UK team. 

To apply for Tax Return or you can read more

If you’re self-employed or work under CIS, you can deduct allowable business expenses from your income before tax is calculated. Common examples include:

• Travel costs (fuel, parking, public transport for work trips)
• Tools and equipment needed for your trade
• Protective clothing or uniforms
• Phone and internet bills (business portion)
• Office costs (home office, stationery, software)
• Professional fees (accountants, trade association subscriptions)

These reduce your taxable profit and can significantly lower your tax bill.

See our CIS Tax & Rebate Service to maximise your claim.

Top Tips to Maximise Your Rebate:

• Claim all eligible expenses including tools, travel, protective clothing, and site costs
• Keep all your receipts as proof is key for HMRC to accept your claims
• File early to avoid penalties and get your rebate faster
• Use a CIS tax expert to make sure nothing is missed

At Tax2U, we make it easy. Our team checks every detail to ensure you claim everything you’re entitled to quickly, accurately and with no stress.

Ready to claim your CIS tax rebate?
Start your CIS Tax Rebate application

Read more about CIS Tax Rebates

You don’t have to register if you only do certain jobs, including:

· Architecture

· Surveying

· Consultancy work

· Scaffolding hire (with no labour)

· Carpet fitting

· Making materials used in construction including plant and machinery

· Delivering materials

· Work on construction sites that’s clearly not construction, e.g. running a canteen or site facilities

CIS applies to people who work in construction only.

Under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), contractors deduct money from a Subcontractors payments and pass it to HMRC. The deductions count as advance payments towards the Subcontractors tax and National Insurance.

HMRC provide a personal allowance* of income before you are eligible to pay tax. By completing a self-assessment tax return after the tax year closes may mean you are due a rebate.

*Personal allowance in Tax Year 2024-25 – £11,850

*Personal allowance in Tax Year 2024-25 – £12,500

Once we submit your application for your UTR* or your UTR & CIS** it will take up to 4 weeks for HMRC to post this out you.

During this 4-week turnaround time there is no emergency tax code that can be applied. You will be deducted 30% tax while you wait for your UTR & CIS to arrive. Once this arrives and is active with your employer your tax will reduce to 20%.

We can help you to reclaim any overpaid tax at the end of the tax year.

If you are self-employed and YOU ARE working in the Construction Industry (CIS) you can work without a UTR & CIS, however this will affect how much tax you pay.

You will pay 30% tax without a UTR & CIS and this will reduce to 20% when your UTR & CIS are activated.

We can help you to reclaim any overpaid tax at the end of the tax year.

The scheme covers all construction work carried out in the UK, including jobs such as:

· Building works

· Site preparation

· Alterations

· Dismantling

· Construction

· Repairs

· Decorating

· Demolition

The scheme covers all types of businesses and other concerns that work in the construction industry, including:

• companies
• partnerships
• self-employed individuals

These businesses can be:

• contractors
• tax2u
• contractors and tax2us

Under the scheme, the terms ‘contractor’ and ‘tax2u’ have special meanings that cover more than is generally referred to as ‘construction’.

Contractor – A contractor is a business or other concern that pays tax2us for construction work.

Contractors may be construction companies and building firms, but may also be government departments, local authorities and many other businesses that are normally known in the industry as ‘clients’.

Some businesses or other concerns are counted as contractors if their average annual expenditure on construction operations over a period of 3 years is £1 million or more.

Private householders aren’t counted as contractors so aren’t covered by the scheme.

tax2u

A tax2u is a business that carries out construction work for a contractor.

Businesses that are contractors and tax2us

Many businesses pay other businesses for construction work, but are themselves paid by other businesses too. When they’re working as a contractor, they must follow the rules for contractors and when they’re working as a tax2u, they must follow the rules for tax2us.

You should complete a PAYE tax claim form if:

• You had worked and paid taxes anytime in the last 4 years
• You incur work expenses that are ‘allowable’ for tax relief
• The annual total of the work expenses you are claiming for is under £2500. If your expenses are £2500 or over, you will usually need to complete a Self Assessment tax return

The extent of tax relief that you will receive completely depends on the rate of tax you pay. For instance, if you’re a basic rate taxpayer who claims tax relief on £1,000 on allowable expenses, you are liable to obtain £200 which is 20% of £1,000.

If you file for tax relief claim for the current tax year, HMRC will adjust your tax code like it normally does and subtract less tax so as to account for this. If you’re claiming tax for a previous year, you’re likely to receive a cheque or bank transfer for the total amount you’re owed.

If you have told HMRC that you are self-employed then it doesn’t matter if you worked one day or even no days as self-employed. As far as HMRC are concerned you are registered as self-employed and they will not have visibility of the actual hours/days you work.

As someone who is self-employed it is your responsibility to keep HMRC updated of your working status and earnings throughout the tax year. This is done by submitting your self-assessment tax return. Failure to submit a self-assessment tax return can lead to HMRC fining you which could amount to £1000s. For support with your tax return please email [email protected]

If you have received a letter detailing a fine from HMRC or we have notified you of a fine you need to act on it swiftly. Failure to act on a fine letter will result in the fine increasing until your HMRC account is brought up to date.

Don’t panic, we can help you with this.

In the letter it will explain which tax year HMRC is missing your information for. All you need to do is send us your income information from that year and we complete your tax return and submit it to HMRC.

We also appeal your fine for you throughout this process.

We cannot guarantee the fine will be removed from your account, but we have a 90% success rate in removing fines from our client’s HMRC accounts.

If you miss the filing deadline, HMRC will automatically issue a £100 penalty, even if you don’t owe any tax.

Further penalties apply the longer you delay:

• 3 months late – £10 per day (up to £900)
• 6 months late – £300 or 5% of the tax due (whichever is higher)
• 12 months late – Another £300 or 5%, with possible penalties of up to 100% of the tax owed in serious cases

If you also miss the payment deadline (31 January), HMRC will charge daily interest on any outstanding tax, plus additional surcharges at 30 days, 6 months, and 12 months.

Avoid fines by using our Self Assessment Tax Return service.

Yes. HMRC allows appeals if you have a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline. Valid reasons might include:

• Serious illness or bereavement
• Technical issues with HMRC’s online service
• Postal delays outside of your control
• Fire, flood, or other unexpected disruption

To appeal, you’ll need to:

1. Submit your tax return as soon as possible
2. File an appeal online through HMRC or by using form SA370
3. Provide evidence to support your case (e.g. medical notes, proof of system outages)

Need help? Our Penalty Appeal Service can take care of the process for you.

If you are self-employed for any period during a tax year then you will need to complete a self-assessment tax return this includes;

A full tax year self employed

Part tax year as PAYE* and part self employed

Not working and then going self employed

*PAYE is the tax you pay under The Pay as You Earn (PAYE) system. This is how you pay both your income tax and national insurance (NI). Every time you’re paid, your company takes your tax and NI from your wages and sends it on to HMRC.

We have set up a hassle-free approach to helping you complete your self-assessment tax return.

Please send the following information to [email protected]

• Payslips/wage slips/invoices or bank statements to prove your income

• Work related receipts expenses for what can be claimed back on

• CIS Deduction Certificates (applies to CIS employees only)

Work related expenses are TAX DEDUCTIBLE which is not the same as being refunded.

For example, if you earned £15,000 in the tax year 2024-2025, this is how we would calculate it; Total income; £15,000 minus expenses; £2,000 equals total profit; £13,000*

*Please note that this does not consider any National Insurance contributions.

Once we have received your information we calculate based on your income, minus your expenses to gives us a total profit. Click here to claim to claim your tax rebate.

For example, if you earned £15,000 in the tax year 2024-25 this is how we would calculate it; Total income; £15,000 minus expenses; £2,000 equals total profit; £13,000

We use the profit to work out how much tax you either owe to HMRC or if you need to get a refund from HMRC for the tax year* and then we send you a copy of the draft for your approval. Once you have confirmed the draft we forward it to HMRC to get it processed. This can take up to 4 weeks for HMRC to process.

*If you are under CIS and have been paying tax throughout the year you may be eligible for a tax rebate.

TO apply for a UTR you’ll need:

• National Insurance number
• Personal details (name, date of birth, address)

• Business details (nature of work, self-employment start date)

See our Blog: How to register as Self Employed in the UK

Once we submit your application with HMRC it will take up to 4 weeks for HMRC to send you a letter with your UTR number.

If you are self employed and not working in the construction industry anything you earn over the personal allowance for the tax year is eligible for tax.

We can help you to complete your tax return and help you pay your tax bill in a timely manner.

Yes, but you must apply as soon as possible.

Under CIS, you may face higher tax deductions until your UTR is provided.

Blog: How to register for Self Assessment in the UK

You’ll need:

• National Insurance number
• Personal details (name, date of birth, address)
• Business details (nature of work, self-employment start date)

Blog: How to register as Self Employed in the UK

No. Each individual or company only ever has one UTR.

• UTR: Identifies you for tax purposes.
• NI number: Tracks contributions for benefits and state pension.

Both are required for self-employment.

You could face HMRC penalties and may delay filing your Self Assessment.

Blog: How to register for Self Assessment in the UK

It’s free to apply directly with HMRC.

Tax2u can manage the process for you and take the hassle away.

👉 Blog: How to apply for a UTR number online in 2025

👉 Service: Apply for a UTR with Tax2u

• PAYE employees don’t need a UTR — your employer handles tax.
• CIS subcontractors must have a UTR to be paid correctly.

Blog: How to register as Self Employed in the UK