Wallpaper Hangers and Decorators — CIS and Expenses Guide

Decorating Is a Serious Business

There's a common misconception that decorating is the "easy" end of the construction trades. Anyone who's spent eight hours on stilts cutting in a ceiling line, or hung hand-printed wallpaper at £300 per roll in a client's living room, knows that's nonsense. Professional decorating and wallpaper hanging is skilled, physically demanding work — and it deserves proper financial management.

If you're self-employed as a decorator or wallpaper hanger, this guide covers everything you need to know about the Construction Industry Scheme, your allowable expenses, and how to keep your tax bill as low as legally possible.

CIS — Does It Apply to You?

The Construction Industry Scheme applies to work carried out on buildings and structures. Painting, decorating, and wallpaper hanging all fall within the scope of CIS — but only when the work is for a contractor (someone in the construction industry), not when you're working directly for a homeowner.

When CIS Applies

• You're subcontracting for a builder or construction company
• You're working on a commercial property for a property developer
• You're doing decorating work as part of a larger construction project
• The person paying you is a CIS-registered contractor

When CIS Doesn't Apply

• You're working directly for a private homeowner
• The client is not a construction contractor (e.g., a shop owner getting their premises painted)
• The work is general maintenance rather than construction

When CIS does apply, the contractor deducts tax from your payment:

• 20% if you're registered for CIS
• 30% if you're not registered

Register for CIS. Seriously. The difference between 20% and 30% is substantial. Our CIS guide walks through the entire process.

Materials and CIS

This is particularly important for decorators. CIS deductions should only be taken from the labour portion of your invoice, not from materials. If you're supplying paint, wallpaper, filler, and other materials, these must be itemised separately on your invoice.

Example invoice:

• Labour (3 days decorating): £900
• Materials (paint, primer, filler, dust sheets): £350
• Total: £1,250
• CIS deduction (20% of £900 labour): £180
• Net payment: £1,070

If you don't split your invoice, the contractor will deduct 20% from the full £1,250 — costing you an extra £70 in upfront deductions. Over a year, that adds up to a significant cash flow hit.

Van and Vehicle Costs

Your van is probably the single most important asset in your decorating business. Here's how to claim the costs:

Option 1: Simplified Mileage

• 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles
• 25p per mile after that

This is the simplest method and includes all running costs within the rate. You just need a mileage log. See our mileage guide for the full breakdown.

Option 2: Actual Costs

Claim the business proportion of:

• Fuel
• Insurance
• Road tax
• MOT
• Servicing and repairs
• Lease or finance payments (interest element)
• Depreciation (capital allowances)

For most decorators with a dedicated work van, the actual costs method usually gives a better result than simplified mileage. A van doing 15,000 business miles per year will typically cost £4,000-£6,000+ in actual running costs, compared to £5,000 at the simplified rate — but with higher-mileage or more expensive vehicles, the actual costs often win.

Important: you must choose one method in your first year with that vehicle and stick with it for as long as you own it. Choose carefully.

Van Purchase

If you buy a van outright, you can claim the full purchase price through the Annual Investment Allowance in the year of purchase. A £20,000 van? Fully deductible against your profits that year. This can create a substantial tax saving (or even a loss that can be carried forward).

If you lease a van, the lease payments are deductible as a business expense.

Tools and Equipment

Decorators need a surprising amount of kit:

Application Tools

• Brushes (a range of sizes and types)
• Rollers and frames
• Paint trays and scuttles
• Spray equipment (HVLP, airless, XVLP)
• Wallpaper paste tables
• Seam rollers and smoothing brushes
• Papering tools (scissors, craft knife, straight edge)
• Caulk guns

Preparation Tools

• Sanders (orbital, detail, pole)
• Sandpaper and sanding discs
• Filling knives and scrapers
• Wallpaper steamers and strippers
• Heat guns
• Masking tape dispensers
• Dust sheets and polythene sheeting

Access Equipment

• Ladders (step ladders, extension ladders, combination)
• Scaffolding (mobile towers, trestle and staging)
• Platform steps
• Stilts (for ceiling work)
• Hop-ups

Ladders and scaffold towers can be expensive — a decent aluminium scaffold tower is £500-£1,500+ — and they're fully deductible. If you hire access equipment for specific jobs, the hire cost is also deductible.

Measuring and Finishing

• Laser levels and spirit levels
• Measuring tapes
• Chalk lines
• Touch-up pens and markers

Paint and Wallpaper Stock

If you buy paint or wallpaper to hold in stock (rather than for a specific job), you need to account for this as stock at your year end. Only the materials you've actually used during the year count as an expense.

In practice, most decorators buy materials on a job-by-job basis, which simplifies things enormously. Each purchase is directly linked to a job, and the full cost is an expense in the year of purchase.

Trade accounts: many decorators have trade accounts at Dulux Decorator Centres, Crown Trade, or independent suppliers. Keep all your statements — they're excellent records for your expenses.

PPE and Safety Equipment

• Overalls and protective clothing
• Dust masks and respirators (especially for sanding and spraying)
• Safety goggles
• Gloves (disposable and reusable)
• Knee pads
• Ear protection (for power tools)
• Barrier cream

All deductible as protective clothing. If you wear branded workwear with your business name, that's deductible too.

Waste Disposal

Decorating generates waste — old wallpaper, paint tins, packaging, dust sheets past their best. Disposal costs are a legitimate business expense:

• Skip hire
• Waste transfer station fees
• Hazardous waste disposal (for lead paint, solvent-based products)
• Van loads to the tip (mileage)

Marketing — Before and After Photos

Social media has become enormously powerful for decorators. Instagram and Facebook pages showcasing before-and-after transformations are arguably the most effective marketing tool in the trade. The costs associated with this are deductible:

• Website design and hosting
• Social media advertising (Facebook/Instagram ads)
• Photography equipment (or a photographer's fee for professional shots)
• Business cards and printed flyers
• Van signwriting and livery
• Google My Business advertising
• Local directory listings

Van signwriting deserves a special mention — a professionally sign-written van is a moving advertisement, and the cost (typically £300-£1,500) is fully deductible. It's one of the best marketing investments in the trade.

Tax Rates — 2025/26

Your profits are taxed at:

• Personal allowance: £12,570 (no tax)
• Basic rate: 20% on £12,571-£50,270
• Higher rate: 40% on £50,271-£125,140
• Additional rate: 45% above £125,140

National Insurance:

• Class 2: £3.45/week
• Class 4: 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2% above

Example — Decorator with CIS

Annual income: £44,000 (mix of CIS and private work) CIS income: £28,000 (labour element), CIS deducted: £5,600 Private work income: £16,000 Total expenses: £12,000 (van, tools, materials, insurance, marketing)

Taxable profit: £32,000

• Income tax: 20% on £19,430 = £3,886
• Class 2 NI: £179
• Class 4 NI: 6% on £19,430 = £1,166
• Total tax liability: £5,231
• Less CIS deducted: £5,600
• HMRC refund: £369

When your expenses are high and CIS has been deducted, you can genuinely end up owing nothing — or even getting money back.

Record Keeping Best Practices

1. Keep every receipt — paint, wallpaper, tools, fuel, parking. Everything.
2. Photograph receipts immediately — thermal paper fades quickly
3. Maintain a job log — record each job with client name, address, dates, materials used, and price charged
4. Keep CIS payment statements — you need these for your tax return
5. Log your mileage — date, destination, purpose, miles. Every trip.
6. Save your trade account statements — they're a backup record of your purchases

Accounted's AI bookkeeper, Penny, can handle most of this automatically. Snap a photo of a receipt, log a payment, and Penny categorises it correctly. When your Self Assessment is due, everything's already organised.

Common Mistakes

1. Not registering for CIS — paying 30% instead of 20% deductions is painful
2. Not splitting labour and materials on CIS invoices — overpaying deductions
3. Choosing the wrong vehicle expense method — this decision locks you in, so calculate both options first
4. Not claiming van purchase as capital allowance — a brand new van can be fully deducted in year one
5. Throwing away receipts — digital or physical, you need them for at least 5 years

A Fresh Coat for Your Finances

You make properties look their best. Let Accounted do the same for your books. With Penny handling the admin, you can spend less time on paperwork and more time on the job — which is where you actually earn your money.

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Related Reading

• CIS Subcontractors — Deductions Guide
• Mileage Allowance Explained
• Receipt Management — How to Automate
• Ceramic Artists and Potters — Self-Employed Tax Guide
• Makeup Artists and Beauty Freelancers — Self-Employed Tax Guide

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