If workers I engage have subcontractors tax certificates (CIS6) or registration cards (CIS4), does that mean they are self-employed?
• Not necessarily. Just because they hold a certificate or card does not mean that every job they take on is as a self-employed person. It is the actual terms, conditions and facts that apply to each job that determine whether they will be employed or self-employed in that particular case. Certificates and cards show the way that a contractor should treat payments made to the holder if the terms of the engagement are a contract for services (self-employment). If the relationship is a contract of service (employment), then the contractor must deduct PAYE and Class 1 NICs in all circumstances, even if the worker has a certificate or card. There are no certificates and registration cards in the new CIS system.
