Kitchen fitter invoice template: fit-only, homeowner jobs and CIS
A kitchen fitter can invoice three very different customers: a homeowner, a builder, or the kitchen company that sold the units. Who supplied the units and who your contract is with decide what goes on the invoice and whether CIS comes off. This guide covers each case, with a checked example.
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Kitchen fitter rates
Checkatrade's trade cost table (updated October 2026) lists kitchen fitters at £280 to £360 a day, or about £35 to £45 an hour. Those are prices homeowners pay, not what a kitchen company or builder pays a subcontract fitter, which is often lower and often priced per unit or per kitchen. Whatever the basis, write it on the quote so the invoice can match it.
If you price per kitchen, work out the days it really takes (strip out, carcasses, worktops, panels and trims, snagging) and check the price against your day rate with the day rate calculator. For a homeowner, the free quote generator makes a PDF quote with labour and materials on separate lines, and with an account you can save the quote and turn it into the invoice later.
Start with who supplied the units
This is the line kitchen invoices most often get wrong.
- The customer or the kitchen company supplied the units: don't put the units on your invoice. Bill your fitting labour and any sundries you bought (fixings, sealant, trims). Referencing the kitchen order number helps the customer match it up.
- You supplied the units: show them on their own line as materials, at what you paid plus any agreed mark-up, and keep the supplier invoice.
- Worktops: if a specialist templates and fits stone or quartz tops, that's usually their invoice, not yours. Laminate or wood tops you cut and fit are your labour.
Say what's excluded too. Gas hob connections must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and new circuits or sockets by a qualified electrician. If you arrange them, put them on the invoice as a separate line in that engineer's or electrician's name, or let them invoice the customer directly.
CIS: homeowner, builder or kitchen company?
Fitting kitchens is construction work for CIS. CIS 340 (Appendix C) lists "installation of and repair to kitchens and bathrooms" as included, and HMRC's manual CISR14240 lists kitchen and bathroom fitting as a finishing operation. What decides whether CIS comes off is who you have the contract with.
| Your contract is with | CIS? |
|---|---|
| A homeowner, directly | No. A private householder isn't a contractor, so nothing is deducted. |
| A builder or developer | Yes. They're a contractor and deduct CIS from your labour. |
| A kitchen company or retailer that sells the kitchen fitted and pays you to fit it | Normally yes. CIS 340 says a mainstream contractor includes any business whose activities include construction work and that pays others for it, and that a contractor working for a householder must still operate CIS on its subcontractors. HMRC's manual CISR14220 says a supply and fix contract is within CIS. |
| The homeowner, although they bought the units from a retailer that only recommended you | No. If the homeowner engages and pays you directly, the retailer isn't your contractor. |
So the question to ask is "who am I working for, and who pays me?" Get it in writing. If it's still unclear, check with HMRC or your accountant before the first invoice. Where CIS applies, the contractor checks your status with HMRC (verification) and deducts 20% from your labour if you're registered, 30% if you aren't, or nothing if you have gross payment status.
Worked example: a fit-only week for a kitchen company
Dan fits a kitchen for a kitchen company that sold it to a homeowner, supplied fitted. The company supplied the units and worktops. Dan is CIS registered (20%) and not VAT registered. The day rate is an illustration, inside the Checkatrade range above.
| Line | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit base and wall units, order K-2231, 14 Elm Road (labour) | 3 days | £300.00 | £900.00 |
| Cut and fit laminate worktops and upstands (labour) | 1 day | £300.00 | £300.00 |
| Fixings, sealant and plinth clips bought by Dan (materials, receipt attached) | 1 | £46.80 | £46.80 |
| Total | £1,246.80 |
| Labour subject to CIS | £1,200.00 |
| CIS deduction at 20% | £240.00 |
| Paid to Dan | £1,006.80 |
Check: £900 + £300 = £1,200 of labour. 20% of £1,200 is £240. £1,246.80 − £240.00 = £1,006.80. The units don't appear because Dan didn't buy them.
If Dan were VAT registered, and the kitchen company is VAT and CIS registered and sells the fitted kitchen on to the homeowner, his invoice would normally be under the domestic reverse charge: no VAT added, the wording "Reverse charge: Customer to pay the VAT to HMRC", and the VAT shown for information (20% of £1,246.80 = £249.36). The kitchen company then charges the homeowner VAT in the normal way. Invoices to homeowners are never reverse charged.
Other VAT points
- Most kitchen work is standard rated at 20% if you're VAT registered. Fitting a kitchen as part of a new build house can be zero rated, but HMRC's reverse charge guide says ovens, hobs and similar appliances aren't goods ordinarily incorporated into a new dwelling, so they stay standard rated.
- If you aren't VAT registered, don't show VAT or the reverse charge wording at all. Registration is compulsory once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12 months.
Common mistakes
- Putting customer-supplied or company-supplied units on your invoice, which inflates the total and confuses the CIS split.
- Assuming a kitchen company can't take CIS because the end customer is a homeowner. If the company pays you to fit, it's normally a contractor.
- Billing the gas or electrical connection as your own work when someone else, properly qualified, did it.
- No order number or address, so the company can't match your invoice to the job.
- Extras (moving a radiator, boxing in pipes) with no note of who asked for them. Agree them in writing as you go.
Free kitchen fitter invoice template
For a builder or kitchen company, download the free CIS invoice template (PDF or Excel) and keep labour and materials on separate lines. For a homeowner, the general invoice template (PDF, Word or Excel) works; take a deposit if you're buying units (see deposits and stage payments). Neither template is kitchen-specific. To see CIS and reverse charge wording on a finished invoice, open the sample invoice. If CIS is taken off your pay, the CIS refund checker gives a quick estimate (not tax advice) of whether you may be due money back.
Related trade guides
Kitchens bring in other trades: the plumber for the sink and water, the electrician, the tiler for splashbacks, and the flooring fitter. If you also do general joinery, see the joiner and carpenter guide. See all trade invoicing guides.
Free: The UK Contractor's Cheat Sheet 2026/27
CIS rates, overtime maths, tax dates, mileage, VAT and late payment, on 2 pages. Keep it on your phone or print it for the van.
Frequently asked questions
Does CIS apply to kitchen fitting?
Yes, kitchen fitting is construction work for CIS. It's deducted when your contract is with a contractor, such as a builder or a kitchen company that pays you to fit. There's no CIS when you work directly for a homeowner.
Is a kitchen retailer a CIS contractor?
Normally yes, if it sells the kitchen fitted and pays you to fit it, because its business then includes construction work. If the homeowner hires and pays you directly, the retailer isn't your contractor. Confirm who your contract is with, and check with HMRC or your accountant if unsure.
Should the units go on my invoice?
Only if you bought them. Units supplied by the customer or the kitchen company stay off your invoice.
Can I charge for removing the old kitchen?
Yes. Put strip-out and disposal on their own lines, with any skip or waste charges you paid shown separately.
Sources
- CIS 340: guide for contractors and subcontractors (sections 2.2 and Appendix C) – GOV.UK
- Construction Industry Scheme manual CISR14240: preparatory, integral and finishing operations – HMRC
- Construction Industry Scheme manual CISR14220: manufacture, delivery and supply and fix – HMRC
- VAT reverse charge technical guide – GOV.UK
- How much do tradespeople cost in the UK in 2026? (kitchen fitter rates, updated October 2026) – Checkatrade
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and rates change, so check the linked GOV.UK pages for the current position.