{"id":11587,"date":"2023-06-27T09:52:36","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T09:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?page_id=11587"},"modified":"2023-09-25T09:26:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T09:26:23","slug":"company-tax-return","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/business\/tax\/company-tax-return\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare Company Tax Return | Deadlines, Changes, Penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You should prepare for filing when you get a &#8216;notice to deliver a Company Tax Return&#8217; from HM Revenue and Customs.<\/p>\n<p>Getting the HMRC notice means your limited company, or unincorporated association, needs to file a Company Tax Return.<\/p>\n<p>You must still file a tax return even if the business made a loss or there is no Corporation Tax to pay. The process involves working out your:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Profit or loss for Corporation Tax (different to the profit or loss shown in the annual accounts)<\/li>\n<li>Corporation Tax bill<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a limited company, <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/accounts-and-tax-returns-for-private-limited-companies\/\">filing accounts and tax returns<\/a> with Companies House together and at the same time may be an option for you.<\/p>\n<p>You can prepare and file your tax return yourself or you can <a href=\"\/rules\/employment\/taxation\/hmrc\/appoint-a-tax-agent\/\">appoint someone to deal with HMRC on your behalf<\/a> (e.g. an accountant or a tax agent).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: You will not need to send a Company Tax Return if you are <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/setting-up\/working-for-yourself\/\">working for yourself<\/a> (e.g. a sole trader or in a business partnership). But, being self-employed means you must send in a <a href=\"\/rules\/employment\/taxation\/self-assessment\/\">Self Assessment return<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Company Tax Return Deadline<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/corporation-tax\/accounting-periods\/\">accounting periods for Corporation Tax<\/a> can vary (up to 12 months). But, they often run the same period as a financial year.<\/p>\n<p>The tax return deadline is 12 months after the end of the accounting periods that it covers. Missing the payment deadline means you would have to pay a penalty to HM Revenue and Customs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: A separate deadline applies when you <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/corporation-tax\/bill\/\">pay your Corporation Tax bill<\/a>. As a rule, it is nine (9) months and one (1) day after the end of the accounting period.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Filing Accounts and Company Tax Return<\/h5>\n<p>Your limited company, or unincorporated association, can use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/file-your-company-accounts-and-tax-return\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">government online tax service<\/a> to file:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Company Tax Return (CT600) for <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/corporation-tax\/\">Corporation Tax<\/a> with HMRC.<\/li>\n<li>Accounts to Companies House.<\/li>\n<li>Company Tax Return and accounts together at the same time (for the same accounting period).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You would need to <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/running-a-limited-company\/annual-accounts\/\">prepare annual accounts for a private limited company<\/a> in advance. The business account must be &#8216;balanced&#8217;, meaning that the total assets match what the company owes. Any <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/setting-up\/\">unincorporated associations<\/a> can upload a PDF version of the accounts.<\/p>\n<p>You would need a &#8216;reasonable excuse&#8217; (such as wanting to file in Welsh) to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/corporation-tax-company-tax-return-ct600-2015-version-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">file a paper form Company Tax Return<\/a> (CT600 Version 3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: The service converts accounts into the required format (iXBRL) so there is no need to buy any accounting software. Use a different process if you need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/file-an-annual-return-with-companies-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">file a confirmation statement<\/a> (annual return) with Companies House.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Company Tax Return Penalties (late filing)<\/h5>\n<p>There are severe penalties for late filing of Company Tax Returns. The penalties you would have to pay for failing to file a Company Tax Return by the deadline are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 day after the deadline: \u00a3100 penalty<\/li>\n<li>3 months after the deadline: Another \u00a3100<\/li>\n<li>6 months after the deadline: HMRC estimate Corporation Tax bill and add a 10% penalty of unpaid taxes<\/li>\n<li>12 months after the deadline: Another 10% of any unpaid taxes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: \u00a3100 late filing penalties increase to \u00a3500 each if a tax return is late three (3) times in a row.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>If a Company Tax Return is 6 Months Late<\/h5>\n<p>HM Revenue and Customs will send you a &#8216;tax determination&#8217; if your tax return is more than six (6) months late. The letter will inform you the <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/corporation-tax\/\">amount of Corporation Tax<\/a> that they believe you need to pay. But, you would be able to appeal against a &#8216;tax determination&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>If it happens, you must pay the amount of Corporation Tax that is due and file a tax return. HM Revenue and Customs would then recalculate the interest and penalties that you would need to pay.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Appealing against a Late Filing Penalty<\/h5>\n<p>If you <a href=\"\/rules\/employment\/taxation\/hmrc\/tax-appeals\/\">disagree with a tax decision<\/a>, and have a reasonable excuse, you can make an appeal against a late filing penalty. You would need to write to the appropriate Corporation Tax office.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Your Corporation Tax office address will be on any recent tax forms or letters from HMRC. You can also contact the <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/corporation-tax\/\">Corporation Tax helpline<\/a> about tax enquiries.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Making a Change to a Company Tax Return<\/h2>\n<p>As a rule, you need to make any &#8216;amendments&#8217; (changes) within twelve (12) months of the filing deadline. There are two ways to make corrections to a Company Tax Return:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Log in to HMRC online tax services to amend a Company Tax Return (see above).<\/li>\n<li>Write to the Corporation Tax office that your company uses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: HMRC can charge a penalty if you make filing errors. They might also carry out a <a href=\"\/rules\/business\/tax\/compliance-check\/\">tax compliance check<\/a> to look for errors in your Company Tax Return.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"updated-data\">\n  <strong>Preparing Company Tax Return in the United Kingdom<\/strong><br \/>\n  <time datetime=\"2022-01-01\">Last Updated 2022<\/time>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You should prepare for filing when you get a &#8216;notice to deliver a Company Tax Return&#8217; from HM Revenue and Customs. Getting the HMRC notice means your limited company, or unincorporated association, needs to file a Company Tax Return. You must still file a tax return even if the business made a loss or there&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/business\/tax\/company-tax-return\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to Prepare Company Tax Return | Deadlines, Changes, Penalties<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":646,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Prepare Company Tax Return | Deadlines, Changes, Penalties - UK Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/business\/tax\/company-tax-return\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Prepare Company Tax Return | Deadlines, Changes, Penalties - UK Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You should prepare for filing when you get a &#8216;notice to deliver a Company Tax Return&#8217; from HM Revenue and Customs. 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