CT600 Tax Return Filing in Elstree: Prepare and File Your Company Tax Return with HMRC

The CT600 is the form HMRC uses for a Company Tax Return. It is completed for a limited company and reports that company's Corporation Tax position for an accounting period — the income, chargeable gains, deductions, reliefs and the resulting Corporation Tax calculation. In most cases the Company Tax Return submitted to HMRC includes the CT600 form together with a copy of the statutory accounts and a Corporation Tax computation supporting the figures. The CT600 goes to HMRC; it is not filed with Companies House.

A company will normally need to file a Company Tax Return where it is within the charge to Corporation Tax, or where HMRC has issued it with a notice to deliver a return. That can include companies with no tax to pay but something to report, such as trading losses or certain reliefs. A company that is dormant for Corporation Tax purposes may not need to file, but that depends on its own circumstances and on whether HMRC has asked for a return. If you are unsure whether a return is required, it is worth checking your position rather than assuming either way.

Yes — they are two separate obligations with two different recipients. Statutory accounts are prepared under an accounting framework and filed with Companies House. The CT600 is a Company Tax Return filed with HMRC for Corporation Tax purposes. The figures in your accounts are usually the starting point for the CT600, but they are not simply copied across: the Corporation Tax computation may adjust them to arrive at taxable profit. Filing your accounts with Companies House does not satisfy your CT600 Tax Return Filing requirement, and filing a CT600 does not satisfy your Companies House filing requirement.

No. The Corporation Tax computation is the working paper that calculates the company's taxable profit and the resulting Corporation Tax position — it shows how the accounting profit has been adjusted for tax purposes. The CT600 is the return form on which those figures are reported to HMRC. In practice the two go together: the CT600 Tax Return Filing is built on the back of a properly prepared computation, which is why the workings matter as much as the form itself.

It may do. Micro-entity status affects how a company's statutory accounts are prepared and filed with Companies House; it does not replace the need for a Company Tax Return where HMRC requires one. A micro-entity company that is trading and within the charge to Corporation Tax will normally have to file a CT600, particularly if HMRC has issued a notice to deliver. Not every micro-entity company owes Corporation Tax — that depends on its taxable profits, available reliefs and any losses. Equally, the accounting framework used for the accounts does not by itself determine the Corporation Tax liability; that comes from the tax computation.

The calculation normally starts with the accounting profit shown in the company's accounts and then applies tax adjustments. Expenditure that is not allowable for Corporation Tax purposes — such as depreciation or certain entertaining costs — is typically added back, while capital allowances may be claimed in place of depreciation on qualifying assets. Other adjustments may be needed for income treated differently for tax, disallowed provisions, losses brought forward and available reliefs. The result is taxable profit, which is then used to work out the Corporation Tax position reported on the CT600. Because these adjustments depend on the company's own transactions, the calculation is prepared on a case-by-case basis.

No — filing and payment are separate obligations. The CT600 reports the company's Corporation Tax position for the accounting period, including any tax due, but submitting the return does not itself pay the tax. Where Corporation Tax is payable, the company needs to make payment to HMRC separately. A company can have a filing obligation even where no Corporation Tax is payable for that period, and filing and payment each have their own requirements under HMRC's published rules.

Yes. A company can appoint an agent to prepare and submit its Company Tax Return, although the directors remain responsible for the accuracy of the information provided. To prepare a CT600, the person doing the work will usually need the company's accounting records and trial balance, the statutory accounts for the period, details of income and expenditure, information on asset purchases for capital allowances, losses brought forward, any reliefs being claimed, plus the company's Unique Taxpayer Reference, company registration number and the accounting period dates. Having those records organised in advance makes the CT600 Tax Return Filing process noticeably smoother.