CT600 Tax Return Filing in Cheddar — Prepare and File Your Company Tax Return with HMRC

A CT600 is the form HMRC uses for a Company Tax Return. It is where a company reports its Corporation Tax position for a given accounting period, including the figures used to arrive at its taxable profit and the resulting Corporation Tax calculation. The CT600 is submitted to HMRC electronically, and it is a tax document rather than a set of accounts. A company may also need to attach or reference accounts and computations depending on its circumstances and how the return is filed.

They work together but they are not the same document. The Corporation Tax computation is the working paper that starts from the company's accounting profit and makes the tax adjustments needed to arrive at taxable profit — for example adding back disallowable expenditure, replacing accounting depreciation with capital allowances, or dealing with losses. The CT600 is the formal return to HMRC that summarises the outcome of that computation. In practice, you prepare the computation first and then use it to complete the CT600, which is why a well-documented computation makes the return far easier to prepare and to explain later if HMRC asks questions.

A company will normally need to file a Company Tax Return if HMRC has issued a notice to deliver one, or if it has taxable profits or other amounts chargeable to Corporation Tax for an accounting period. This is not limited to large companies — small and micro-entity companies can also be within scope. Whether a particular company must file, and what it needs to report, depends on its own circumstances, so it is worth checking your position rather than assuming that being small means no return is required. If you are unsure, we can review your situation and explain what applies to you.

No, and it is a distinction that catches a lot of directors out. Statutory accounts are prepared for the company's members and filed at Companies House under the companies legislation. The CT600 is a tax return submitted to HMRC. They are separate filing obligations with separate purposes, separate submission routes, and separate rules about what has to be included. The figures in the accounts often feed into the Corporation Tax computation, but filing your accounts does not discharge your CT600 obligation, and filing a CT600 does not satisfy your accounts filing duty.

There is no separate 'micro-entity CT600' form, so the question is simply whether the company needs to file a Company Tax Return at all. Micro-entity companies can and do have Corporation Tax filing obligations — for instance where HMRC has issued a notice to deliver a return or where there are taxable profits. Being a micro-entity affects the accounting framework and the level of detail in the accounts; it does not by itself remove the need to report to HMRC. It also does not determine the company's Corporation Tax liability, which depends on the taxable profit and the tax rules that apply.

Accounting profit is the starting point, not the final answer. The Corporation Tax computation adjusts it for items treated differently for tax purposes. Common examples include adding back expenditure that is not allowable as a deduction, adding back accounting depreciation and instead claiming capital allowances, dealing with income or expenses that belong to a different period for tax, and using any losses carried forward within the rules. Once those adjustments are made, you arrive at taxable profit, and the Corporation Tax position is then calculated and reported on the CT600. The adjustments needed vary from company to company, which is why a review of the figures is such a useful step before filing.

As a general guide, you will need the company's accounting records and, where available, the statutory accounts for the period, along with details of income, expenses, capital purchases, any asset disposals, and any losses brought forward or carried back. Information about previous returns and any HMRC correspondence is also helpful. It is useful to have the company's Unique Taxpayer Reference and details of the accounting period to hand. If records are incomplete or spread across different systems, that is usually something we can work around — the sooner we can see everything, the smoother the preparation tends to be.

No — these are two separate obligations. Filing the CT600 is about reporting the company's Corporation Tax position to HMRC by the required date. Paying Corporation Tax is about settling the liability, and HMRC sets out its own arrangements and dates for payment. A company could file its return on time while payment is handled separately, and the two processes are managed differently. It is worth keeping both in view so that filing does not slip and cash is set aside for the tax that the computation indicates is due.

Yes. It is common for an accountant or tax adviser to prepare the Corporation Tax computation and CT600 and submit the return to HMRC on the company's behalf, using the appropriate authorisation. The company remains responsible for the accuracy of what is submitted, which is why we work from your records and explain the figures as we go rather than simply filing numbers without context. If you would prefer to stay hands-on, we can also prepare the return for you to review before submission so you remain in control of what is filed.

Late filing can lead to HMRC penalties and, in some cases, interest on unpaid tax, with the outcome depending on the circumstances and how late the return is. Rather than setting out figures that may not match your situation, the sensible approach is to avoid the position arising: keep your records organised, know when your accounting period ends, and start the filing process early enough that nothing is rushed. If you have already missed a date or are worried about an upcoming one, speak to us promptly and we can help you understand the position and get the return prepared.

Not necessarily in every case, but the two are closely linked. The accounting figures are usually the starting point for the Corporation Tax computation, so having the accounts or at least a complete trial balance and supporting records makes the CT600 far easier and more reliable to prepare. Some companies complete both processes together, while others deal with them at different times. Because accounts preparation and Corporation Tax filing are related but separate processes, it helps to plan for both rather than treating the CT600 as an afterthought once the accounts are done.