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

The CT600 is the form HMRC uses for a Company Tax Return. It is the return a company submits to report its Corporation Tax position for an accounting period, setting out details such as the company's income, profits and the Corporation Tax that has been calculated for that period. It is filed with HMRC, not with Companies House, and it is a different document from a company's statutory accounts, its Confirmation Statement, or a VAT Return. In practice, the CT600 is completed with reference to the company's accounts and a supporting Corporation Tax computation, which is why accurate bookkeeping makes the whole process far more straightforward.

A company that falls within the scope of Corporation Tax, and that has a reporting requirement for an accounting period or has been asked by HMRC to deliver a return, will generally need to submit a Company Tax Return. Many small and micro companies do file a CT600, but whether your company needs to, and for which periods, depends on your own circumstances and on what HMRC has requested. If a notice to deliver a return has been issued, it needs to be completed and submitted by the applicable date. If you are unsure whether a return is required for your company, it is worth checking well before the filing date rather than afterwards.

Yes, and the distinction is important. Statutory accounts are prepared under an applicable accounting framework and filed at Companies House, where they form part of the public record. The CT600 is a tax return filed with HMRC. Both are usually prepared from the same underlying bookkeeping and often from the same set of figures, but they serve different purposes, go to different bodies, and follow different rules. Filing your accounts at Companies House does not file your Company Tax Return, and filing your CT600 does not satisfy your accounts filing obligation — they are two separate tasks with two separate deadlines.

They work together, but they are not the same thing. The Corporation Tax computation is the working document that starts with the accounting profit shown in the accounts and applies the adjustments needed to arrive at taxable profit, before the tax position is worked out under the rules that apply to the company and the period. The CT600 is the return form on which the resulting figures are reported to HMRC, along with the other information the return requires. In practice, the computation supports the figures entered on the CT600, and both need to be consistent with the company's records and with each other.

Possibly, yes — it depends on the company rather than the label. Preparing micro-entity accounts, for example under FRS 105, changes how the accounts are drawn up and what is filed at Companies House. It does not remove a Corporation Tax filing obligation where one exists, and it does not create one either. If HMRC has issued a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return, the company needs to complete and submit it. Equally, a micro-entity company may have no Corporation Tax to pay for a period while still having information to report to HMRC. Where a return is required, the accounts still provide the starting point for the tax calculations.

Broadly, the information needed covers the accounting period being reported, the company's income and expenses for that period, the figures from the statutory accounts, and the supporting detail behind any items that may need adjusting for tax. Useful records include details of fixed asset purchases and disposals, any income that sits outside trading profits, expenses that may be treated differently for tax purposes, and notes of any tax already paid or credits due. Accurate, complete bookkeeping makes the process considerably smoother, and we will confirm exactly what is needed once we understand your company's circumstances.

The starting point is normally the profit shown by the accounts. From there, the Corporation Tax computation adds back expenses that are not allowable for tax purposes, deducts items that are allowable but not included in the accounts, and applies capital allowances or other available reliefs where they are relevant. The result is the taxable profit, which may be higher or lower than the accounting profit. The Corporation Tax position is then worked out from that taxable profit using the rules that apply to the company and the period. This is why a set of accounts that look entirely reasonable can still produce a different figure for tax.

No — filing and payment are separate obligations. Submitting the CT600 tells HMRC what the company's position is for the accounting period and confirms that the return has been delivered. Paying Corporation Tax is a separate transaction, and the date by which tax must be paid is not necessarily the same as the filing date for the return. A company can submit its return and still owe tax, or submit a return showing no tax due. It is worth planning for both, and keeping clear records of what has been filed and what has been paid so the two do not get muddled.