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

A CT600 is the form used to submit a Company Tax Return to HMRC. It reports the company's income and expenses for the accounting period, the profits arising, and the resulting Corporation Tax position, including any reliefs or adjustments that apply. The CT600 is filed with HMRC rather than Companies House, so it sits alongside — but is entirely separate from — the statutory accounts a company files at Companies House. It is normally supported by a Corporation Tax computation and, in most cases, by accounts or equivalent financial information.

Yes, they are different documents with different purposes and different recipients. Statutory accounts are the financial statements prepared for the company's members and filed with Companies House under the relevant accounting framework. A CT600 is a tax return submitted to HMRC reporting the company's Corporation Tax position. The figures in the two often overlap, but they are not necessarily identical, because the tax return reflects taxable profit after adjustments rather than the accounting profit shown in the accounts. They are also prepared and filed separately, using different forms and different systems.

It may well do. Operating as a micro-entity affects the accounting framework and the amount of disclosure in the statutory accounts, but it does not remove a company's Corporation Tax reporting obligations. Where HMRC has issued a notice to file a Company Tax Return, the company is expected to submit a CT600 covering the relevant accounting period. Whether Corporation Tax is actually payable is a separate question and depends on the company's taxable profits and circumstances. Small and micro companies often have relatively straightforward computations, but the figures still need to be correct and properly supported.

No, although the two work closely together. The Corporation Tax computation is the working schedule that starts from the accounting profit, makes the necessary tax adjustments, and arrives at the taxable profit and the Corporation Tax due. The CT600 is the return form on which those figures are reported to HMRC. In practice you prepare the computation first and then use it to complete and submit the CT600. Keeping the computation alongside the return is useful for checking the numbers and for answering any queries that arise later.

Yes. A director remains responsible for the accuracy of the return, but the preparation, computation and submission can be handled by an accountant or tax agent acting for the company. That usually involves authorising the agent with HMRC so the return can be filed through the appropriate online service. In practice, the agent gathers the records, prepares the accounts and the computation, checks the figures with you, and then submits the CT600 — sharing a copy of what was filed for your records.

Typically you will need the company's accounting records for the period, a trial balance or draft accounts, details of income and allowable expenses, information about capital purchases and disposals, any relevant reliefs or losses brought forward, and the company's registration details including its UTR. It also helps to have the previous year's return and computation available, along with details of any payments already made towards Corporation Tax. Where records are incomplete, part of the work is often tidying them up before the return can be prepared accurately.

The usual starting point is the accounting profit shown in the company's accounts. From there, adjustments are made: expenditure that is not allowable for tax purposes is added back, available reliefs such as capital allowances may be deducted, and items belonging to a different period are moved into the correct one. The result is the taxable profit, which is then used to work out the Corporation Tax liability. Because these adjustments depend on the specific transactions and circumstances of the company, two businesses with identical accounting profits can end up with different taxable profits.

If a Company Tax Return is filed after the date HMRC has set, HMRC may charge penalties and interest, and the amount depends on how late the return is and on the company's circumstances. Filing late is still far better than not filing at all, and HMRC has its own processes for following up returns that remain outstanding. If your return is overdue, or you are unsure whether a filing is due, the practical step is to get advice early, pull the records together and prepare the return as soon as you reasonably can.