CT600 Tax Return Filing in Walton – Prepare and File Your Company Tax Return with HMRC

A CT600 is the formal name for the Company Tax Return that a UK company submits to HMRC. It sets out the company's Corporation Tax position for an accounting period, including details such as the company's income, allowable deductions and the resulting Corporation Tax liability. The CT600 is filed with HMRC rather than Companies House, and it is normally submitted alongside the company's accounts and a Corporation Tax computation. It is not a niche form reserved for any particular type of company — it is the standard return used across the board.

A Company Tax Return is another name for the CT600. It is the document through which a company reports its taxable profits and its Corporation Tax position to HMRC for a given accounting period. Preparing one involves more than transcribing your profit figure from the accounts: your accounting profit is adjusted to arrive at taxable profit, and the resulting calculation is reflected in the return. Filing the Company Tax Return is a separate exercise from filing statutory accounts with Companies House, even though both draw on the same underlying financial records.

In general, a company that is within the charge to UK Corporation Tax needs to file a Company Tax Return when HMRC has issued a notice to deliver one, or when a return is otherwise required. Whether a specific company must file for a particular period depends on its circumstances, including whether it has been trading, whether it is dormant, and whether HMRC has asked for a return. A notice to deliver can be issued even where no Corporation Tax ends up being payable, so it is worth checking your position rather than assuming that no profit means no filing requirement. A professional adviser can confirm what applies to your company.

Yes, and this is one of the most common points of confusion. Statutory accounts are the financial statements a company prepares — and, depending on its size, files with Companies House. A CT600 is a tax return submitted to HMRC. They serve different audiences and different purposes. The accounts show the company's financial results, while the CT600 reports the Corporation Tax position for the period. Because the two are based on the same bookkeeping, they are usually prepared together, but they are separate filings with separate obligations and, in many cases, different filing channels.

They are related but not the same thing. The Corporation Tax computation is the working document that starts with your accounting profit and makes the tax adjustments needed to arrive at taxable profit and the Corporation Tax liability. The CT600 is the return that reports the outcome of that calculation to HMRC. In practice the computation is normally submitted together with the CT600 as supporting information, which is why we prepare and review both as part of our CT600 Tax Return Filing service.

Possibly, yes. There is no exemption from Corporation Tax filing simply because a company meets the micro-entity criteria for accounting purposes — but there is also no separate 'micro-entity CT600'. A micro-entity company uses the same CT600 as any other company. Whether it needs to file for a given accounting period depends on its own circumstances and on whether HMRC has issued a notice to deliver a return. Note too that the accounting framework a company uses, such as FRS 105, does not by itself determine its Corporation Tax liability; that comes from the tax computation, not the reporting framework.

In broad terms, we need the company's accounting records for the period, the accounts prepared from them, and details of any income, expenses, capital purchases or other items that may affect the tax calculation. Additional information such as details of any losses brought forward, group or associated company considerations, or previous filings can also be relevant. The exact list depends on the company's activities and circumstances. Once we understand your business, we will tell you precisely what is required and help you get it organised.

Taxable profit begins with the profit shown in your accounts, but it is not usually the same figure. Tax adjustments are made — for example, adding back expenses that are not allowable for Corporation Tax purposes, accounting for capital allowances instead of depreciation, and dealing with items such as losses or reliefs where they apply. Those adjustments produce the taxable profit used in the Corporation Tax computation, and that is the figure reflected in the CT600. Because the adjustments depend on the individual company's transactions, two businesses with identical accounting profits can end up with different taxable profits.

No. Submitting the Company Tax Return and paying any Corporation Tax that is due are separate obligations with their own timelines. A CT600 may show that no Corporation Tax is payable, yet the return itself may still need to be filed. Equally, a company could owe Corporation Tax in circumstances where the return has not yet been submitted. Keeping both elements on your radar — and keeping the records that support them — is one of the practical reasons many companies use a professional service for their filings.