Limited Company Accountant Fee. FreeAgent Accounting Specialist. Online Monthly Service Accountancy or One Off Accounts.

A Company Tax Return is the return that must be submitted to HMRC by Ltd Companies after the end of their financial year. A form called a CT600 is the main part of the Company Tax Return. Every limited company that is based in the UK is subject to corporation tax on their profits.  
 
The first thing you must do is register your company with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), using its official forms, so it knows you’re liable for corporation tax. If your company is liable for corporation tax, you must calculate how much profit your company makes for each accounting period and how much corporation tax is payable on those profits. This information must be reported to HMRC on a corporation tax return form and accounts and tax computations must be submitted to HMRC in support of the return. There are strict penalties for filing late returns and interest is charged on tax paid late, so it is important that the deadlines, which are determined by your company's annual accounting date, are adhered to.
​
We Accountants of Kent can assist with the preparation of company accounts, company tax returns and tax computations and will also be able to provide advice on any tax planning areas that may benefit you and your company. Having us at your company tax return accountant will smooth the filing process.
​
Does the thought of completing your company tax return (CT600) fill you with dread?  Does it always get put off until the last possible minute? 
​
Unfortunately leaving until the last minute means mistakes get made, things get missed and errors occur.
We’ve made the whole process of completing your company tax return really easy, you won’t have to deal with HMRC, you’ll never miss a deadline and always pay the correct amount in tax. A Ltd Company’s financial year can run to the last day of any month of the year, usually initially dictated by the month that the company was incorporated. The deadline for your Company Tax Return is 12 months after the end of the accounting period it covers. You’ll have to pay a penalty if you miss the deadline. Interestingly there is a separate deadline to pay your Corporation Tax bill which is usually 9 months and one day after the end of the accounting period. We recommend that all our clients file everything well before either deadline so that they know exactly what they have to pay and when. You can check when your company year-end is on the Companies House website.
​
Your Company Tax Return (CT600) tells HMRC how much taxable profit your company has made and subsequently the amount of tax you should pay. Taxable profit and Operating profit can be quite different depending on the allowances and accounting treatments used – so it’s important that you know exactly what you’re doing and fully compliant to accounting and tax legislation. Otherwise you risk HMRC investigations and fines.
​
We are often asked about the company tax returns (CT600’s) that are needed during the first year of operating a limited company. This is often due to HMRC writing to a limited company and formally requesting for a company tax return to be filed for two different and separate periods of time. The term CT600 is the name of the HMRC form that is used to file a company tax return for the purposes of declaring the corporation tax due on limited company profits.
The form CT600 is one element of the company tax return. A full company tax return comprises the following elements:
1. Form CT600
2. The Company Accounts
3. Tax Computations
4. Any supplementary pages
It is a requirement for all limited companies to file a properly completed for CT600, the computations showing how the figures in the return have been derived from the relevant contents of the company accounts, a copy of the Full Company Accounts.
​
Since 2011 it has been compulsory for all companies to file the company tax return with HMRC online and this must be completed using the iXBRL computer language. This allows HMRC to receive one file containing the CT600, the corporation tax computations and the company accounts. A qualified accountant will often use industry specific accountant software that is designed to complete this task. Furthermore, this professional accountant software is usually linked to the accountant’s HMRC agent account allowing the accountant to submit the company tax return to HMRC on your behalf. The accountant will generally only need your company’s UTR to complete this submission.
 
When a new company is created this is can be on any day of any month but the filing date of the first set of accounts will be automatically set to end of the month 12 months later. This more often than not results in the first set of Company Accounts spanning more than 12 months in total, if even for only a few days. A company tax return (CT600) can only be prepared for a maximum of 12 months. This is why two tax returns are required to be submitted to HMRC during the first year of operating a limited company. The good news here is that only one set of company accounts spanning the full period (of slightly more than 12 months) is needed. The one set of accounts are filed with Companies House and in turn these one set of accounts form the starting point or the basis of the two company tax returns. An accountant when preparing the CT600 element of the company tax return and the corporation tax computations will simply apportion the relevant figures between the long and short periods. The first return will be for the first 12 months and the second return will be for the rest of the period. Overall the same amount of corporation tax will be due. When paying the corporation tax due for the period it is advisable to pay this as two separate amounts for the two separate periods. You do need your HMRC payslip reference to be able to make these payments. HMRC will post out two letters with a formal request to file a company tax return and you can find the required payslip references at the bottom of these letters. Another option is to complete the full agent authorisation process for corporation tax and then your accountant will be able to access the payslip references via the online HMRC account. If you make the full payment for both period amounts against one payslip reference only, HMRC are likely to post a cheque refund to your company as they will assume that this in an overpayment. This means that you will need to bank this cheque and then make a further payment to HMRC. Getting the two payments right the first time round will avoid you needing to take this further action. If you do miss a company tax return or file it late you will receive an initial fine of £100 but this will increase over time depending on how late the return is. HMRC will also charge interest on any overdue corporation tax that remains unpaid.
​
If you are unsure of your filing obligations or need help from a qualified accountant then contact us at hello@acckent.com