At the end of your first year of trading, it is important to know that Companies House and HMRC are two separate entities with different
filing requirements. Companies House is the public register where you submit
annual accounts, and those are available for the public to view.
On the other hand, HMRC is
the Tax authority to which you submit corporation tax returns, accompanied by
full set of accounts (Income statement and Balance sheet).
What happens after I incorporate my company?
Within 14 days of
incorporating your company at Companies House, you should receive your 10-digit
UTR number issued by HMRC sent to the company’s registered address. If you have
not received a UTR, you can request it here.
You will have to create a
government gateway account with HMRC separately, as registering your company at
Companies House will not automatically register you for corporation tax. This is something you will need to do before the end of your first accounting period. You will also need to do this if you need to pay yourself or staff through PAYE or need to become VAT registered.
How to set up a Government Gateway Account?
1) Create a gateway account at HMRC website, you can do this here.
2) Then please click on the
green 'Sign in' button.
3) Click on 'Create sign
in credentials'.
4) Enter your email address
- you will receive a confirmation email sent to you.
5) You will then be issued
with User ID for your company's gateway account.
How to request a corporation tax activation code?
Once your company’s HMRC
government gateway account has been created, you will have to request a
corporation tax activation code, which will allow you to file your corporation
tax returns (CT600) electronically.
To request the code, please log in your account and click on ‘Get online access to a tax, duty or a scheme’. Then, select ‘Corporation tax’.
End of First Year of Trading Filing Requirements
Your first year of trading usually cover more than 12 months, because the period starts on the date the
company was incorporated and ends on the ‘accounting reference date’ that
Companies House sets for the end of the first accounting period – usually the
last date of the month the company was set up. Therefore your annual accounts will be from the date of incorporation to the last day of the month a year on after incorporation.
For HMRC, they do not accept
corporation tax returns CT600 to cover a period longer than 12 months,
therefore in the first accounting period you will need to file 2 CT600 s - one CT600 covering the full 12 months and a second for the reminder to the end of the
month. However your full annual accounts can cover the whole period.
What about due dates?
At the end of your first accounting period - You must file your annual accounts to Companies House within 21 months after
incorporation. You have 12 months from the end of your first year accounting period to file your CT600s and full account to HMRC to report your first year of trading.
When is Corporation tax due?
You have 9 months + 1 day
after your accounting period end date to pay your corporation tax to HMRC.
