Guidance

Corporation Tax: penalty determinations — (CT211 Notes)

Updated 8 October 2024

Overview

HMRC will issue a penalty determination using form CT211 when their records show that your company has failed to deliver its return, or returns, by the required date.

Penalties for late returns start at a flat rate of £100 and can increase to £1,000 plus tax-related penalties of up to 20% of any unpaid tax.

If you’ve received a determination you must act now and deliver the returns to avoid further penalties.

If your company has a professional adviser or agent, show them the penalty determination as soon as possible. HMRC will have sent a copy to your agent if you’ve authorised them to do so.

What these notes cover

These notes give some general information about the enclosed penalty determination. They explain:

• your obligation to deliver a return by the filing date
• the penalties HMRC charge if you do not file on time
• how to appeal if you do not agree with the penalty
• how to pay
• what to do now to avoid further penalties
• where you can find more information and help

The law

The notes are not a complete guide to the law and do not give a full description of the Corporation Tax Self Assessment regime.

The law applying to Corporation Tax Self Assessment (CTSA) return periods ended on or after 1 July 1999 is at Schedule 18 and 19 Finance Act 1998.

Different legislation, the Taxes Management Act 1970, applies to Corporation Tax Pay and File (CTPF) return periods ended on or after 1 October 1993 and before 1 July 1999.

Your penalty determination shows which legislation applies, depending on the return period end date.

For further information:

• read More information about Corporation Tax
• contact HMRC at the address or telephone number shown in your penalty determination

1. The filing obligation

Your company must file a return or returns if HMRC issue a CT603 Notice to deliver a Company Tax Return.

You normally have to file a return for an accounting period, but you will sometimes have to make one for a period during which the company was dormant. This can happen when a company starts trading sometime after it was incorporated.

The return usually consists of all of the following:

• a completed Company Tax Return form CT600, the online equivalent of this, or an approved substitute version
• accounts, as described in the notice to deliver
• computations showing how the figures on the return form have been arrived at from the accounts

For Corporation Tax Self Assessment return periods, you may also have to complete and include one or more return form supplementary pages. The return must be delivered to the officer who issued the notice to deliver by the filing date, which is the later of:

• 12 months from the end of the period for which the return is made
• 3 months from the date on which the notice to deliver was served
• 12 months from the end of the company’s relevant period of account, if it is not longer than 18 months
• 30 months from the start of the company’s relevant period of account, if its longer than 18 months

You can find more information about these and other points in the CT600 Guide.

2. Flat-rate penalties

Your company is liable to a flat-rate penalty if its required to deliver a Company Tax Return and fails to do so by the filing date. The penalty is:

• £100 — if the return is delivered within 3 months after the filing date
• £200 — in any other case

Increased rates apply (of £500 and £1000 respectively) if your company repeatedly fails to deliver returns by the filing date.

The flat-rate penalty for the third and each successive late return is at the appropriate increased rate if both these apply:

• returns for 3 or more consecutive accounting periods are delivered late
• your company was liable to penalties for the first 2 of those periods

Your company is not liable to a flat-rate penalty if both of the following are met:

• the period for which the Company Tax Return is required is one for which the company is required to deliver accounts under the Companies Act
• the return is delivered no later than the last day for the delivery of those accounts to the registrar of companies

3. Tax-related penalties

In addition to any flat-rate penalty, your company is also liable to a tax-related penalty if it is required to deliver a Company Tax Return and fails to do so within 18 months after the end of its accounting period (or by the filing date if its later than that). The penalty is calculated as follows:

• 10% of the unpaid tax where a return is delivered within 2 years of the end of the period covered by the return
• 20% of the unpaid tax in any other case

The ‘unpaid tax’ for return periods ended on or after 1 July 1999 has this meaning. It’s the amount of tax payable by the company, for the accounting period for which the return was required, which remains unpaid at either:

• 18 months after the end of the accounting period
• the filing date if it is late

For return periods ended before 1 July 1999, the ‘unpaid tax’ means the amount of tax payable by the company for the accounting period for which the return was required, which remains unpaid 18 months after the end of the accounting period.

4. Appeals

You can appeal if you think that the amount shown on the penalty determination is excessive or not due.

If you think that your company has a reasonable excuse for not delivering its return by the filing date, tell HMRC by appealing a late filing penalty.

File and pay online first to avoid further penalties

Make sure you’ve submitted your Corporation Tax return and paid the tax due. We may not be able to progress your appeal until you’ve done so.

We recommend that you file your return and pay online first to avoid further penalties. 

Appeal a penalty

You should fill in an online form to appeal a late filing penalty. After you’ve completed the form, print it and send it to the address on the form.

If you cannot appeal a penalty online you should:

• write to the HMRC address on the penalty determination within 30 days after the date of issue of the penalty determination
• say why you think the penalty determination is wrong

After you’ve appealed

You must first appeal to HMRC before you can move on to one of the following options.  They will try to settle any appeal by agreement with you.

If you cannot reach agreement, you can either:

1. Have your appeal reviewed — by someone not previously involved. You can ask HMRC to arrange a review or they can offer you one at any stage during the discussion of your appeal. Once the review is complete, HMRC will write and tell you the outcome and explain the decision.

2. Make an appeal to HM Courts and Tribunal Service — within 30 days of the date shown on the penalty determination or the letter telling you the conclusions of HMRC’s review.

If you ask for a review — you must do this within 30 days of the appeal determination.

If you ask HMRC to carry out a review or accept their offer of a review you cannot appeal to the tribunal while the review is ongoing. If you appeal to HM Courts and Tribunal Service you cannot then ask for HMRC to arrange an independent review.

5. Payment

Unless you appeal, the amount charged on the penalty determination is due and payable in full, 30 days after the date of issue of the penalty determination. Payment to HMRC may be made by a variety of methods. Instructions can also be found in the letter which accompanied your penalty determination.

6. Further penalties

Your company must deliver a return, or returns, of its profits, losses and other information required for the purposes of the Corporation Tax Acts for the period specified on the notice.

You must act now. Further penalties may be charged automatically if you fail to deliver the outstanding return, or returns, including any accompanying documents.

7. Information about filing

Most companies and agents must file accounts and Company Tax Return online.

More information is available about completing and delivering your Company Tax Return.

If you are exempt from online filing you can download paper copies of the CT600 or the CT600 guide or any of the supplementary pages needed.