CTM93005 - CTSA: the filing obligation: general

The legislation specifies a time, normally twelve months after the end of the return period, within which the company must deliver its company tax return in response to a notice to file. Failure to do so makes the company liable to automatic penalties.

Normally, companies receiving a notice have to make their returns for accounting periods, even if the period specified in the notice is not an accounting period of that company.

In some circumstances, a company has to make a return for a period during which it is outside the charge to CT if it receives a notice.

Note that a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is legally constituted as a company (from 1 April 2001) but for tax purposes it is treated as a partnership dealt with under the provisions of ITSA if the LLP carries on a trade, profession or business with a view to profit.

Notifying chargeability

For CTSA there is an obligation on any company which is chargeable to tax for an accounting period and has not received a notice to file a company tax return under FA98/SCH18/PARA3 to notify chargeability within 12 months from the end of that accounting period, see FA98/SCH18/PARA2 .

For accounting periods beginning on or after 22 July 2004, a company is also required by FA04/S55 to notify not later than 3 months after the accounting period began when it first comes within the charge to Corporation Tax (CT) or comes back into charge after a period of dormancy.

With effect from 6 April 2020, there is no requirement to notify chargeability to CT for an accounting period under FA98/SCH18/PARA2 where the income on which a company is chargeable to CT has suffered tax deducted at source which meets the full CT liability for that period AND the company has no chargeable gains in the same period.

Similarly, with effect from 6 April 2020, the requirement for a company to notify when it first comes within the charge to CT, or comes back into charge after a period of dormancy, is removed where the company reasonably expects that all its income chargeable to CT will have had sufficient tax deducted at source to meet its full CT liability for the period and that it will have no chargeable gains for the period.