INTM256320 - Reliefs against Controlled Foreign Companies' tax: Examples of relief for dividends paid by a Controlled Foreign Company
The following examples illustrate the relief described in INTM256230 to INTM256310. (The rates of tax used in the examples have been set in order to help illustrate various aspects of the legislation, rather than always being actual rates.)
Example 1
A Ltd is a United Kingdom company with a wholly owned subsidiary X which is a controlled foreign company. A Ltd is subject to an apportionment under Chapter IV for the year ended 31 March, in respect of chargeable profits of X totalling £100,000 with no creditable tax. The liability is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Chargeable profits | 100,000 |
| Tax @ 45 % in respect of chargeable profits | 45,000 |
| Less creditable tax | NIL |
| Tax charged | 45,000 |
On the following 1 June, A Ltd receives a dividend of £45,000 from X paid out of the latter’s relevant profits of £120,000 for the period for which A Ltd was assessed as above.
The liability of A Ltd on the dividend is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Dividend received | 45,000 |
| Corporation tax @ 30 % | 13,500 |
| Less Chapter IV tax treated as underlying tax (see below) | 13,500 |
| Net payable | NIL |
The Chapter IV tax which qualifies for credit is:-
£45,000 × £45,000/120,000 = £16,875
computed in accordance with ICTA88\S799 (1) and (2). The relief is, however, limited to the Corporation Tax chargeable on the dividend that is, £13,500 in accordance with ICTA88\S797 and excess Chapter IV tax of £3,375 cannot be relieved in any way.
Example 2
The facts are as in Example 1 except that X has creditable tax of £10,000 so that its profits available for distribution are £110,000. The liability of A Ltd under Chapter IV is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Chargeable profits | 100,000 |
| Tax @ 45 % | 45,000 |
| Less creditable tax | 10,000 |
| Tax Charged | 35,000 |
The liability on the subsequent dividend is
| - | - | £ |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend received | - | 45,000 |
| Grossing for foreign tax 10,000 × 45,000/110,000 | - | 4,091 |
| Amount chargeable | - | 49,091 |
| Corporation tax @ 30% | - | 14,727 |
| Double taxation relief | 4,091 | - |
| Chapter IV tax treated as underlying tax | 10,636 | 14,727 |
| Net payable | - | NIL |
The Chapter IV tax which qualifies for relief is
£35,000 × 45,000/110,000 = £14,318
However, the total double taxation relief available to A Ltd is limited under ICTA88/S797 to the Corporation Tax charged on the dividend.
Example 3
The facts are as in Example 1 except that 13 months later on 1 May, A Ltd sells 25% of its shareholding in X to another United Kingdom company. It makes no claim under ICTA88/SCH26/PARA3. The liability of A Ltd in respect of the dividend is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Dividend received £45,000 x 75/100 | 33,750 |
| Corporation tax @ 30% | 10,125 |
| Less Chapter IV tax | 10,125 |
| Net payable | NIL |
The Chapter IV tax which qualifies for relief is
£45,000 × 75/100 × 45,000/110,000 = £13,806.82
but the limit on credit rule applies as in the earlier examples.
The liability in respect of the dividend on the purchaser of the shares in X is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Dividend received £45,000 x 25/100 | 11,250 |
| Corporation tax @ 30% | 3,375 |
| Less Chapter IV tax | 3,375 |
| Net payable | NIL |
The purchaser is entitled to credit for Chapter IV tax paid by A Ltd (see INTM256250). The tax available to the purchaser for relief is
£45,000 × 25/100 x 45,000/110,000 = 4,602.28
but the limit on credit rule again applies.
Example 4
P Ltd, a United Kingdom company has a wholly-owned, non-resident subsidiary Q. Q has a wholly owned subsidiary R which is a controlled foreign company. R has chargeable profits of £200,000 and creditable tax of £10,000 in respect of which P Ltd is assessed under Chapter IV for the year ended 31 March Year 1. The Chapter IV liability is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Chargeable Profits | 200,000 |
| Tax @ 35 % | 70,000 |
| Less creditable tax | 10,000 |
| Net payable | 60,000 |
In the year ended 31 March Year 3, R pays a dividend of £150,000 to Q out of its relevant profits for the year ended 31 March Year 1 of £300,000, namely, half of the profits available for distribution. Q is charged tax of £10,000 on the dividend and pays the balance of the dividend, that is, £140,000 to P Ltd as a dividend. To compute the liability of P Ltd in respect of the dividend the following steps are required:
- The tax paid by Q in respect of its profits (that is, £10,000) is treated as underlying tax in accordance with ICTA88/S801(1)(b).
- The tax paid by R in respect of that part of its profits now paid to Q as a dividend (that is, £10,000 × ½ = £5,000) is treated as tax paid by Q in accordance with ICTA88/S801(2).
- The tax paid by P Ltd under Chapter IV is treated as underlying tax.
- The dividend received by P Ltd is increased by the amounts in (a) and (b) above but not by the Chapter IV Tax in (c).
Assuming a corporation Tax rate of 30% the liability of P Ltd in respect of the dividend is
| - | - | - | £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend received | - | - | 140,000 |
| Add tax paid by Q | - | - | 10,000 |
| tax paid by R | - | - | 5,000 |
| Amount assessable | - | - | 155,000 |
| Corporation Tax @ 30% | - | - | 46,500 |
| Less double taxation relief | - | - | - |
| tax paid by Q | - | 10,000 | - |
| tax paid by R | - | 5,000 | - |
| Chapter IV tax | 60,000 × ½ | 30,000 | 45,000 |
| net payable | - | - | 1,500 |
Example 5
The facts are as in Example 1 except that on payment of the dividend of £45,000 to A Ltd X deducts tax at the rate of 20% so that the net amount received by A Ltd is £36,000. Its liability is
| - | - | £ |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend received | - | 36,000 |
| Foreign withholding tax | - | 9,000 |
| Amount assessable | - | 45,000 |
| Corporation Tax @ 30% | - | 13,500 |
| Chapter IV tax (see example 1) | 16,875 | - |
| Foreign withholding tax | 9,000 | - |
| Double taxation relief available | 25,875 | - |
| restricted to | - | 13,500 |
| - | - | NIL |
The excess of double taxation relief over the Corporation Tax payable on the dividend up to the amount of the withholding tax (that is, £9,000) is “wasted relief” in accordance with paragraph INTM256290. If A Ltd so claims, its Chapter IV liability for the year ended 31 March is reduced by that amount and £9,000 is repaid, as appropriate.
Example 6
Controlled foreign company Z has chargeable profits of £110,000 and creditable tax of £10,000 for the year ended 31 March Year 1. The chargeable profits are apportioned £66,000 to a United Kingdom company G Ltd, which self assesses under Chapter IV for its own accounting period to 31 March Year 1 and £44,000 to non-residents.
The tax in respect of the chargeable profits apportioned to G Ltd is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Tax on chargeable profits (£66,000 @ 30%) | 19,800 |
| Less Apportioned creditable tax (60% of £10,000) | 6,000 |
| Tax assessed | 13,800 |
In the year to 31 March Year 2, the controlled foreign company pays a dividend £60,000 for the year to 31 March Year 2, representing one half of the relevant profits of £120,000, and £36,000 (60% of £60,000) is paid to G Ltd. The tax liability on the dividend is
| - | £ |
|---|---|
| Dividend | 36,000 |
| Add Foreign tax (60% of ½ ×£10,000) | 3,000 |
| Income | 39,000 |
| Corporation Tax at 30% | 11,700 |
| Less Underlying relief for foreign tax | 3,000 |
| - | 8,700 |
| Less Relief for Chapter IV tax ½ × 13,800 | 6,900 |
| Tax chargeable | 1,800 |
Since part of the chargeable profits of Z were apportioned to persons other than United Kingdom companies and the dividend was not paid out of specified profits, the rules at INTM256300 apply. The dividend paid to G Ltd is regarded as paid primarily out of the ‘taxed profits’ of Z so that the Chapter IV tax charged on G Ltd is attributed to the dividend which is received and not to the dividends paid by Z to non-residents.