OTR20039 - Orchestra Tax Relief: how to make a claim: Company tax return

Claims for the Creative Industries Tax Reliefs can only be made through Corporation Tax Self-Assessment (CTSA).

This means that claims must be made in reference to an accounting period, and a company must file a Company Tax Return with HMRC (form CT600). The return must be accompanied by the company’s accounts for the accounting period. 

Claims can be made either in an original return or via an amendment to a return. However, claims must be made digitally through the online Corporation Tax gateway (GOV.UK). Claims in any other format (e.g. via email) will not be accepted. 

The date of the claim is the date that the tax return is filed to HMRC. However, the claim will only be valid if all the mandatory information and the additional information form have been supplied, either prior to or on the same day as the return is filed. 

If there is mandatory information missing when the return is filed, or the information form has not been submitted, then the claim is invalid and HMRC will amend the return to remove the claim. 

If the missing information or form is submitted after the date the return is filed, then the company’s tax return must be amended and the claim re-submitted (even if no changes are required to the CT600), in order for it to be recognised as a valid claim by HMRC. The date of the claim will be the date of the amendment. 

To make a claim, the ‘Information about enhanced expenditure’ section of the CT600 must be completed. The default online filing service (CATO) will not have access to this section, so specialist software is required. A list of recognised suppliers that provide software for tax returns and supplementary pages is available at Corporation Tax: commercial software suppliers (GOV.UK). Questions about the software being used should be directed to the software or service provider. 

The boxes on the CT600 relevant to claims for creatives reliefs or credits are as follows: 

  • 540 Creatives tax credit 

  • 545 Amount claimed 

  • 570 Amount payable 

  • 665 Creatives qualifying expenditure and/or additional deduction 

  • 670 Enhanced expenditure 

  • 885 Payable creatives tax credit 

The numbers refer to CT600 Version 3.  

Full guidance on how to complete the entirety of the CT600 is available in the Company Tax Return guide (GOV.UK).  
 

  • 540 Creatives tax credit 

This should be the total amount of any creatives tax credits that the company is claiming for the period. It is the amount before any set offs or surrenders, not the final payable amount.  

If the company is also claiming Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) or Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), box 540 includes any amounts of pre-Step 1(s1179CC) restrictions that the company wishes to use for the period: any Step 2 restrictions brought forward from previous accounting periods, or Step 2/4 amounts surrendered from other group companies. A company may do this even if it is not claiming AVEC or VGEC for the current period. If the company includes a surrendered amount, the surrendering company must include the details in their computation. 
 

  • 545 Amount claimed (“Total of Research and Development credit and creative tax credit”) 

This is the amount of any creatives credits plus any R&D credits. 
 

  • 570 Amount payable (“Surplus Research and Development credits or creative tax credit payable”) 

This is the figure in box 545 minus the figure in 525. 0 should be entered if the result is negative. 
 

  • 665 Creatives qualifying expenditure and/or additional deduction (formerly “Creative enhanced expenditure”) 

This is the total amount of the company’s additional deduction(s) for the period.’ If the company is claiming in respect of multiple productions, the additional deduction for each should be added together to give the total for this box. If the company is also claiming AVEC and/or VGEC, the total amount of ‘qualifying expenditure for the period’ from all productions should be added to this as well. 
 

  • 670 Enhanced expenditure (“Research and Development and creative enhanced expenditure”) 

This is the sum of box 665 and any R&D enhanced expenditure amounts that the company is also claiming. 
 

  • 885 Payable creatives tax credit 

This is the final amount of tax credit payable in relation to all Creative Industries Tax Reliefs and Expenditure Credits, after all other surrenders or discharges. 

For the tax reliefs, it is the full amount of the tax credit(s) included in box 540 less any credit used to set off amounts owed by the company to HMRC. 

For AVEC and VGEC, it is the amount remaining at Step 6 of s1179CC, the credit redemption steps. 

Payments will be made to the bank details supplied on the CT600 in boxes 920-940.