Add Corporation Tax services to your business tax account

You can add Corporation Tax services to your business tax account if you registered your company with Companies House:

If you have already added Corporation Tax services to your account, sign in to HMRC online services to file your Company Tax Return or make a payment.

When to add Corporation Tax services

You should add Corporation Tax services to your account when you start to do business. This includes buying, selling, advertising, renting a property and employing someone.

If your company is not doing business, it is usually ‘dormant’ for Corporation Tax.

What you’ll need

To add Corporation Tax services to your business tax account, you’ll need:

  • your company’s registration number 
  • the date you started to do business (your company’s first accounting period will start from this date) 
  • the date your first accounts are made up to
  • your company’s 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) - you can find your UTR on any letter from HMRC

If you did not get a UTR 15 working days after registering your company, you can request your company’s UTR online.

Check your registered office address is correct before setting up your company for Corporation Tax. This is where all letters are sent. If this address needs to be updated, you must tell Companies House.

How to add Corporation Tax services

  1. Sign in to your business tax account using your Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you sign in.

  2. Select ‘Services you can add’ in the left hand menu.

  3. Find the Corporation Tax service and select ‘Enrol for service’.

What happens next

HMRC will send you:

  • your Corporation Tax activation code within 10 days (21 days if you live abroad)
  • instructions on how to activate the Corporation Tax service 
  • the deadline for paying Corporation Tax

These will be sent by post to your registered office address.

You’ll need to file a Company Tax Return, even if you make a loss or have no Corporation Tax to pay.

Part of Set up a limited company: step by step

  1. Step 1 Check if setting up a limited company is right for you

    1. Check what a private limited company is

    How you set up your business depends on what sort of work you do. It can also affect the way you pay tax and get funding.

    Check if you should set up as one of the following instead:

    1. Get help deciding how to set up your business

  2. Step 2 Choose a name

    1. Check the rules for company names
    2. Check if the name you want is available
    3. Check existing trade marks

  3. Step 3 Choose directors and a company secretary

    You must appoint a director but you do not have to appoint a company secretary.

    1. Find out what directors are responsible for
    2. Check who can be a director or company secretary

  4. Step 4 Decide who the shareholders or guarantors are

    You need at least one shareholder or guarantor, who can be a director.

    1. Check if you’ll need to issue shares or set a 'guaranteed amount'
    2. Find out how dividends from shares are taxed

  5. and Identify people with significant control (PSC) over your company

    For example, anyone with voting rights or more than 25% of the shares.

    1. Find out what counts as a PSC

  6. Step 5 Prepare documents agreeing how to run your company

    You need to prepare a 'memorandum of association' and 'articles of association'.

    1. Find out how to create a memorandum and articles of association

  7. Step 6 Check what records you'll need to keep

    1. Check the company and accounting records you must keep

  8. Step 7 Register your company with Companies House

    You'll need to register an official address and choose a SIC code - this identifies what your company does.

    1. Check the rules for registered office addresses and email addresses
    2. Check what your SIC code is
    3. Register your company with Companies House

  9. Step 8 Manage your Corporation Tax

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