Corporation tax returns in Great Chatwell

Limited companies in Great Chatwell of every size below the large-company regime: companies whose accounts are prepared by another firm or in-house and need the tax return filed, companies with capital expenditure to claim, companies that have made a loss and want it used well, groups of associated companies, and companies whose CT600 is already overdue.

• Corporation Tax computation reconciling accounting profit to taxable profit, with every adjustment explained
• Capital allowances claimed in full: annual investment allowance, full expensing, writing-down allowances and the special rate pool
• Loss relief planned and claimed: carry back, carry forward and group relief where it applies
• Marginal relief and associated-company rules applied correctly between the 19% and 25% rates
• CT600 with supplementary pages, iXBRL-tagged accounts and computation, filed electronically with HMRC
• Payment note with amount, due date and HMRC reference, and reminders before the payment and filing dates

1. Scope the job

   We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.

2. Agree the price

   The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.

3. Hand over the records

   Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.

4. Approve, then we submit

   You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.

Great Chatwell is in West Midlands, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.

Allowable expenses

Expense claims are where a return is won or lost in an enquiry. The test is wholly and exclusively for the trade; where a cost is mixed, the business proportion can be claimed if it can be identified. Capital items such as equipment and vans are relieved through capital allowances rather than as expenses, except under the cash basis where they are simply deducted when paid.

Record keeping

HMRC requires records of all income and expenses, bank statements, invoices and receipts to be kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline of the tax year they relate to, and companies must keep records for six years from the end of the accounting period. Digital copies are acceptable. Under Making Tax Digital the records must be kept in compatible software.

Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief

Companies pay Corporation Tax at 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits over £250,000. Between those figures marginal relief applies, producing an effective rate that rises gradually and a marginal rate of 26.5% on each pound in the band. The thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies, so a director with two companies has thresholds of £25,000 and £125,000 for each.

The VAT registration threshold

VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.

Director's loan accounts

Money taken from a company has to be something: salary, dividend, expense reimbursement or loan. If it is a loan and remains outstanding nine months after the year end, the company pays tax at the dividend higher rate on it until it is repaid. Clearing the balance with a properly declared dividend before the deadline, where reserves allow, is routine year-end work.

Salary versus dividends

The salary-and-dividend split is the central planning decision for an owner-managed company. Salary costs employer National Insurance above £5,000 but is deductible; dividends are not deductible but attract lower personal rates and no National Insurance. The optimum changes each April with the thresholds and depends on the director's other income, so it should be set deliberately every year.

Payments on account

A common surprise in Self Assessment is the January payment that is far larger than expected. That is the balancing payment for the year just ended plus the first payment on account for the year ahead, which HMRC sets at half of the bill just calculated. We put the figure in your hands months ahead and tell you how to adjust it legitimately when circumstances change.