Corporation Tax & CT600

Your limited company must pay Corporation Tax on its taxable profits.

Taxable profits include the money your company makes from trading profits, investments and chargeable gains.

If your company is based in the UK, it pays Corporation Tax on all its profits from the UK and abroad.

If your company isn't based in the UK but has an office or branch here, it only pays Corporation Tax on profits from its UK activities.

You don’t get a bill for Corporation Tax - it’s up to you to work out how much your company owes. You report Corporation Tax after you pay it, by filing a Company Tax Return.

If your accounting period is shorter than 12 months

The small profits rate and main rate are for a whole year. The thresholds reduce in line with your accounting period. For example, if your accounting period is 6 months, the £300,000 small profits threshold is halved to £150,000.

Associated companies

Associated companies (where one company controls others) have a shared tax threshold. For example, if one company owns 3 others, divide the threshold by 4. The small profits threshold is then £75,000 for each company.

Capital allowances

You may claim capital allowances if you buy assets that you keep to use in your business, such as equipment, machinery and business vehicles.

Deadlines

The deadline for your payment will depend on your taxable profits.

Taxable profits of up to £1.5 million - You must pay your Corporation Tax 9 months and 1 day after the end of your accounting period. Your accounting period is usually your financial year, but you may have 2 accounting periods in your first period.

Taxable profits of more than £1.5 million - You must pay your Corporation Tax in instalments.

Make sure you pay HMRC by the deadline. They may charge you interest if you don’t pay on time. They’ll pay you interest if you pay your tax early.