Every limited company in the UK has to file a Company Tax Return, the CT600, with HMRC each year. On paper it sounds like a formality. In practice it's where a lot of small companies either save themselves real money or leave it on the table without ever knowing it was there.

I prepare your CT600 as part of the accounts process, not as an afterthought bolted on once the numbers are already signed off. That matters, because the return and the accounts should tell the same story. Treating them separately is exactly how reliefs get missed and figures get inconsistent between the two.

What's actually involved

For most companies I work with, corporation tax runs at 19% on profits up to £50,000, 25% above £250,000, with marginal relief tapering the rate for everything in between. Where your profits sit in that range changes the planning that's worth doing, and I factor that in properly rather than just running the numbers through software and hoping it's right.

  • CT600 preparation and submission to HMRC, on time, every time
  • Capital allowances reviewed on every purchase that qualifies, including the Annual Investment Allowance and full expensing on new plant and machinery, so you're not depreciating something over years that you could have relieved in full this year
  • Director and dividend planning, looking at the split between salary and dividends in light of your personal position, not just the company's
  • Payment deadlines tracked and flagged well ahead of the nine-months-and-a-day deadline, so there are no surprises

Who this is for

Any UK limited company needs a CT600 filed, so in one sense this is for everyone I work with. But it matters most for companies that have bought equipment, taken on premises, or made a decent profit this year, because that's where the reliefs and the planning actually move the needle. A company sitting near the £50,000 or £250,000 threshold, in particular, is worth a proper look before the year end rather than after.

What "done properly" looks like

Done properly, your CT600 reflects every allowance you're entitled to, the dividend and salary split makes sense for you personally, and you know your tax bill and its due date well before it's due. Done badly, the return still gets filed, but capital allowances get missed on van or laptop purchases, dividends get taken without checking whether it's the most sensible route, and the first anyone hears about a payment deadline is a reminder from HMRC. None of that is dishonest work, it's just work done without enough attention. The difference shows up on the bottom line.

Part of the wider picture

Company tax returns are one of the six things included in the Clarity Package, my fixed-fee bundle covering everything from bookkeeping through to year-end accounts and tax. It's priced and agreed with you up front, in writing, so there's never a surprise invoice for doing the job properly. As an HMRC-supervised firm and an Authorised Corporate Service Provider with Companies House, I take the compliance side seriously so you don't have to think about it at all.

Book a free discovery call and I'll walk you through what your tax position actually looks like, before anything is agreed.