First set of accounts to HMRC advice

[jonnyg2k5]

Hi,

Hi I started trading December 8th 2014,

First set of accounts completed and Corp tax paid on profits to HMRC for the period Dec 8th 2014 to Dec 7th 2015.

However I also have the small period to take me from Dec 8th 2015 to Dec 31st for the 2nd set of accounts as its my first year of trading. In this short space of time I made a small loss. So what happens to this loss in terms of paying more corporation tax? do i just not pay any corp tax on this loss and carry the loss to the next set of accounts??

[Lance]

Hi,

Hi I started trading December 8th 2014,

First set of accounts completed and Corp tax paid on profits to HMRC for the period Dec 8th 2014 to Dec 7th 2015.

However I also have the small period to take me from Dec 8th 2015 to Dec 31st for the 2nd set of accounts as its my first year of trading. In this short space of time I made a small loss. So what happens to this loss in terms of paying more corporation tax? do i just not pay any corp tax on this loss and carry the loss to the next set of accounts??

You should have done your year end at 31st December 2015. Do you have an accountant?

[missinggreenfields]

Your accounts run to the end of the month.

[VectraMan]

Accounts should be the the end of the month; CT you have to do twice:

https://www.gov.uk/first-company-accounts-and-return

Note that the annual return (not accounts) still uses the actual start date. I say this because it catches me out every year.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Your accounts run to the end of the month.

Depends on your accounting reference date. Mine run from 9 Jan - 8 Jan.

[missinggreenfields]

Depends on your accounting reference date. Mine run from 9 Jan - 8 Jan.

How strange that yours isn't at a month-end. The HMRC website says "end on the ‘accounting reference date’ that Companies House sets for the end of your company’s financial year - this is the last day of the month your company was set up" (link), which is why I assumed that it was always the end of the month.

If that's incorrect, then the answer to the OP is that you record the transactions in the accounts for the next accounting period.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

How strange that yours isn't at a month-end. The HMRC website says "end on the ‘accounting reference date’ that Companies House sets for the end of your company’s financial year - this is the last day of the month your company was set up" (link), which is why I assumed that it was always the end of the month.

My memory is hazy as my company was formed in 2009 but I remember changing my accounting reference date to bring it in line with the anniversary of my company formation so I didn't have any partial years to deal with. Something like that anyway, but my accounting year has run that way ever since.

[Darren at Fox-Bartfield]

Year End

A company's first year end is always going to be longer than 12 months, if for example a company was formed today, it's first year end will be 30 September 2017. However a Corp Tax return can run for a maximum of 12 months so for the first period there will be 2 returns. The first being from today until 22/9/2017 then a second from 23/9/17 to 30/9/17. Thereafter will be every 30 Sept.

As far as the figures go for that first period, still run one set of accounts up to 30/9/17 but time apportion the taxable profits between the 2 CT returns. No need to run 2 separate sets of figures.

[jonnyg2k5]

Great thanks for that Darren, and all that replied. I will time split the total corp tax for the full period.