From 1 April 2011, company tax returns for accounting periods ending after 31 March 2010 must be filed online with HMRC using a format called iXBRL.  The accompanying computations will also need to be filed online in iXBRL with the company tax return.

There are only two situations where a company or unincorporated organisation may be exempt from online filing with HMRC. These are:

• If the directors and company secretary are all practising members of a religious society or order whose beliefs are incompatible with the use of electronic methods of communication. If this applies to you, you should write to your Corporation Tax Office providing full details and they'll advise you whether the exemption applies. 
• If your company or organisation is subject to a 'winding-up order', is in administrative receivership or is being managed by an administrator you don't need to file your return online and can adopt the approach currently allowed in these circumstances. If you need to know more about this, please contact your Corporation Tax Office.

There will be penalties charged by HMRC if the company tax return, computations and accounts are not filed online and in the correct format by the due date.

Also, from 1 April 2011, payment of Corporation Tax must be made electronically.

HMRC and Companies House have a joint online filing system.  The principle of joint accounts filing is that companies will be able to enter their accounts data once, before submitting separate accounts to HMRC and Companies House.

The joint filing service is aimed at smaller companies with relatively simple tax affairs, who prepare accounts under the Companies Act 2006. It is not suitable for companies who are required to have an audit.

Also, you will not be able to use the joint filing service if you need to prepare group accounts or accounts for a company that is a member of a group, or if your accounts need to show any of the following:

• turnover over £6.5 million
• cash flow statements
• foreign income and currency transactions
• prior year adjustments
• profit or loss on disposal of fixed assets of a material nature. 

You can use the joint filing service to submit the following types of company accounts, for accounting periods starting on or after 6 April 2008:

• Statutory accounts to HMRC and/or Companies House.
• Abbreviated accounts to Companies House.
• Accounts to Companies House for dormant companies.

As the deadline dates for filing accounts with HMRC and Companies House are different, the service allows you to submit your accounts to Companies House at a different time to the accounts you submitted to HMRC with your Company Tax Return.

The company accounts you submit to HMRC as part of your company tax return must always be the statutory accounts required by company law and not the abbreviated accounts some companies are allowed to file with the Registrar of Companies. The abbreviated accounts option is therefore only available for submitting accounts to Companies House.

Online filing with Companies House isn’t mandatory at present, so paper filing is still accepted.

Our accounting and tax software is already compliant with iXBRL so we are able to file company tax returns and company accounts online.

Please contact us if you would like to know more.