HMRC and iXBRL Tagging – What You Should Know

Many companies in the U.K. have their year-ends on either 31 December or 31 March. This means that many businesses, especially those with December year-ends, must comply with HMRC filing deadlines within a matter of weeks.

With time ticking away, it’s worth knowing what you need to do to get your accounts and tax computations ready for submission with HMRC and avoid any late filing penalties in the process.

What iXBRL Tagging do I have to send to HMRC?

Generally, a company will submit the Company Tax return form (CT600) for the period along with the tax computations and a copy of their accounts, to HMRC.

Under U.K. legislation, company tax returns and accompanying accounts filed on or after 1 April 2011 should be sent online to HMRC using Inline XBRL (iXBRL). This means that most companies can no longer attach a pdf copy of their accounts or computations when filing with HMRC.

iXBRL is a variation on XBRL, which is also known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language. iXBRL documents can be read by both machines and people and can be opened through a standard web browser or printed out and read.

While in the ideal world, all businesses would be able to convert their accounts and computations internally into iXBRL format for filing with HMRC, what do you do if you don’t have the relevant iXBRL conversion software, or you simply don’t have the time, to complete such a task?

Find an outsourced iXBRL Service provider in UK

One option businesses can turn to for their iXBRL tagging needs is an outsourced managed tagging services provider such as DataTracks, who have experience providing iXBRL conversion services to companies and their tax advisers and accountants for filing with HMRC.

DataTracks’ process of converting accounts and computations into iXBRL format is relatively straightforward. Companies can upload the relevant documents in excel, word or pdf format, and DataTracks will get down to the business of converting those documents for you.

What’s more, using a managed tagging services provider doesn’t have to be expensive, which is ideal for businesses on a budget. In the case of DataTracks, pricing is both transparent and fair and is based on a number of different factors, such as the number of pages within the accounts, the file type of the source document, and how many entities need to be tagged.

Don’t leave it too late

As with most things in life, the earlier you can find a managed tagging services provider to convert your accounts and computations for filing with HMRC the better. If you leave iXBRL tagging until the last minute, then you will likely pay more for conversion services and run the risk of missing your company’s filing deadline with HMRC, which can lead to penalties that could have been avoided.

If you have a filing deadline coming up at the end of this month, don’t put off finding your iXBRL tagging solution any longer! Speak to a member of the DataTracks team for further advice, or visit our website for further information on our iXBRL conversion services.