HMRC Deadlines – The Importance of iXBRL Tagging on Time
In the UK, the vast majority of company tax return submissions must be in iXBRL format.
However, as the tagging process itself can take time, you need to make sure that you’re on top of your tagging obligations so that you don’t miss your company’s tax return filing deadline.
When should I file my company tax return with HMRC – Tax Deadline?
Generally, a corporation tax return (CT600) should be filed with HMRC within 12 months of the company’s accounting period end. An accounting period is often the same as a company’s financial year.
To give some examples of filing deadlines, a company with an accounting period end of 31 December 2019 should file its CT600 with HMRC by 31 December 2020. Likewise, a company with an accounting period end of 31 March 2019 should file its CT600 with HMRC by 31 March 2020.
Note that the deadline for filing a company tax return is different from the deadline for when companies should pay corporation tax, which is usually nine months and one day after the company’s accounting period end.
When submitting a CT600 to HMRC, companies also typically include a tax computation and accounts, along with any supporting documents that may be required. Computations and financial statements should be filed in iXBRL format.
As late filing penalties may apply to late return submissions, it’s worth ensuring your iXBRL tagging is complete well in advance of your company’s tax return filing deadline.
What does iXBRL tagging entail?
Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) doesn’t change the underlying content or nature of a company’s accounts or financial reports – it’s merely there to allow a computer to read the tagged information.
An iXBRL tagged document can be read by human eyes, but also contains underlying “tags” in XBRL, meaning that the report can also be read by computers. This means that financial data can be more easily analysed and compared, and overall leads to greater efficiency, particularly when compared to financial data that is submitted in, say, PDF format.
Do I have to use iXBRL?
In the vast majority of cases, yes.
Learn more – what is mean by iXBRL Tagging?
Since 1 January 2010, legislation has been in effect that has, subject to very limited exceptions, made it compulsory for companies to file company tax returns online and to use iXBRL for company accounts and tax computations. This legislation applies to returns submitted to HMRC on or after 1 April 2011 for accounting periods ending after 31 March 2010.
In fact, since 1 November 2017, HMRC has rejected company tax returns with accounts or tax computations that are not in iXBRL format, again subject to -minimal exceptions.
This means that companies should make it a priority to ensure that all relevant aspects of a company’s tax return are tagged correctly prior to filing with HMRC.
Ideally, tagging should also be completed well in advance of a company’s filing deadline to ensure that there are no issues when it comes to submitting the company tax return to HMRC and to minimise the risk of any late filing penalties.
Getting iXBRL Tagging right for UK HMRC
DataTracks is a managed tagging services provider, with extensive experience providing iXBRL conversion services to both companies and tax advisers.
Supporting commonly used document formats such as word, excel, and PDF, we can tag your accounts and tax computations in iXBRL format, and take the stress out of the tagging process.
For more information on our iXBRL Tagging Services, speak to a team member by emailing enquiry@datatracks.co.uk or call us on 020 3608 8035.