HMRC must be informed when a non-trading or dormant company starts trading again and becomes active for Corporation Tax. Companies can use HMRC Online Services to supply the relevant information. 

When a company has previously traded and then stops, it would normally be considered as dormant. A company can stay dormant indefinitely, however there are costs associated with doing this and certain filings must still be made to Companies House. The costs of restarting a dormant company are typically less than starting from scratch again. 

The following steps are required:

1. Tell HMRC that your business has restarted trading by registering for Corporation Tax again.
2. Send accounts to Companies House within 9 months of your company’s year end.
3. Pay any Corporation Tax due within 9 months and 1 day of your company’s year end.
4. Send a Company Tax Return – including full statutory accounts – to HMRC within 12 months of your company’s year end.

Whilst reporting dates for annual returns and accounts should remain the same. The Corporation Tax accounting period is different and is set by reference to when the company restarts business activities.

The new super-deduction tax break, that will allow companies to deduct 130% of the cost of any qualifying investment from their taxable profits, is available on most new plant and machinery investments that ordinarily qualify for 18% main rate writing down allowances. This means that for every £1 a company invests they can reduce their Corporation Tax bill by up to 24.7p. The new temporary tax relief applies on qualifying capital asset investments from 1 April 2021 until 31 March 2023. 

The super-deduction is designed to help companies finance expansion in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and help to drive growth. This change makes the Capital Allowance regime more internationally competitive, lifting the net present value of the UK’s plant and machinery allowances from 30th in the OECD to 1st.

Commenting on the introduction of the super-deduction, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said:

'The super-deduction is the biggest two-year business tax cut in modern British history – driving our economy by helping businesses to invest, grow and support our Plan for Jobs. I urge firms across the UK to invest in our recovery by taking advantage of this great opportunity.'

An enhanced first year allowance of 50% on qualifying special rate assets has also been introduced for expenditure within the same period. This includes most new plant and machinery investments that ordinarily qualify for 6% special rate writing down allowances. 

The measures have effect in relation to qualifying expenditure from 1 April 2021 and excludes expenditure incurred on contracts entered into prior to Budget day on 3 March 2021. 

The Chancellor confirmed that the Corporation Tax main rate will remain at 19% from 1 April 2021 for the next 2 years. The main rate had been expected to increase to help pay the massive costs of the coronavirus pandemic to the public purse. 

However, the Corporation Tax main rate will increase to 25% from 1 April 2023 for companies with profits over £250,000. The Chancellor also announced the introduction of a Small Profits Rate (SPR) of 19% from the same date for companies with profits of up to £50,000. 

Where a company has profits between £50,000 and £250,000 a marginal rate of Corporation Tax will apply that bridges the gap between the lower and upper limits. The lower and upper limits will be proportionately reduced for short accounting periods and where there are associated companies.

The Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) will increase from 1 April 2023 from 25% to 31% to maintain the current 6% differential with the main rate of Corporation Tax. The DPT is an anti-avoidance measure that targets large multinational businesses that are deemed to be using contrived and artificial arrangements to divert profits overseas thereby paying less or no tax in the UK.

This announcement gives some short-term relief to businesses, many of whom had expected rates to increase before April 2023. 

Corporation Tax relief may be available when a company or organisation makes a trading loss. The loss may be used to claim relief from Corporation Tax by offset against other gains or profits of the business in the same or previous accounting period.

The loss can also be set against future qualifying trading income. Any claim for trading losses forms part of the company tax return. The trading profit or loss for Corporation Tax purposes is worked out by making the usual tax adjustments to the figure of profit or loss shown in the company or organisation’s financial accounts.

Some of the basic requirements for a trade loss to be set off against other income sources include:

• being within the charge to Corporation Tax
• the trade must be carried on a commercial basis and with a view to the realisation of profit
• at least some of the trade must be carried out within the UK

The rules for the Corporation Tax treatment of carried forward losses changed from 1 April 2017. The changes increased flexibility to set off carried forward losses against total profits of the same company or another company in a group whilst at the same time introduced new restrictions as to the amount of profits against which carried forward losses can be set. Any losses carried forward prior to 1 April 2017 fall under the old loss relief rules and must be handled accordingly.

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) provides independent advice to the government on simplifying the UK tax system, with the object of reducing compliance burdens on both businesses and individual taxpayers. The OTS operates on a permanent, statutory footing and seeks to draw together expertise from across the tax and legal professions, the business community and other interested parties. 

A report published by the OTS last year examined a number of ideas to help make the calculation of Corporation Tax simpler. The report focused on introducing a simpler tax regime for smaller companies, aligning the tax rules more closely with accounting rules, simplifying tax relief for capital investment and examining various issues affecting large companies. For example, one of the recommendations was to allow the very smallest companies, to use the accounting profit prepared under accounting standard FRS105 as the taxable profit without any adjustments.

Whilst the report mainly dealt with Corporation Tax, some of the ideas could also be relevant for unincorporated businesses. The report also considered the introduction of Making Tax Digital, and various measures to make the tax system more straightforward for the many small businesses throughout the country. The consultation outcome has recently been updated. It will be interesting to see if any changes are announced in the run-up to the Budget later this year.