COM1001 - Accounting periods: company accounting periods: introduction

A company resident in the United Kingdom is chargeable to CT on all its profits

• Wherever the profits arise

• Whether or not the profits are received in or transmitted to the United Kingdom

The charge to CT is made on the profits arising in an AP.

An AP begins when a company first comes within the charge to CT. After that, so long as the company remains within the charge to CT, a new AP begins whenever an AP ends. An AP ends when one of several possible events occurs. For more information see the Company Taxation Manual (CTM) at CTM01500.

COTAX creates AP records automatically when

• A new case is set up
• A Notice to deliver (Word 29KB) is issued

• A return has been submitted through CT Online and the submitter has changed the existing AP structure

• When a clerical caseworker successfully logs a return reflecting an amended AP

In some cases you will need to intervene to

• Correct APs that have been set up automatically
• Prevent the future automatic creation of 12 monthly AP records when

• • Exceptionally, you know in advance that the current, or a future AP, will not last 12 months

• • APs are regularly of less than 12 months

• Deal with cases referred to you for review, where

• • COTAX is unable to automatically amend the AP record

• • APs have been automatically amended but require further consideration. See COM132054 for more information

Periods for which a company is dormant (Word 28KB) are also entered on the company’s AP record. However, an AP ends but can never begin when a company ceases to be within the charge to CT, so a period of dormancy is not an AP.

For more information on dormant periods see subject ‘Dormancy’ (COM1040).