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Claim a trading loss carry-back on your CT600 for a refund

Taxley files a trading loss carry-back claim on the CT600 for the period the company made the loss, setting the loss against the profits of the previous 12 months so HMRC can repay Corporation Tax already paid. It carries a loss back 12 months only: it doesn't file terminal loss claims or the temporary three-year carry-back.

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Preparing and previewing is free. You pay one fee per return, only when you choose to file.

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What can't Taxley do with a trading loss carry-back?

Taxley carries a trading loss back 12 months, and nothing further. When a claim is outside this, the return is saved and you aren't charged; you can untick the carry-back and carry the loss forward instead.

  • Terminal losses. A loss carried back three years because the company has stopped trading.
  • The temporary three-year carry-back. The extended carry-back for losses of periods ending between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022.
  • Long periods. A carry-back from a period of account longer than 12 months.
  • Other kinds of loss. Only trading losses carry back. Property business losses can't be carried back, and dormant companies and charities have no trading loss to claim.
  • Late claims. A claim made more than 2 years after the end of the loss-making period.
  • Older periods. Accounting periods that started before 1 April 2020.
  • Advice. Taxley is software from Taxley UK LLP, not an accountant or tax agent. Whether to claim is the directors' decision.

How do you claim a trading loss carry-back in Taxley?

The claim goes on the return for the period the company made the loss. HMRC then gives effect to it and repays the tax, unless the company owes Corporation Tax (GOV.UK: calculating and claiming a Corporation Tax loss).

  1. Prepare the loss-making year's return. Enter the figures as usual; Taxley works out the trading loss.
  2. Choose to carry the loss back. Taxley sets it against that period's other profits first, then against the profits of the accounting periods in the 12 months before it.
  3. Confirm the earlier periods. If the earlier return was filed with Taxley, its figures are used; otherwise you enter each earlier period's profits.
  4. Check the claim. The computation states the loss, how much goes back and against which period, and the CT600 ticks the box for a claim that affects an earlier period.
  5. Pay and file. Taxley files the return to HMRC with the company's own Government Gateway login. The earlier return isn't sent again: HMRC applies the claim to it.

Any loss left over carries forward to later years. The free Corporation Tax calculator estimates the tax for a profitable year.

What does it cost to claim a carry-back with Taxley?

The claim is part of the loss-making year's return: £49.95 with micro-entity accounts or £129 with small-company accounts. The fee also covers filing the accounts at Companies House once the return is paid and finished. There's no subscription. Every plan is on the pricing page.

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Frequently asked questions

Which return does the carry-back claim go on?

The return for the period the company made the loss. Taxley ticks the box for a claim affecting an earlier period and states the claim in the computation. It doesn't send the earlier year's return again; HMRC applies the claim to it.

How long do I have to claim?

The claim has to be made within two years after the end of the loss-making period. Taxley checks the date and won't file a carry-back after that time limit has passed.

How does the refund arrive?

HMRC works out the tax the carry-back saves for the earlier period and repays it, unless the company owes Corporation Tax, in which case HMRC sets it against what is owed. Taxley doesn't receive or pay any tax.

What happens to the rest of the loss?

The loss is set against the loss-making period's own profits first, then against the profits of the previous 12 months. Whatever is left after that carries forward, and Taxley sets it against later years' profits.

Ready to claim your carry-back?

Prepare the loss-making year's return free, check the claim, and pay only when you file.

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