Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

12 Basis of, and periods for, assessment. U.K.

(1) M1 Except as otherwise provided by the Corporation Tax Acts, corporation tax shall be assessed and charged for any accounting period of a company on the full amount of the profits arising in the period (whether or not received in or transmitted to the United Kingdom) without any other deduction than is authorised by those Acts.

(2) An accounting period of a company shall begin for purposes of corporation tax whenever—

(a) the company, not then being within the charge to corporation tax, comes within it, whether by the company becoming resident in the United Kingdom or acquiring a source of income, or otherwise; or

(b) an accounting period of the company ends without the company then ceasing to be within the charge to corporation tax.

(3) An accounting period of a company shall end for purposes of corporation tax on the first occurrence of any of the following—

(a) the expiration of 12 months from the beginning of the accounting period;

(b) an accounting date of the company or, if there is a period for which the company does not make up accounts, the end of that period;

(c) the company beginning or ceasing to trade or to be, in respect of the trade or (if more than one) of all the trades carried on by it, within the charge to corporation tax;

(d) the company beginning or ceasing to be resident in the United Kingdom;

[F1 (da) the company ceasing to be in administration;]

(e) the company ceasing to be within the charge to corporation tax.

(4) For the purposes of this section a company resident in the United Kingdom, if not otherwise within the charge to corporation tax, shall be treated as coming within the charge to corporation tax at the time when it commences to carry on business.

(5) [F2 Subject to subsection (5A) below] if a company carrying on more than one trade makes up accounts of any of them to different dates, and does not make up general accounts for the whole of the company’s activities, subsection (3)(b) above shall apply with reference to the accounting date of such one of the trades [F3 as the company may determine].

[F4 (5A) If the Board is of the opinion, on reasonable grounds, that a date determined by a company for the purposes of subsection (5) above is inappropriate, they may by notice direct that the accounting date of such other of the trades referred to in that subsection as appears to them to be appropriate shall be used instead.]

[F5 (5B) For the purposes of subsection (3)(da) a company ceases to be in administration when it ceases to be in administration under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 or any corresponding event occurs otherwise than under that Act.]

(6) If a chargeable gain or allowable loss accrues to a company at a time not otherwise within an accounting period of the company, an accounting period of the company shall then begin for the purposes of corporation tax, and the gain or loss shall accrue in that accounting period.

(7) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1) to (6) above, where a company is wound up, an accounting period shall end and a new one begin with the commencement of the winding up, and thereafter, subject to [F6 subsection (7ZA) below and] section 342(6), an accounting period shall not end otherwise than by the expiration of 12 months from its beginning or by the completion of the winding up.

For this purpose a winding up is to be taken to commence on the passing by the company of a resolution for the winding up of the company, or on the presentation of a winding up petition if no such resolution has previously been passed and a winding up order is made on the petition, or on the doing of any other act for a like purpose in the case of a winding up otherwise than under the M2 Insolvency Act 1986.

[F7 (7ZA) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1) to (6) above, where a company enters administration—

(a) an accounting period of the company shall end immediately before the day the company enters administration, and

(b) if immediately before the company enters administration it is in the course of being wound up, subsection (7) ceases to apply at the end of that accounting period.

For this purpose a company enters administration when it enters administration under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 or is subject to any corresponding procedure otherwise than under that Act.]

[F8 (7A) F9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

[F10 (7B) F11 . . .

• F11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

[F13 [F14 (7C) F9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]]

(8) Where it appears to the inspector that the beginning or end of any accounting period of a company is uncertain, he may make an assessment on the company for such period, not exceeding 12 months, as appears to him appropriate, and that period shall be treated for all purposes as an accounting period of the company unless either—

(a) the inspector on further facts coming to his knowledge sees fit to revise it; or

(b) on an appeal against the assessment in respect of some other matter the company shows the true accounting periods;

and if on an appeal against an assessment made by virtue of this subsection the company shows the true accounting periods, the assessment appealed against shall, as regards the period to which it relates, have effect as an assessment or assessments for the true accounting periods, and there may be made such other assessments for any such periods or any of them as might have been made at the time when the assessment appealed against was made.

[F15 (9) This section is subject to Schedule 10 to the Finance Act 2006.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 12(3)(da) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 41 para. 5(1) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), Sch. 41 para. 1(2)

F2 Words in s. 12(5) inserted (with effect as mentioned in Sch. 24 para. 11(4) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 1996 (c. 8), s. 79, Sch. 24 para. 11(2)(a)

F3 Words in s. 12(5) substituted (with effect as mentioned in Sch. 4 para. 11(4) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 1996 (c. 8), s. 79, Sch. 24 para. 11(2)(b)

F4 S. 12(5A) inserted (with effect as mentioned in Sch. 4 para. 11(4) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 1996 (c. 8), s. 79, Sch. 24 para. 11(3)

F5 S. 12(5B) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 41 para. 5(1) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), Sch. 41 para. 1(3)

F6 Words in s. 12(7) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 41 para. 5(1) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), Sch. 41 para. 1(4)

F7 S. 12(7ZA) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 41 para. 5(1) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2003 (c. 14), Sch. 41 para. 1(5)

F8 S. 12(7A) inserted by Finance Act 1990 (c. 29), s.48, Sch.9 para.3 (in relation to transfers of business on or after 1.11.1990)

F9 S. 12(7A)(7C) omitted (19.2.2008 with effect in accordance with art. 1(2) of the repealing S.I.) by virtue of The Insurance Business Transfer Schemes (Amendment of the Corporation Tax Acts) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/381), arts. 1(1), 3

F10 S. 12(7B) inserted (with effect in accordance with art. 14(4) of the amending S.I.) by The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Consequential Amendments) (Taxes) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/3629), art. 14(3)

F11 S. 12(7B): words and definition of "contracts of long-term insurance" repealed (with effect in accordance with Sch. 10 para. 17(2) of the repealing Act) by Finance Act 2007 (c. 11), Sch. 10 para. 14(2)(a), Sch. 27 Pt. 2(10), Note

F12 S. 12(7B): definition of "insurance business transfer scheme" repealed (with effect in accordance with Sch. 9 para. 17(1) of the repealing Act) by Finance Act 2007 (c. 11), Sch. 9 para. 1(2)(a), Sch. 27 Pt. 2(9), Note

F13 S. 12(7C) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 9 para. 20(7) of the amending Act) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2005 (c. 22), Sch. 9 para. 20(3)

F14 S. 12(7C) substituted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 9 para. 17(1) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2007 (c. 11), Sch. 9 para. 3(2)

F15 S. 12(9) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 10 para. 2 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2006 (c. 25), Sch. 10 para. 43(2)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 12(1)-(7) excluded (28.4.1997) by The Open-ended Investment Companies (Tax) Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/1154), {reg. 25(2)}

C2 S. 12(1)-(7) excluded (1.4.2006 with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the affecting S.I.) by The Authorised Investment Funds (Tax) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/964), regs. 1(1), 79(2)

Marginal Citations

M1 SOURCE-1970 s. 247; 1972 s. 107(1)

M2 1986 c. 45.