Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

239 Set-off of ACT against liability to corporation tax. U.K.

M1 (1) Subject to section 497 and subsection (2) below, advance corporation tax paid by a company (and not repaid) in respect of any distribution made by it in an accounting period shall be set against its liability to corporation tax on any profits charged to corporation tax for that accounting period and shall accordingly discharge a corresponding amount of that liability.

(2) The amount of advance corporation tax to be set against a company’s liability for any accounting period under subsection (1) above shall not exceed the amount of advance corporation tax that would have been payable (apart from section 241) in respect of a distribution made at the end of that period of an amount which, together with the advance corporation tax so payable in respect of it, is equal to the company’s profits charged to corporation tax for that period.

(3) Where in the case of any accounting period of a company there is an amount of surplus advance corporation tax, the company may, within two years after the end of that period, claim to have the whole or any part of that amount treated for the purposes of this section (but not of any further application of this subsection) as if it were advance corporation tax paid in respect of distributions made by the company in any of its accounting periods beginning in the six years preceding that period (but so that the amount which is the subject of the claim is set, so far as possible, against the company’s liability for a more recent accounting period before a more remote one) and corporation tax shall, so far as may be required, be repaid accordingly.

• In this subsection “surplus advance corporation tax”, in relation to any accounting period of a company, means advance corporation tax which cannot be set against the company’s liability to corporation tax for that period because the company has no profits charged to corporation tax for that period or because of subsection (2) above or section 797(4).

(4) Where in the case of any accounting period of a company there is an amount of surplus advance corporation tax which has not been dealt with under subsection (3) above, that amount shall be treated for the purposes of this section (including any further application of this subsection) as if it were advance corporation tax paid in respect of distributions made by the company in the next accounting period.

(5) Effect shall be given to subsections (1) and (4) above as if on a claim in that behalf by the company and, for that purpose, a return made by the company under section 11 of the Management Act containing particulars of advance corporation tax or surplus advance corporation tax which falls to be dealt with under those subsections shall be treated as a claim.

(6) For the purposes of this section the profits of a company charged to corporation tax for any period shall be taken to be the amount of its profits for that period on which corporation tax falls finally to be borne.

(7) M2 This section has effect subject tosubsections (5)to (7)of section 430andF1 the following provisions of this Chapter.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by 1989 s.187and Sch.17 Part Vin relation to accounting periods beginning after 31March 1989.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 See—s.116—partnerships including companies—arrangements for transferring reliefs.Oil Taxation Acts—oil industry's limited right to carry back or surrender ACT.s.813—recovery of tax credits incorrectly paid.

C2 See s.497—Oil Taxation Acts—restriction of relief against income from oil extraction activities or oil rights for tax on distributions made to associated resident company.

C3 See s.754(5)and Sch.26 para.2—controlled foreign companies.

C4 See—1988 s.825(4)—repayment supplement.1989 s.157—interest charges in respect of certain claims made on or after 14March 1989.

C5 See 1973 s.32(1)—requirement of further particulars where company is a member of a partnership.

Marginal Citations

M1 Source—1972 s.85(1)-(6); 1974 Sch.7 3(1); 1984 s.52(1), 53(2); 1987 (No.2) s.74(2)

M2 Source—1972 Sch.16 7