How to add director’s loans and section 455 tax to your Corporation Tax return

For the tax rules, rates and worked examples, read director’s loan not repaid within nine months: section 455 and CT600A explained.

1. Open Financial Data

Complete step 1, Company Profile & Period, using the company and accounting period details for the return. In step 2, Financial Data, enter your usual accounts figures and find Director’s loans and section 455 tax.

This section is part of the existing trading, property and mixed-company flows, including active companies with no taxable profit. There is no separate CT600A journey.

2. Add loans for the return

Open Director’s loans and section 455 tax, then choose + Loans for [dates], where the button shows the return’s actual dates. Use your prepared amounts outstanding at that period end. The closing director’s loan account balance may include loans from earlier returns.

If a long accounts period needs two CT600 returns, enter a separate set against each return’s displayed dates. Loan amounts are not split by days.

3. Enter the borrower figures

Borrower

Name of participator or associate

Use one entry for each borrower. Select + Add another borrower for another account.

Loan amount for this return

Amount of loan/benefit

Enter the prepared outstanding amount for the displayed period, in whole pounds.

Qualifying repayment after this period

+ Add loan repayment → Amount repaid after the period end

Enter the prepared qualifying repayment total for this borrower and this return.

Date for that repayment

Date of last repayment included

Enter the last included repayment date. Both repayment fields are required while the claim is present. Remove repayment removes the claim.

Loans repaid, released or written off before the period end (A5) starts at No. Change it if applicable. The help icon links HMRC’s full conditions, including the rules for return payments. This answer does not calculate repayment relief.

You supply the prepared figures. This step does not ask you to upload loan evidence or reconstruct a transaction history. See HMRC’s CT600A instructions for what the figures represent.

Add a qualifying repayment after the period end

Below the relevant borrower, choose + Add loan repayment. Enter Amount repaid after the period end in whole pounds and Date of last repayment included. Both fields are required while a repayment is present. If several qualifying repayments belong to that account, enter their prepared total and the last included date. The date must have occurred, be after this return’s period end and fall within its nine-month window.

For two CT600s, assign each repayment amount to its relevant dated return. Choose Remove repayment to remove just the claim. Read section 458 relief and the repayment restrictions when preparing your qualifying amount.

4. Check the total and calculated tax

You can enter Total loans outstanding, including earlier periods (A75, optional) if reporting that figure. It is the balance at the period end, including earlier loans. A later repayment does not reduce this figure.

The summary shows the loan total, section 455 tax and Rate applied by HMRC’s online service for this return. The rate is read-only. Where a repayment is claimed, it shows the gross charge (A20), repayment relief (A45) and net tax (A80 and box 480). Gross tax and relief are rounded separately on their totals. Full qualifying repayment leaves net section 455 tax of £0.00.

If the section no longer applies, choose Remove loans for this return.

5. Save and review the filing

Once you have added the company, select Save Progress to keep your draft on your account. Check for Saved to your account before closing the page. To continue, choose Next to reach step 3, Review & Submit, then choose Review Filing.

On the review page, check ordinary Corporation Tax, section 455 tax and their combined total. The section 455 charge is included in the return and tax computation, with the CT600A tax carried into CT600 box 480. If tax has already been paid, use the existing tax already paid fields to show the balance still outstanding.

6. Preview CT600A before paying

Choose Preview your documents (free). Complete the draft details shown in Prepare your draft preview, then choose Generate draft preview →.

On the results page, open CT600A loans to participators in the document list. Its PDF is named HMRC CT600A.pdf. For two returns, each relevant PDF has its return number in the filename. Check Part 1 loan amounts, Part 2 repayment amounts and dates, A45 relief and A80 net tax. Open the tax computation to check the gross charge, relief and combined tax.

Where repayment relief appears in the PDFs

The repayment amount and date appear on the separate CT600A. On page 2, A25 column B shows the amount repaid and column D shows the date. A30 and A40 show the repayment total, A20 the gross tax and A45 the relief. Page 3 shows net tax in A80.

On the main CT600, box 480 on page 5 carries the same net loan tax as A80. Full qualifying repayment makes both zero. Box 600 on page 7 can still show ordinary Corporation Tax outstanding. A75 keeps the balance at the period end. Generate a fresh preview after changing a repayment, then check each dated return separately.

Check the official CT600A box instructions and CT600 guide for the complete form guidance.

The free draft PDFs are watermarked. The CT600A includes a continuation page when needed. Generating the preview does not submit the return.

7. Subscribe and submit when ready

CT600A is included in the micro-entity annual subscription at £25 +VAT per year, with no supplementary-page fee. The same company’s supported filings and amendments are included for each paid year, including an amended CT600 where the original was filed elsewhere.

If you do not have an active subscription, use Subscribe to submit filings on the review page. Once subscribed, use Continue to submission, complete the filing details and declaration, and submit. For an amendment to CT600A, tick HMRC under File this amendment to. Tick Companies House as well if you are also revising the annual accounts. CT600A goes electronically to HMRC with its CT600.

After processing, open the filing and find CT600A loans to participators under Generated artefacts. For a long period, the relevant downloads are named HMRC CT600A (Return 1).pdf and HMRC CT600A (Return 2).pdf.

Read what the annual subscription includes for the company coverage and renewal terms.

What are the current limits?

• Dormant companies: the dormant route has no CT600A section.
• Repayment relief: Part 2 qualifying loan repayments are supported. Later Part 3 claims, releases, write-offs and historical return periods spanning the 2016 or 2022 loan-rate changes are outside the supported scope. Use software supporting those treatments if your return needs them.
• Loans from 6 April 2026: the statutory rate is 35.75%, while the current online format still calculates at 33.75%. HMRC’s notice gives amendment instructions for affected filings after the planned 6 April 2027 update. Full qualifying relief gives nil net tax at either rate, but the notice does not expressly exempt fully relieved loans from amendments to the gross disclosures. Read HMRC’s online-service notice.
• Statutory accounts: CT600A does not create the separate director’s advances, credits and guarantees note. Add prepared details under Optional notes to the accounts when using generated accounts. Check the company’s accounts disclosure requirements separately.

This is general filing guidance, not tax or accounting advice.