CIO or charitable company: how Corporation Tax filing differs
Short version. Both a CIO and a charitable company can need a CT600 Company Tax Return with CT600E. The difference is their legal form and accounts obligations. A CIO has no Companies House number or Companies House accounts filing. A charitable company has both company and charity-regulator obligations.
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1. Compare the filing obligations
A CIO is incorporated under charity legislation. A charitable company is usually a company limited by guarantee incorporated under company legislation. Neither name alone establishes that every receipt is exempt from Corporation Tax. This comparison explains filing duties and does not recommend a structure.
- CT600 box 2
- A CIO leaves it out. A charitable company enters its Companies House registration number. Both use their Corporation Tax UTR in box 3.
- Charity registration
- An England and Wales CIO is registered with the Charity Commission. A SCIO is registered with OSCR. A charitable company also registers with the relevant charity regulator where required. E10 is the applicable charity registration number.
- Accounts destinations
- A CIO has Charity Commission obligations, with no Companies House filing. A SCIO has OSCR obligations, with no Companies House filing. A charitable company addresses Companies House and charity-regulator obligations separately. Each attaches accounts to a required HMRC return.
- HMRC accounts format
- For a charity not required to prepare accounts under the Companies Act or Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968, paragraph 6.9.7 allows PDF or iXBRL without an income threshold. That covers CIOs and SCIOs. Companies Act charities normally need iXBRL, subject to HMRC’s separate smaller-charity PDF concession and combined-income limit.
- Signatory
- Both are bodies corporate. The proper officer is normally the secretary or acting secretary, with a treasurer fallback where there is none. Authorised representatives and insolvency cases follow section 108.
Do not use the Companies House route for a CIO or apply the Companies Act income threshold to its PDF accounts. Conversely, a charitable company cannot bypass its Companies House obligations by using the charity CT600E route. See the charity filing routes and accounts destinations guide.
2. Choose the filing route for the legal form
SimpleCompanyTax supports wholly exempt CIOs, SCIOs and supported charitable companies. A CIO or SCIO starts with Not registered at Companies House and follows the CIO and SCIO filing steps. A charitable company starts with Registered at Companies House and follows the company charity filing steps. Both routes file the charity tax return with HMRC only.
For the shared CT600E declarations, computation exception, signatory conditions and HMRC deadlines, read preparing and checking the charity return. A Scottish charity can also read the SCIO example of E10 and a long accounts period. The long-period filing guide explains allocating amounts and checking both returns for accounts over 12 months and up to 18 months. Neither service route prepares charity accounts or replaces Companies House, Charity Commission or OSCR filings.
Official sources
- HMRC Chapter 6: claims and returns, particularly 6.7, 6.8.6, 6.9.7, 6.9.9 and 6.10.
- Charity structures and HMRC CT600 guide and CT600E guidance.
- Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 1121 and Taxes Management Act 1970 section 108.