Community interest companies: the CT600, the CIC34 report and Companies House
Short version. SimpleCompanyTax files an eligible CIC's CT600, computation and accounts with HMRC and can prepare its accounts and CIC34 report as a ZIP package. You upload the package yourself through the Companies House CIC accounts service and pay its separate £15 fee. See the illustrated CIC34 and package download guide for the product steps. This article explains the filing requirements.
What a CIC is for filing purposes
A CIC is an ordinary private company, limited by shares or by guarantee, that Companies House has also registered as a community interest company. Its Companies House record shows the normal company type plus the “Community Interest Company” marker. The regulator's guidance says the accounting requirements for a CIC are the same as those of ordinary limited companies, with one extra obligation: the directors must prepare an annual CIC report (form CIC34) and file it with the accounts. We read the community interest marker from your Companies House record when you add the company, so there is nothing to select.
The CT600: file it with us
Being a CIC does not by itself change the Corporation Tax calculation. Enter the company's actual income, costs and claims as for any other micro-entity, and SimpleCompanyTax prepares the CT600, the computation and the FRS 105 accounts, and files them to HMRC. Box 4 (type of company) stays 0 unless you declare a special regime on the eligibility step. A dormant CIC files a nil return in the same way as any dormant company.
Why we cannot send your accounts to Companies House
Companies House rejects any CIC accounts sent through the software filing gateway with its rule 2422: “A Community Interest Company (CIC) is unable to file Accounts electronically via software filing.” This applies to every software provider, not only to us. The Companies House CIC accounts service accepts full accounts entered through its own screens or a package accounts ZIP prepared by suitable software. We prepare the ZIP for you to upload. On the review page we therefore offer HMRC as the filing target for a CIC and explain this next to the Companies House option. Your company stays in your account and the CT600 filing is not affected.
What the CIC34 report must contain
The regulations set the minimum content of the annual CIC report. In the words of the regulator's guidance it must give details of what the CIC has done to benefit the community, details of how it has consulted its stakeholders on its activities, details of directors' remuneration, and information on the transfer of assets to another asset-locked body or otherwise at less than market value for the benefit of the community. There are two versions of form CIC34: the simplified report, which the regulator says the majority of CICs would fit within, and the detailed report, which adds declarations about dividends and performance-related interest. Both versions and completed examples are published on GOV.UK. The report is placed on the public register.
How to file your accounts and CIC34 with Companies House
These are the Companies House steps, in the order the service asks for them.
- Get the accounts approved by the directors. You can download the FRS 105 accounts we prepared from your filing results and use them for your own records.
- Go to the Companies House CIC accounts service (“File your annual CIC report and accounts with Companies House”) and sign in to, or create, a Companies House account.
- Enter the company number and the company authentication code.
- Provide the accounts and the CIC34 report. The service accepts either full accounts entered through its own screens or a package accounts ZIP file prepared by suitable software.
- Pay the £15 fee by debit or credit card and submit.
The filed CIC report and accounts appear on the public record. Keep the Companies House confirmation with your records.
What you see in SimpleCompanyTax
When you add a CIC, the company is accepted as normal because its legal form is one we file for. On the financial step a CIC sees an extra card, “CIC34 report for Companies House”, where you can choose Simplified or Detailed and answer the report's questions. Leave None selected if you prepare the report elsewhere. On the review page the Companies House target shows the explanation above and cannot be selected, and the CT600 files to HMRC as usual. When you have completed a report with us, the filing page lists the Companies House package (accounts plus CIC34 report) for you to download and upload. See how to file your CIC accounts and CIC34 report. If a previous Companies House submission for your CIC was rejected with rule 2422, no action is needed on our side: upload the package through the Companies House service instead.
This article is general guidance, not tax or legal advice. The sources are the CIC regulator's guidance, the form CIC34 publication and the Companies House CIC accounts service. See also which company types we support.