Filing to HMRC, Companies House, or both

Short version. You decide what to file. On the final filing screen you can send both filings at once, just your CT600 to HMRC, or just your accounts to Companies House, simply by ticking the targets you want. If you’ve already filed one side elsewhere, you can come back and file only the part that’s still outstanding.

1. What gets filed where

A company’s annual filing has two separate destinations:

• HMRC: your CT600 Corporation Tax Return (the CT600 XML plus the iXBRL accounts that support it).
• Companies House: your Annual Accounts (iXBRL).

They’re two independent submissions to two different organisations, so they can be sent together or separately. SimpleCompanyTax lets you choose, on the same screen, immediately before you file.

2. Your three options

When you reach the Filing credentials screen, the Filing targets section has a tick-box for each destination. Both are ticked by default. Untick one to file only the other. That side’s credential fields disappear, and the submit button updates to match.

Both (the default)

Send the CT600 to HMRC and the accounts to Companies House in one go.

HMRC only (CT600)

Untick Companies House. Only the HMRC fields remain (UTR + Government Gateway user ID and password), and the button reads “Submit to HMRC”. Use this when your accounts are already filed and you only need to send the corporation tax return.

Companies House only (accounts)

Untick HMRC. Only the Companies House authentication code remains, and the button reads “Submit to Companies House”. Use this when you only need to file your statutory accounts.

You must keep at least one target ticked. Your figures and documents are the same either way. You’re only choosing where to send them.

3. Already filed one side? File just the other

A common case: “We’ve already filed our accounts to Companies House and just need to send the CT600 to HMRC. Is that possible?” Yes. You file only the outstanding side:

• Accounts already done → file the CT600: on the filing screen, untick Companies House and submit to HMRC only.
• CT600 already done → file the accounts: untick HMRC and submit to Companies House only.

This works whether the other side was filed through SimpleCompanyTax or elsewhere (for example by your accountant). You’re simply not re-sending the part that’s already done.

4. Where you choose

You’ll reach the filing-targets choice in one of two ways:

• From the review screen: after your documents are generated, the Submit button opens the Filing credentials screen, where the targets are ticked by default. Untick whichever you don’t need.
• From your company page: if only one side is outstanding, you’ll see a “File CT600” or “File Accounts” action. These open the filing screen with the right target already selected, so you can file just that part.

5. Credentials you’ll need

You’re only asked for the credentials for the target(s) you’ve ticked:

• Companies House: your company’s 6-character authentication code.
• HMRC: your 10-digit Corporation Tax UTR and the Government Gateway user ID and password for the account enrolled for the company’s Corporation Tax.

For where to find each of these (and how they’re handled), see “What credentials do I need to submit, and where can I find them?” in our FAQ.