Simplified or detailed CIC report: which one to file

What both reports contain

• Part 1: a general description of the company's activities and impact.
• Part 2: whether stakeholders were consulted, and how.
• Part 3: whether the directors received remuneration.
• Part 4: whether any assets were transferred for less than full value.
• A director's signature and the date.

What the detailed report adds

• Part 5: whether dividends were declared for the financial year, and where they were, the dividend information the form asks for (share class, amount per share, total and the position against the dividend cap).
• Part 6: whether interest was actually paid at a performance-related rate, and, whenever such a rate was payable on a debt or debenture during the year, the rate, how it was calculated and the interest cap or why the cap does not apply.

These two parts exist because a CIC limited by shares can pay dividends and a CIC can borrow at a performance-related rate, and both are subject to caps the regulator polices. The regulator's guidance says that, where they apply, the report must show the dividend and performance-related debt information and compliance with the caps. A CIC that did neither has nothing to put in them.

How to choose

Choose the report your directors intend to sign. The detailed report applies if either condition below applies:

• A debt was outstanding or a debenture was in issue on which a performance-related rate of interest was payable at any time in the year, even if none was paid.
• The company is limited by shares and declared or proposed a dividend for this year, or declared one in any of the four preceding financial years.

If neither applies, the simplified report is the usual choice. Check the complete CIC34 conditions. You choose the report. We do not determine the answer from the accounts.

In SimpleCompanyTax

The first question in the CIC34 report section is “Which CIC34 report are you filing through us?” with None, Simplified and Detailed as the options. None, the starting position, means we file the CT600 only. Choosing Detailed shows two more Yes or No questions. Part 5 asks whether dividends were declared or proposed for this financial year: if the only dividend was in an earlier year, answer No and still file the detailed report. Part 6 asks whether interest was actually paid at a performance-related rate, and its details box is always available so you can describe a debt on which such a rate was payable even if nothing was paid. The detail boxes are not required by the software, because Companies House does not check them, but the regulator expects the information where it applies, so give it. See how to file your CIC accounts and CIC34 report.

Sources

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. The sources are the form CIC34 publication and the CIC regulator's guidance.