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Special tax regimes: charity or CASC full exemption (CT600E), or No

Last updated: 12 October 2026

Short version. No keeps the ordinary company filing to HMRC, Companies House or both, with a tax computation on each CT600 of an active company. The charity and CASC full exemption choices file a CT600 with CT600E to HMRC only, claiming all income and gains exempt, with no tax computation. They file nothing at Companies House and cannot claim partial exemption. The form starts on No, the answer for a standard UK company. The charity and CASC answers are for a company registered at Companies House that claims exemption on all of its income and gains.

Go to the steps and entry details

On this page

Company routeCharity or CASC: HMRC onlyPeriods up to 18 monthsWhere you see it: Company Profile & Period › Special tax regimes

What this question decides

No keeps the ordinary company filing to HMRC, Companies House or both, with a tax computation on each CT600 of an active company. The charity and CASC full exemption choices file a CT600 with CT600E to HMRC only, claiming all income and gains exempt, with no tax computation. They file nothing at Companies House and cannot claim partial exemption.

  • No is for a standard UK company, including trading, property, management and dormant companies. Every other question on the screen works as usual.
  • Charity claiming full exemption and Community amateur sports club (CASC) claiming full exemption appear only while the charity and CASC filing route is available. If you see only No, the route is not available at the moment.
  • Choosing a charity or CASC answer selects HMRC CT600 and greys out the Companies House choices. It also sets Trading status to Active and clears any File only the remaining CT600 or separate Corporation Tax dates you had chosen.
  • On Financial Data you then complete CT600E: Charity exemption claim or CT600E: CASC exemption claim and upload your own accounts under Your accounts. We do not prepare charity accounts. Completing the CT600E card
  • Companies House is separate. The charity and CASC answers deal with HMRC only, so any accounts your company must file at Companies House, and any charity regulator filing, are made separately. Where charity accounts must go

What each answer files

No
A CT600 to HMRC, accounts to Companies House, or both, as you choose under What are you filing?. Each CT600 of an active company has a tax computation, and box 4 follows your Company tax type answer on Financial Data.
Charity claiming full exemption
A CT600 with the CT600E pages, to HMRC only. Box 4 is code 8 and the CT600E claims that all income and gains are exempt. Your uploaded accounts are attached unchanged. No tax computation. Charity CT600E guide
Community amateur sports club (CASC) claiming full exemption
A CT600 with the CT600E pages, to HMRC only, claiming all income and gains exempt. Box 4 is code 0, because HMRC lists no separate code for a CASC. Your uploaded accounts are attached unchanged. No tax computation. CASC returns

The See examples link under the heading opens Special-regime companies we don’t support. It lists HMRC's own box 4 categories this service does not file: unit trusts and OEICs, companies in liquidation, qualifying asset holding companies, insurance companies, members' clubs or voluntary associations (box 4 code 6), charity-owned trading companies, REITs and non-UK resident companies. Being limited by guarantee does not by itself put a company in any of them. CT600 box 4 codes explained

An active property management company is not a special regime here. It answers No and declares box 4 code 7 under Company tax type on Financial Data. The dormant journey does not offer the code 7 choice. Box 4 code 7 steps

Which answer matches your company?

Charity or CASC claiming full exemption

Use it if all of these are true

  • The company is registered at Companies House and is a charity, or a registered community amateur sports club.
  • It claims that all of its income and gains for every return in this accounts period are exempt, and have been or will be applied for charitable or qualifying purposes.
  • You have the accounts prepared as a PDF, or as iXBRL, ready to upload.
  • The accounts period is no longer than 18 months.

Do not use it if

  • Some of the income or gains are taxable, so the claim would be partial. This company route does not file a partial exemption claim.The full exemption answers declare that everything is exempt. When charity income is exempt
  • The company is a trading company owned by a charity, not the charity itself.Charity-owned trading companies are listed under See examples as not supported.
  • The organisation is a CIO, a SCIO, an unincorporated charity or an unincorporated club, with no Companies House number.Use instead: CIO, SCIO and association route
  • An unincorporated CASC or club with some taxable income, or making no claim.Use instead: Unincorporated club or CASC CT600

No

Use it if all of these are true

  • The company is a standard UK company: trading, letting property, a management company or dormant.
  • None of the categories under See examples applies to it.
  • It is not claiming charity or CASC exemption on this return.

Do not use it if

  • The company is a charity or CASC claiming exemption on all income and gains, and the full exemption answers are shown.Choose the charity or CASC answer instead.
  • The company falls in one of the categories listed under See examples.This service does not file those returns.

Common mistakes

Answering No for a wholly exempt charity

No builds an ordinary company return. The CT600 has no CT600E, so it makes no exemption claim, and the tax is worked out on your figures as for any company. The accounts attached are micro-entity accounts generated from your figures, a format a charitable company cannot use under section 384B of the Companies Act 2006. A charitable company claiming full exemption uses Charity claiming full exemption and uploads its own accounts.

Choosing full exemption when some income is taxable

The charity and CASC answers declare that all income and gains are exempt. They do not file a partial claim, and they attach no tax computation. Whether all of your income is exempt depends on how it was earned and applied, which is for you or your accountant to establish before choosing. HMRC's conditions are in its guidance on charities and tax and tax relief for CASCs.

Why HMRC accepts no tax computation

A Company Tax Return normally includes accounts and a tax computation. HMRC's COTAX Manual COM60040 says no computation is required at all where the CT600E page is completed and confirms that all income and gains are exempt and have been or will be applied for charitable purposes. So on the charity and CASC answers each CT600 carries the CT600E claim and your accounts, and an explanation document stating why no computation is attached.

COM60040 also lets a smaller charity send its accounts as a PDF where its income, together with any wholly owned subsidiaries, is not more than £6.5 million for the period. Our service asks for iXBRL accounts when the total income you enter on the CT600E card is more than £6.5 million across the accounts period. Accounts for the CT600E route

More help: HMRC COM60040: CT online filing requirements · HMRC: CT600E supplementary pages

Accounts covering more than 12 months

When your accounts period ends more than 12 months after it starts, even by one day, HMRC needs two Corporation Tax returns, because a Corporation Tax accounting period cannot be longer than 12 months. The charity and CASC answers support accounts periods of up to 18 months. They file two CT600s, each with its own CT600E claim, and the same uploaded accounts go with both.

  • The split row under the period shows both returns' dates. If HMRC's first return ends on a different date, open Change CT600 split date and edit First CT600 ends. Matching both CT600 dates to HMRC
  • Enter the income and spending for the whole accounts period once. We divide recurring amounts between the two returns by days. Amounts that belong to one date, such as legacies, are divided in Amounts across your two returns, where you confirm which return each belongs to. Long periods on the CT600E card
  • Both returns claim full exemption. If either return would need a partial claim, this route is not the right one.

With No, a long period follows the ordinary company journey: two CT600s with a tax computation each. Standard return for a long period

Worked example

Company
Sycamore Example Trust Ltd, a charitable company limited by guarantee
Accounts period
1 January 2025 to 31 March 2026 (15 months)
First CT600
1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Not filed yet
Second CT600
1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026. Not filed yet
Claim
The trustees treat all income and gains as exempt and applied for charitable purposes
Income in the accounts
£48,000 of donations and grants for the whole period, with a £6,000 legacy received on 10 February 2026
Accounts
Prepared by the charity as a PDF

The company and all figures on this page are fictional.

Before you start

Your accounts file
A PDF, .html or .xhtml file of up to 15 MB. Use iXBRL if total income across the period is more than £6.5 million.
Income, spending and assets
From your prepared accounts, by the categories on the CT600E card. How each amount is classified is your decision. The CT600E fields
Charity number
Charity Commission or OSCR number, if the charity has one. A CASC is not asked for it.
Company UTR
Ten digits, on letters from HMRC. Where to find your UTR
Government Gateway details
The user ID and password for the company's HMRC account. Setting up a Government Gateway account

The company and all figures on this page are fictional.

Step by step

  1. Start a new filing

    Dashboard, company card
    Click New filing. If you see Resume filing, click the small arrow beside it and choose Start new filing →
    Confirm the company
    Tick the confirmation box, then click Continue with this company →

  2. Company Profile & Period

    Accounting period
    1 January 2025 to 31 March 2026
    Special tax regimes
    Charity claiming full exemptionFor a CASC, Community amateur sports club (CASC) claiming full exemption. For an ordinary company, leave it on No.
    What are you filing?
    HMRC CT600, selected for youIts description reads Corporation Tax return with CT600E. The Companies House choices are greyed out.
    Change CT600 split date
    Leave as shownThe dates show as 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 · 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026. Open it only if HMRC’s first return ends on a different date.
    Trading status
    Active, set for youWith No, the form starts on Dormant, so choose Active if the company had income or activity.

    Click Next →.

    More help: Choosing the charity scope

  3. Financial Data

    Instead of profit and loss and a balance sheet, the screen shows CT600E: Charity exemption claim, or CT600E: CASC exemption claim for a CASC.

    Income and expenditure
    Your figures for the whole accounts period, from your accountsLeave optional amounts blank if there are none.
    Legacy
    £6,000, dated 10 February 2026For two returns, confirm which return it belongs to in Amounts across your two returns.
    Your accounts
    Upload the PDFThe same file goes with both returns.
    Change the scope answer
    Only if you chose the wrong answer on the first step

    More help: Completing the CT600E card · Providing your accounts

  4. Review & file

    Instead of a Corporation Tax figure, the review page shows a CT600E card reading Full exemption claimed.

    Optional
    Click Preview your documents (free) to check each CT600 and its CT600E
    Subscribe
    Click Unlock Filing and complete payment
    Continue
    Click Continue to submission

  5. Filing credentials

    Corporation Tax UTR
    Your 10-digit UTR
    Gateway User ID
    Your Government Gateway user ID
    Gateway Password
    Your Government Gateway password
    Select the director submitting this return
    The director’s name
    Declaration
    Tick it

    Click Submit to HMRC.

    More help: If HMRC rejects your sign-in details

  6. After you submit

    HMRC usually replies within a few minutes, but it can take longer. Check HMRC’s response for each return on the filing page before you act on it.

    More help: Filing statuses explained · If HMRC rejects the accounts

Sample outcome

Two CT600s with CT600E1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, and 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026, each claiming full exemption
No tax computationHMRC does not require one when CT600E claims all income and gains exemptWhy HMRC accepts this
HMRC onlyThe uploaded accounts go to HMRC with each return. Nothing is filed at Companies House.

Not the right guide?

Open the guide that matches your organisation.

Charity CT600E filing stepsThe full charity and CASC full exemption guide.Unincorporated club or CASCPartial exemption, no claim and clubs without a company number.Property management company, box 4 code 7Answer No, then choose the company tax type.Company limited by guaranteeOrdinary guarantee companies answer No.

Looking for a different field or step? See all filing wizard guides →

Official sources

Whether this route matches your filings is for you to decide, yourself or with your accountant.

Example companies and figures are fictional. Field names match the filing wizard as of 12 October 2026.