Guidance

Register a non-resident company for Corporation Tax

Find out how to register for Corporation Tax as a non-resident company if you have sold, gifted or transferred interests in UK property or land.

Who should register

Register if you dispose of UK property or land and any of the following apply:

Re-register if you were previously registered for UK Corporation Tax but your company has since been dormant for Corporation Tax purposes.

If you are an agent acting on behalf of a company you can still register, even if you do not have authorisation to act on your client’s behalf for all Corporation Tax affairs through form 64-8.

If you’re an offshore property development company dealing in or developing UK land, use the register as an overseas company guide to register for Corporation Tax. This will also tell you what to do if you do not have a base in the UK.

If you are a non-resident landlord now required to submit a Corporation Tax return you should not use this g-form but should instead contact non-resident landlords.

Exemptions

You do not have to register if any of the following apply:

  • the disposal is an excluded disposal
  • an exemption applies
  • no chargeable gain or allowable loss arises

Examples include:

  • no gain or no loss transfers
  • a disposal where no gain arises because sales proceeds equal the acquisition cost
  • the substantial shareholding exemption applies to a disposal
  • the disposal is a grant of a lease for no premium
  • the disposal has an appropriate connection to a CIV and relief is provided under the terms of the relevant Double Taxation Treaty (HMRC is applying a concessionary treatment to these disposals which is subject to review - ‘appropriate connection’ is defined at CG73996J)

You can still register and submit returns in such cases if you want to disclose your disposals and the applicable exemptions.

There’s no need to register unless there’s a disposal of an interest in UK land or property. So holding an asset does not bring a non-resident company within the charge to Corporation Tax.

When to register

You must register within 3 months of the date you become chargeable to UK Corporation Tax.

You become chargeable when you sell, give or transfer ownership of UK property or land. This date cannot be before 6 April 2019 or after the date you register.

What you’ll need

If you’re registering for the first time or re-registering a company you’ll need the:

  • company name, registered address and contact details (HMRC will use the registered office address for initial contact)
  • previous company name (if there was one)
  • incorporation date and country of incorporation (or for a CIV the date of establishment)
  • company registration or incorporation number (if it has one)
  • director’s name, address and contact details (or for a CIV, somebody authorised to act on behalf of the CIV)
  • date of the disposal of interests in UK property or land
  • Income Tax Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if you have received UK rental income not subject to tax deducted at source

If you’re re-registering, you’ll also need the Corporation Tax UTR from any previous correspondence with HMRC.

How to register

If you already have a Government Gateway user ID and password

Register for Corporation Tax as a non-resident company.

You’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you used in previous registration for Corporation Tax. If you have recently registered for online services it can take 2 to 8 weeks to receive your codes. They will arrive at the overseas registered office.

If you do not have a Government Gateway user ID and password

Register online if you do not have a Government Gateway user ID and password.

After you’ve registered

After you’ve registered HMRC will:

  • set up a HMRC record for the company
  • send you a Corporation Tax UTR
  • send you more information by post about what you need to do next

HMRC aim to deal with your registration within 15 working days. This information will arrive at the overseas registered office. It can take up to 2 to 8 weeks to arrive.

When you receive your UTR you can then register for HMRC online services so that you can file a Corporation Tax Return and pay any tax due. You cannot register for HMRC online services and file your return before you receive your UTR.

Your online services activation codes will arrive at the overseas registered office. It can take 2 to 8 weeks to receive them.

Returns

If you have no other business in the UK, file a single return for the date of the disposal. If you have another disposal at a later date, you’ll need to send a new return for each disposal.

If you are a non-resident company landlord and have previously been exempted from notifying chargeability to Corporation Tax because your tax liability was fully offset by tax deducted under the non-resident landlord scheme, the exemption will cease to apply if you make a disposal in an accounting period ending on or after 6 April 2020.

From that point you will be sent a notice requiring you to report your property income annually via a Corporation Tax return until the property business ceases, even if you continue receiving your rents with tax deducted under the non-resident landlord scheme.

You may be liable to financial penalties if you do not file a Corporation Tax return when we ask you to do so.

Contact Non-UK resident landlords team in writing if you believe that you would continue to qualify for the exemption going forward in later accounting periods. You must notify HMRC if you cease to qualify for the exemption.

You must submit the return online and it must include:

You do not need to submit iXBRL tagged accounts for a one day accounting period.

If you’re a CIV or a company that has or expects to have 4 or more disposals in a financial year, by concession, there will be a 12 month accounting period. You will need to submit:

  • a CT600 return form
  • iXBRL tagged accounts and computations

So that HMRC does not have to contact you for additional information in relation to the disposal, your computation should include details of how you have utilised any losses, exemptions and reliefs.

It should give a clear breakdown of how you have calculated the gain or loss on the disposal.

Additionally, the type of asset should be identified from one of the following along with the address of the property:

  • residential property or land
  • non-residential property or land
  • mixed use (the property or land was partly residential during ownership)
  • indirect disposal of UK land

Alternatively, this information can be provided in a covering letter accompanying your CT600.

Accounts forming part of an online return must be in XBRL format.

You do not need to tag the accounts in XBRL if the following apply:

  • there’s no appropriate taxonomy for the accounting standard the accounts have been prepared
  • the HMRC online service does not accept the taxonomy.

If you use an unsupported standard, then submit your accounts in PDF format.

After you’ve re-registered

If you’re re-registering for Corporation Tax we’ll use the information provided to update our records. You’ll then be able to use HMRC online services to file returns and make payments.

Paying Corporation Tax

When you pay Corporation Tax will depend on your taxable profits and length of your accounting period.

If you hold no other chargeable interests in UK property or land after the disposal, you’ll stop being chargeable to UK Corporation Tax. You’ll also have a one day accounting period.

The rules for paying in instalments mean your tax may be due on the date of the disposal. HMRC will apply concessionary treatment in these cases. Payment of Corporation Tax will be due 3 months and 14 days after the end of your one day accounting period.

Read more information about choosing a way to pay.

If you disposed of UK residential property before 6 April 2019 you may be liable to:

Tax changes for UK property income of non-UK resident companies

If you receive UK rental income, file an SA700 return for 2019 to 2020 as well as a Corporation Tax return for any UK property or land disposal. From 6 April 2020, UK rental income will be chargeable to Corporation Tax instead of Income Tax. You do not need to file extra Corporation Tax returns to report any chargeable gains. You can report these with rental and other income.

Register as a non-resident company for the Construction Industry Scheme
If you’re a construction company working in the UK without a permanent establishment or agency office you do not need to register for Corporation Tax. You need to register for the Construction Industry Scheme.

Published 8 April 2019
Last updated 28 October 2020 + show all updates
  1. Information about what to include in your Corporation Tax return has been added.

  2. Returns section has been updated to say you may be liable to financial penalties if your do not file a Corporation Tax return when we ask you to do so.

  3. Link for CG73996J in the exemptions section has been updated.

  4. The 'exemptions' and 'returns' sections have been updated.

  5. Information for the online registration activation codes has been updated.

  6. More information about 'How to register', 'After you've registered' and 'After you’ve registered – Returns' has been added.

  7. The guidance has been updated to give non-resident companies and their agents clear information on what to report for the new Corporation Tax rules.

  8. First published.