COM153022 - CT Pay and File: claims / reliefs: ACT: ACT carry-back and late payment interest: Examples

Example 1  

Accounting Period (AP) 01/01/21 to 31/12/21 
AP 01/01/22 to 31/12/22 
Agreed and assessed CT liability of £20,000 
Surplus ACT of £5,000 
Paid £15,000 on the due date, 01/10/22 (£5,000 unpaid) 
Claims under Section 239(3) (S239(3)) Income and Corporation Taxes Act (ICTA) 1988 to carry it back against CT profits of the previous Accounting Period (AP) 
  1. Liability for the AP 01/01/9421 to 31/12/9421 reduced to £15,000 

  1. Interest on £5,000 (the amount unpaid before the ACT set-off claim was made) is due for the period 01/10/22 to 01/10/23, which is the due date of the later AP

Example 2  

Accounting Period (AP) 01/01/21 to 31/12/21


AP 01/01/22 to 31/12/22
Agreed and assessed CT liability of £20,000 
Surplus ACT of £5,000 
Paid £20,000 on the due date 01/10/22 
Claims under Section 293(3) (S239(3)) Income and Corporation Taxes Act (ICTA) 1988 to carry it back against CT on profits of the previous AP 
  1. Liability for APE 31/12/21 reduced to £15,000. 

  1. £5,000 tax is repaid on 01/07/23, 

No interest is due because £20,000, the amount of CT liability disregarding the ACT carry back claim, was paid. 

If the company had paid the £20,000 late S87A interest would have been payable from the due date until the date of payment Further interest to 01/10/23 would not be due on the £5,000 covered by the ACT carry-back S87A is only concerned with tax unpaid at the time of the carry-back. 

Example 3  

In this example the interest calculation is performed after allowing for reliefs that have been displaced by the carry-back 

Accounting Period (AP) 01/01/21 to 31/12/21 
AP 01/01/22 to 31/12/22 
Agreed and assessed liability of CT £20,000 less IT suffered £20,000 net nil 
Surplus ACT £5,000 
No CT is paid 

Claims under Section 239(3) (S239(3)) Income and Corporation Taxes Act (ICTA) 1988 carry it back against CT on profits of the previous AP


The liability remains Nil, being CT £20,000 less ACT £5,000 less IT suffered £15,000, and £5,000 IT is available for repayment. 

Disregarding the ACT carry back claim, there would have been no CT liability, because an Income Tax set-off removed it.  There is, therefore, no S87A interest liability.