Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 11

Companies with more than one accounting date

Section 11 allows a company that carries on more than one trade to choose which of its accounting dates should mark the end of its accounting period, subject to HMRC oversight.

• Where a company carries on multiple trades with different accounting dates and does not prepare a single set of accounts covering all its activities, it must select one accounting date to determine the end of its accounting period
• The company may choose which of the trade accounting dates to use for this purpose
• An HMRC officer may override the company's choice if they have reasonable grounds for considering the selected date inappropriate, directing the company to use a different trade accounting date instead
• The choice is limited to accounting dates of the company's trades — neither the company nor HMRC can select an accounting date from a non-trade business activity