What does Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 629 allow a liquidator to do?

Section 629 allows a liquidator to make a valid corporation tax assessment on a company being wound up before the relevant accounting period has ended. This gives the liquidator the practical ability to submit a tax return and self-assessment without waiting for the accounting period to close naturally, enabling the company's tax affairs to be settled promptly.

What is the assumed winding up date under section 629 of CTA 2010?

The assumed winding up date is the date on which the liquidator expects the winding up to be completed. This date is used to determine when accounting periods end under the rules in section 12 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009. If the assumption turns out to be wrong, the company's final and penultimate accounting years are not altered.

What happens if the actual winding up date is later than the assumed date?

If the actual winding up date falls later than the assumed date, an accounting period (period A) is treated as ending on the assumed date and a new accounting period (period B) begins immediately afterwards. The winding up accounting period rules then apply afresh to period B, and the liquidator may need to make a further assessment.

Is a corporation tax assessment invalidated if the assumed winding up date turns out to be wrong?

No. An assessment already made for the period based on the assumed winding up date is not invalidated merely because the assumed date turned out to be wrong. The company's final and penultimate accounting years remain unchanged, so earlier assessments are not disturbed by the actual winding up date being different.

Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 629

Company in liquidation: making of assessment to tax

Section 629 enables a liquidator to make a corporation tax assessment for an accounting period that has not yet finished, and sets out what happens if the actual winding up date differs from the date the liquidator assumed.

A corporation tax assessment made during a winding up is valid even if the accounting period has not yet ended.
The liquidator may assume a date on which the winding up will be completed and use that assumed date to determine when accounting periods end.
If the assumed winding up date turns out to be wrong, the company's final and penultimate years are not changed as a result.
If the actual winding up date is later than the assumed date, a new accounting period begins immediately after the assumed date, and the winding up rules restart from that point.

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