Corporation Tax returns submitted to HMRC must be accompanied by iXBRL-tagged accounts. In BrightTax, accounts can be linked to a CT return in three ways: from a BrightTax Year End Accounts task, from BrightAP, or by attaching a third-party iXBRL file. This article explains each method.

If the company's accounts have been prepared in BrightTax Accounts Production, you can link the Year End Accounts task directly to the CT return.

1. Open the CT return and go to the Summary tab.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Template Details.
3. Under Linked Accounts, search for and select the relevant Year End Accounts task.
4. Click Save. The accounts figures will populate into the CT computation automatically.

If the company's accounts have been prepared in BrightAP, use the BrightAP to CT integration to send the accounts directly into the CT return.

1. In BrightAP, prepare the company accounts as normal.
2. Click Send to BrightTax from within BrightAP.
3. BrightTax will create a new CT return (or update the existing one) with the accounts figures automatically populated.
4. Complete the CT calculations in BrightTax as normal.
5. Optionally, send the final CT figures back to BrightAP using Send back to BrightAP.

See Sending Company Accounts from BrightAP to Corporation Tax in BrightTax for the full step-by-step guide.

If the accounts have been prepared in third-party software (e.g. VT Final Accounts, IRIS, Sage), you can attach the iXBRL file directly to the CT return.

1. Open the CT return and expand the CT navigation toolbar.
2. Click the Swap Mode button to switch the CT mode to enable the Attach Accounts feature.
3. Click the Attach Accounts button.
4. In the pop-up window, click Add and browse to select the iXBRL file from your computer.
5. Select Full Accounts and/or Filleted Accounts as appropriate.
6. Click OK to attach the file.

If no accounts are linked or attached, BrightTax will show an error when you try to submit — the system requires an iXBRL file to be present for CT submission. To bypass this requirement (for example, where accounts will be filed separately), go to Template > CT Options and state your reason for not including accounts.

The CT return is showing an error because no Year End Accounts are linked

• Either link a BrightTax YEA task, import from BrightAP, or attach a third-party iXBRL file using the steps above.
• If you have a valid reason for not attaching accounts, use CT Options under the Template tab to bypass this validation.

Q: Can I link the same Year End Accounts to multiple CT returns?

A: No. A Year End Accounts task can only be linked to one CT return at a time.

Q: What if the accounts were prepared in a different software and I only have a PDF?

A: A PDF is not sufficient for HMRC CT submission — an iXBRL-tagged file is required. You would need to produce an iXBRL version of the accounts from your accounts software before attaching it to the CT return.