Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005

Rules where first accounting date shortly before end of tax year

208 When the late accounting date rules apply

(1) Sections 209 and 210 contain rules for the purpose of—

(a) avoiding the need to apportion profits, and

(b) preventing overlap profit from arising,

in relation to the tax year in which a person (“the trader”) starts to carry on a trade and the following tax year.

(2) Sections 209 and 210 apply in relation to a tax year if—

(a) the first accounting date is 31st March or 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th April, and

(b) that date falls in the tax year in which the trader starts to carry on the trade or in either of the following two tax years,

but the trader may elect for those sections not to apply in relation to a tax year.

(3) In this section and section 210 “the first accounting date” means—

(a) the first accounting date after the trader starts to carry on the trade, or

(b) the date that is intended to be that accounting date if, at the time the trader delivers a return for a tax year, there has been no accounting date.

(4) An election under this section must be made on or before the first anniversary of the normal self-assessment filing date for the tax year to which it relates.

209 Rule if there is an accounting date

(1) This section applies if there is an accounting date in a tax year and that date is 31st March or 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th April.

(2) If—

(a) the basis period for the tax year would otherwise end after the accounting date, and

(b) the part of the basis period that would otherwise fall after the accounting date is included in the basis period for the following tax year,

the basis period for the tax year ends on the accounting date.

210 Rules if there is no accounting date

(1) This section applies if there is no accounting date in a tax year (“the relevant tax year”).

(2) If the trader—

(a) starts to carry on the trade in the relevant tax year, and

(b) does so before 1st April,

the basis period ends on the date in the relevant tax year that corresponds to the first accounting date.

(3) If the trader started to carry on the trade in the previous tax year and there was no accounting date in the previous tax year, the basis period for the relevant tax year—

(a) begins immediately after the end of the basis period for the previous tax year, and

(b) ends on the date in the relevant tax year that corresponds to the first accounting date.

(4) If the trader—

(a) starts to carry on the trade in the relevant tax year, and

(b) does so after 31st March,

the profits or losses of the trade of the relevant tax year are treated as nil.

(5) In that case, the actual profits or losses of the trade of the relevant tax year are treated as arising in the basis period for the following tax year, so far as they do not already do so.