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This article applies to:

  • Product: Digita Corporation Tax

Current workarounds for CT600L in Corporation Tax version 22.4

Version 21.0 of Corporation Tax introduced form CT600L, which you'll need for R&D and RDEC claims. Data entry for R&D and RDEC is unchanged, but Corporation Tax now makes automatic writebacks to boxes in CT600L. To view the form, go to
Forms
, then
CT600L
.
note
We strongly recommend you check the following before you send the form to your clients for approval:
  • Check the CT600L to make sure the entries are correct.
  • Select
    Reports
    ,
    Tracker
    , then
    Tax Return Validation
      to identify and resolve any validation problems.

Validation errors 9380, 9385, 9393, 9395 related to the Use RDEC scheme for R&D checkbox on CT600L

Corporation Tax doesn't attach form CT600L to submissions by default. It will only attach it to a submission if you've marked the
Use RDEC scheme for R&D
 checkbox. To find this checkbox, go to
Company
,
Company Details
, then
Status
.
There are 2 scenarios when the
Use RDEC scheme for R&D
 checkbox can cause one of the following validation errors:
  • 9380 — Supplementary form CT600L must be present if box 142 is completed.
  • 9385 — Box 530 must only be completed if box 142 equals yes.
  • 9393 — Box 875 must only be completed if box 142 equals yes.
  • 9395 — Box 880 must only be completed if box 142 equals yes.
These 2 scenarios are:
  • If you've cleared the
    Use RDEC scheme for R&D
     checkbox for a company that only has an SME R&D claim, then Corporation Tax will not produce CT600L when it's needed. In this case, mark the
    Use RDEC scheme for R&D
     checkbox.
  • If you've marked the
    Use RDEC scheme for R&D
     checkbox for a company, but there's no R&D or RDEC claim, then Corporation Tax will still produce form CT600L when it's not needed. In this instance, clear the
    Use RDEC scheme for R&D
    checkbox.
If you only have an SME R&D enhancement relief claim, then you don't need the CT600L pages. In this case, you'll need to clear the
Use RDEC scheme for R&D
 checkbox, otherwise you'll get the following error:
Error message
9780 — SME section on supplementary form CT600L can only be completed if box L170, L185 or L190 are completed.

Error: CT600L is incomplete/not marked for submission

You may get the following error message when you file accounts in Corporation Tax:
Error message
CT600L is incomplete / not marked for submission. Do you wish to submit without this form included?
If you get this error and only have an SME R&D Enhancement claim, then select
OK
. Your submission should now be successful.
If you've got both an RDEC claim and an SME R&D Enhancement relief claim, then you'll need to mark the
Use RDEC scheme for R&D
 checkbox on the CT600L, then use
Space bar
 to clear box L166.

Error: The following forms are marked incomplete — CT600L

You may also get the following error message:
Error message
The following forms are marked as incomplete — CT600L.
Take the following steps to solve this error.
  1. Select
    Reports
    .
  2. Select
    Lock Tax Computation
    .
  3. If
    Lock Tax Computation
     is inactive:
    1. Select
      Forms
      .
    2. Mark the
      Document
       and
      Submit
       checkboxes on the CT600L row.
      note
      If you've an R&D or RDEC claim and the
      Submit
       checkbox is inactive and not marked, you may need to take the following steps:
      1. Select
        Company
        , then
        Corporate Status
        .
      2. Clear the
        Use scheme for R&D
         checkbox, then mark it.
      3. Go to the
        Research and Development
         schedule.
      4. Select the
        RDEC
         tab.
      5. Enter the relevant information again.

Error 9635 — Box L168 must be completed if box L167 is not completed

In version 22.4, there are new data entry fields in the
Research and Development
 tab so that you can enter relevant expenditure on workers and PAYE references. These fields are available if the accounting period starts on or after 1 April 2021.

Error 9732 — Box L45 must equal the lesser of boxes L25 and L40. If box L25 is not completed then box L45 must equal 0

You should only get this error in version 22.3 and earlier. We recommend that you upgrade to version 22.4.

Error 9718 — Step 1 section on supplementary form CT600L, can only be present if either box L15 or box L20 are completed

This error may happen when you complete an SME R&D tax credit claim only, where there is a non-trade Corporation Tax liability. Corporation Tax will populate boxes L30 and L40 with the CT liability, but you should only have figures in these when you claim RDEC.
  1. Select box L30 until a cursor appears, then use the
    Space bar
     to clear the box.
  2. If you use version 22.4, select box L6 until a cursor appears, then use the
    Space bar
     to clear the figure.
  3. Re-run CT600L.
    note
    The RDEC sections are now cleared of figures.

Schema error — The element ‘ResearchAndDevelopment’ in namespace

You may get the following error if you use Corporation Tax than 22.3 or earlier, when you complete an SME R&D claim, or when Corporation Tax doesn't complete box L210 on page 4.
Error message
The element ‘ResearchAndDevelopment’ in namespace ‘http://www.govtalk.uk/taxation/CT/5’ has incomplete content. List of possible elements expected: ‘http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/taxation/CT/5’: TotalRandDSetOffAgainstLiabilities.
  1. If you can, update Corporation Tax to version 22.4.
  2. If you can't update Corporation Tax, select box L210 until you see a cursor, then enter
    0
    .
  3. If you need to set off the R&D tax credit against other tax liabilities, you can use the workarounds under the heading, ‘Set R&D/RDEC against other tax liabilities’.
    note
    You can't split the amount of R&D/RDEC tax credit you want to set off against Corporation Tax and other tax liabilities, such as loans to participators, or bank levy. We intend to improve this in a later release.

Workaround to set off SME R&D tax credit against other liabilities

  • If you've an SME R&D tax credit, Digita Corporation Tax assumes it should set it against Corporation Tax, and so populates boxes L170 and L180, which should match box 875 on the main CT600.
  • If you need to set some of this against other tax liabilities, that amount should be shown in box L175, which then feeds into box L205, L210 and then box 530.
  • Corporation Tax adds any remaining tax credit to box L180, which should populate box 875.
  • There's nowhere to show which liability you want to set the tax credit against, and Corporation Tax still calculates the full amount of tax credit in box 875.
Take the following steps if you want to split the tax credit between liabilities.
  1. Select box L175 until a cursor appears.
  2. Manually enter the amount of tax credit you intend to set against other tax liabilities.
  3. Re-run the CT600L to update the other fields and make a note of the figure now in box L180.
    note
    If you now run a validation report, you will get error 9394: Box 875 must not be greater than Box L180.
  4. Run the CT600 and go to page 10.
    note
    Box 875 still shows the full tax credit, rather than the reduced amount that is now in box L180.
  5. Right click in box 875 and select Enable Editing.
  6. Select Yes.
  7. Select box 875, until there's a cursor.
  8. Enter the amount you noted from box L180 or, if you need to remove the full amount, use the Space bar to remove the amount.

Workaround to set off RDEC tax credit against other liabilities

Digita Corporation Tax sets an RDEC tax credit against the Corporation Tax liability at Step 1, box L45. It also carries any balance forward.
  1. Take the following steps if the balance makes it as far as Step 6 and you want to offset the remainder against another company liability on this Corporation Tax Self Assessment.
    1. Select box L110 until there is a cursor.
    2. Enter the amount you want to offset.
  2. Take the following steps if you want to offset the remainder against any other company liability.
    1. Select box L115 until there's a cursor.
    2. Enter the amount you want to offset.
  3. Re-run CT600L to refresh the totals.
    note
    When you run a validation report, there should be no further errors. For RDEC, Corporation Tax will populate box 530 on the main CT600 with the amount set against either the Corporation Tax liability or Other liability, and show any payable credit to box 880.

Brought forward RDEC amounts

In version 22.3 and earlier, Corporation Tax doesn't add brought-forward amounts of RDEC unused in the current year to the carried forward amount that populates box L140.
We've fixed this problem in version 22.4, so we recommend you upgrade to this version. If you can't upgrade, you can take the following steps:
  1. Select box L140, until there's a cursor.
  2. Enter the total amount you want to carry forward.
  3. Re-run the CT600L to refresh the totals.
note
HMRC has advised it has a server issue where a company that reports an amount of brought forward Step 2 restriction (included in box L5), but does not claim any RDEC in the current period (included in box L15), or step 3 amounts from a previous accounting period (included in box L20), will fail validation.
HMRC intends to update its servers in April 2023.
If you've a company in this position, you could try to enter
0.01
 as qualifying expenditure in the RDEC tab to clear the validation error. If you do this, you could add an information note to advise HMRC that you've made your entry to facilitate online filing due to their current problem.

HMRC Corporation Tax guidance notes on current problems