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HMRC reporting submitted year-end accounts as blank
We’ve encountered an issue with our HMRC submission and would appreciate your help.
HMRC have informed us that the year-end accounts they received contain no financial figures (i.e. appear blank). As a result, our R&D tax credit claim has been rejected.
Could you please check your records and confirm: What accounts data/file was submitted to HMRC please?
Is there a way that I can check the submission payload (e.g. XML) to see what what was transmitted.
And is there an HMRC correlation ID for this submission?
Thanks very much
HMRC have informed us that the year-end accounts they received contain no financial figures (i.e. appear blank). As a result, our R&D tax credit claim has been rejected.
Could you please check your records and confirm: What accounts data/file was submitted to HMRC please?
Is there a way that I can check the submission payload (e.g. XML) to see what what was transmitted.
And is there an HMRC correlation ID for this submission?
Thanks very much
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The CT600 we transmitted to HMRC on 29 January 2026 is not blank — it correctly reports a trading loss for the period 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025:
- Turnover: £0
- Costs: £157,411 (staff costs £132,571, other charges £24,552, raw materials £288)
- Loss before tax: £157,411 (reported in Box 780 — trading losses carried forward)
HMRC accepted this return (transaction ID: 5A728DC898544C2B926AD54D54D2D268). You can verify this in your HMRC online account (allow 3–5 days for CATO to update).
The reason HMRC may describe the accounts as "blank" for R&D purposes is that TinyTax files standard CT600 returns only. We don't currently support R&D tax credit claims — the return we filed does not include enhanced expenditure figures (Boxes 530–535), SME R&D relief, or RDEC. Those fields are absent, which is why HMRC's R&D team would see no R&D data.
To claim R&D tax credits, you'll need to file an amended CT600 that includes the R&D supplementary pages. The quickest routes are:
1. A specialist R&D tax adviser or accountant — they can prepare and file the amendment
2. HMRC's own CT600 online service, which includes the R&D fields
3. Commercial CT600 software that supports R&D claims
Since the original return was accepted, you have until 30 November 2027 (two years from the period end) to file the amendment. The amendment adds the R&D data on top of the existing accepted return — you don't need to cancel or refile the original.
I'm sorry TinyTax can't help with the R&D claim directly — it's a specialist area outside our current scope. But the underlying CT600 data we filed is correct and won't cause issues with the amended filing.