Entering a Revaluation Reserve in the Trial Balance

When you import a trial balance that includes a revaluation reserve — for example, because a fixed asset was revalued upward during the year — here is how TinyTax handles it and what to do in the mapping screen.

How the Balance Sheet Equity Section Works in the Mapping Screen

The trial balance mapping screen only shows fields that require direct input in the equity section:

• Share capital — enter this directly
• Corporation tax payable — enter this if applicable

There is no separate "Revaluation Reserve" drop zone in the mapping screen. This is by design: TinyTax calculates retained earnings as a derived figure — net assets (assets minus liabilities) minus share capital. This means the revaluation reserve is automatically captured within the retained earnings figure once all assets and liabilities are correctly mapped.

What to do with the revaluation reserve account from your trial balance: Leave it in the unmapped pool. Do not drag it to any category. If the AI has auto-suggested a category for it, override it back to unmapped or remove it from that category. Assigning a revaluation reserve account to a P&L expense category (such as "Other charges") will cause the balance sheet to be out of balance by exactly that amount.

How the Revaluation Reserve Appears in Your Accounts

Once mapped correctly (with all assets and liabilities mapped, share capital mapped, and the revaluation reserve left unmapped), your balance sheet will balance:

• Net assets = Fixed assets (at revalued amount) + Current assets − Creditors and liabilities
• Retained earnings (TinyTax) = Net assets − Share capital

This retained earnings figure will include both the P&L account balance and the revaluation reserve combined. The balance sheet will balance — but the revaluation reserve will not be presented as a separate named line.

FRS 105 (micro-entity accounts): Revaluation of assets is not permitted under FRS 105 — all fixed assets must be carried at historic cost. If your company meets the micro-entity thresholds (turnover under £632,000, balance sheet total under £316,000, and no more than 10 employees — breaching two of these is the trigger), you would need to restate to historic cost rather than include a revaluation reserve.

FRS 102 Section 1A (small company accounts): TinyTax automatically generates FRS 102 Section 1A accounts when a company exceeds the micro-entity thresholds. Revaluation is permitted under FRS 102. The revaluation reserve is included within the total shareholders' funds figure in TinyTax's accounts rather than presented as a separate named line on the face of the balance sheet. The CT600 filing to HMRC is not affected by the revaluation — corporation tax is calculated on income and allowable expenses, not on the revalued carrying amount.

What If I Need a Separately Presented Revaluation Reserve?

If you require the revaluation reserve shown as a distinct, named line in the equity section (for example, to satisfy a lender or investor), you would need accounts prepared under FRS 102 full standard rather than the simplified FRS 102 Section 1A format. TinyTax does not currently produce full FRS 102 accounts — for that level of detail, you would need dedicated accounts software or a professional accountant.

Common Questions

My balance sheet is out by exactly the revaluation reserve amount — what happened?

This almost always means the revaluation reserve account was mapped to a P&L category (such as "Other charges") during import. To fix it: re-import the trial balance, and when the mapping screen appears, find the revaluation reserve account and leave it unmapped. The balance sheet discrepancy will resolve.

Does the revaluation affect the CT600?

No. The CT600 is based on taxable income and allowable expenses. The revaluation is a balance sheet movement, not a trading gain or loss for corporation tax purposes — TinyTax keeps it out of the tax computation automatically.