Accounting period (UK taxation)

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Accounting
Historical cost Constant purchasing power Management Tax
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Key concepts Accounting period Accrual Constant purchasing power Economic entity Fair value Going concern Historical cost Matching principle Materiality Revenue recognition Unit of account
Selected accounts Assets Cash Cost of goods sold Depreciation / Amortization (business) Equity Expenses Goodwill Liabilities Profit Revenue
Accounting standards Generally-accepted principles Generally-accepted auditing standards Convergence International Financial Reporting Standards International Standards on Auditing Management Accounting Principles
Financial statements Annual report Balance sheet Cash-flow Equity Income Management discussion Notes to the financial statements
Bookkeeping Bank reconciliation Debits and credits Double-entry system FIFO and LIFO Journal Ledger / General ledger Trial balance
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An accounting period is a period with reference to which United Kingdom corporation tax is charged.^[1] It helps dictate when tax is paid on income and gains. An accounting period begins whenever a company comes within the corporation tax charge, and whenever an accounting period ends without the company ceasing to be within the charge. There are a number of rules about when an accounting period ends, and we look at each of these below.

Often an accounting period coincides with a company's period of account. This is the period for which it draws up accounts,^[2] except for a life assurance company, where it is the period for which it draws up its periodical return.^[3] However, periods of account and accounting periods do not necessarily coincide.