If you run a film, television, animation, video games, theatre, orchestra or museums business, the way you claim your tax relief changed on 6 April 2026. HMRC now wants a new supplementary form, the CT600P, filed alongside your Company Tax Return every time you claim. Miss it, or fill it in against the wrong dates, and the claim can be stripped out of your return. For a sector that received £2.40bn in reliefs and expenditure credits in the year to 31 March 2024 (GOV.UK, 2024), the paperwork is worth getting right.
TL;DR: From 6 April 2026, any company claiming a creative industry tax relief or expenditure credit must file the new CT600P form with its CT600. It sits on top of the Additional Information Form, which has been mandatory since April 2024. Both are required. If either is late or the accounting dates do not match, HMRC can treat the claim as invalid and amend the return to remove it.
What Is the CT600P Form?
The CT600P is a supplementary page to the standard Company Tax Return, published by HMRC on 6 April 2026 (GOV.UK, 2026). Every company claiming a creative industry relief or expenditure credit for a return filed on or after that date has to include it.
It collects the numbers that support your claim: qualifying expenditure, the calculated expenditure credit, the amount set against your Corporation Tax bill, anything carried forward, and any group surrender or restriction. Before April 2026 this detail lived only in a separate form. Now HMRC pulls it onto the tax return itself, so the figures on the CT600P and the CT600 have to line up. In our experience, that is where most avoidable problems start.
Which Claims Need a CT600P?
All of them. HMRC's guidance lists ten reliefs and credits that the CT600P covers (GOV.UK, 2026): Film Tax Relief, Animation Tax Relief, High-end Television Tax Relief, Children's Television Tax Relief and Video Games Tax Relief, plus Theatre Tax Relief, Orchestra Tax Relief and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief. The two newer expenditure credits, the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), are also in scope.
The legacy reliefs and the new credits sit in the same net. New productions have claimed under AVEC and VGEC since 1 April 2025, and the older film, TV and video games reliefs close fully on 1 April 2027 (BFI, 2026). Whichever regime your production falls under, the CT600P now applies.
Do You Still Need the Additional Information Form?
Yes. The CT600P does not replace the Additional Information Form (AIF). The AIF has been compulsory for every creative claim since 1 April 2024, and it is submitted separately, either before or on the same day as your CT600 (GOV.UK, 2026).
So from April 2026 a compliant claim has two moving parts, not one. The AIF goes in first or alongside the return, and the CT600P travels with the CT600. One question clients always ask is whether the CT600P lets them skip the AIF now that the figures appear on the return. It does not. Both documents are mandatory, and HMRC treats them as doing different jobs: the AIF evidences the claim, the CT600P reports it on the return.
What Happens If You Get the Filing Wrong?
The claim is removed. If the AIF is late, or missing, HMRC can treat the original claim as invalid, and the return then has to be amended and the claim resubmitted (GOV.UK, 2026). That resets the clock and can push cash you were relying on months down the line.
The most common trip-up we see is dates. The start and end of the accounting period on the AIF have to match the CT600 exactly. A single mismatched date lets HMRC reject the form and strike the claim from the return, even when every underlying figure is correct. What we see most often is a production company using the calendar year on one form and its actual accounting period on the other. For AVEC and VGEC claims, a valid BFI cultural certificate, interim or final, also needs to sit behind the claim before it counts.
The Reliefs Are Worth Getting Right
Enough is at stake to make the process worth respecting. AVEC gives film, high-end TV and video games a 34% expenditure credit, worth around 25.5% of qualifying spend once Corporation Tax is applied (BFI, 2026). Animation and children's TV attract 39%, and lower-budget films claiming enhanced AVEC can reach 53%.
The thresholds are steady. At least 10% of core costs must be UK qualifying expenditure, and the claimable amount is the lower of 80% of total core expenditure or the actual UK spend. High-end TV alone drew a record £1.1bn of relief in the year to 31 March 2024 (GOV.UK, 2024), so a claim that gets bounced on a form error is not a small administrative footnote. It is real money delayed, sometimes into the next accounting period.
What Should You Do Before Your Next Filing?
Check three things before you submit. First, confirm your filing software supports the CT600P, since it is a new page and older return templates will not include it. If you file your Company Tax Return through commercial software, your provider should have added it. Second, reconcile the accounting-period dates across the AIF, the CT600P and the CT600 so all three agree.
Third, sequence the submission. Get the AIF in before or on the day the return goes to HMRC, with any BFI certificate ready. If you also claim research and development expenditure credits, keep the two claim processes separate, as they use different forms and evidence. Folding this check into your year-end accounts routine usually surfaces any gaps well before the deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the CT600P become mandatory?
For Company Tax Returns filed on or after 6 April 2026 that include a creative industry relief or expenditure credit claim (GOV.UK, 2026). The date that matters is when you file the return, not the accounting period it covers.
Does the CT600P replace the Additional Information Form?
No. The AIF is still required and is submitted separately, before or on the same day as the CT600. From April 2026 you file both the AIF and the CT600P for a valid claim.
What if I file the CT600 without the CT600P or AIF?
HMRC can treat the claim as invalid and amend your return to remove it. You would then need to resubmit, which delays any relief or credit due. Matching the accounting-period dates across every form is the simplest way to avoid a rejection.
Which creative reliefs are affected?
All ten: the film, animation, high-end TV, children's TV and video games reliefs, theatre, orchestra and museums and galleries reliefs, plus AVEC and VGEC. Every creative sector claim now needs the CT600P.
Are the old film and TV reliefs ending?
Yes. New productions have used AVEC and VGEC since 1 April 2025, and the legacy reliefs close on 1 April 2027 (BFI, 2026). Claims under either regime need the CT600P from April 2026.
If you claim creative industry tax relief and want to be sure your next return meets the new format, get in touch. Our tax team can review your CT600P, Additional Information Form and BFI paperwork before you file, so a strong claim does not get lost to a date mismatch.