# XBRL - Shifting From Paper To Online Company Tax Returns And Electronic Payment. By Capium, cloud accountancy software for UK accountancy practices. Published 23 February 2014, last updated 22 April 2024 by the Capium team. Source: https://www.capium.com/case-studies-xbrl-shifting-from-paper-to-online-company-tax-returns-and-electronic-payment/ --- XBRL is a standards-based technique used for making ready, publishing (in a spread of formats), exchanging and analyzing monetary statements. XBRL facilitates reporting and makes it easier for firms to render information in a very user-friendly manner that’s disclosed below the present accounting standards and is valued by investors and regulators. It enhances the processes of preparing, analyzing and publishing the data in business reports. XBRL defines how the numbers and facts within a financial plan and connected reports relate to one another. ## Key takeaways - **What XBRL is:** eXtensible Business Reporting Language tags each item of financial information so that computers can read it. - **iXBRL for company tax returns:** Since 1 April 2011, Company Tax Returns for periods ending after 31 March 2010 have had to be filed online with accounts and computations in iXBRL. - **In Capium:** Capium produces iXBRL accounts and corporation tax computations ready to submit to HMRC. --- XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. It’s one among a family of “XML” languages which is turning into a standard means that of communicating data between businesses and on the web. XBRL is being developed by a global non-profit consortium of over 600 major corporations, organizations and other government institutions. It’s an open customary, freed from license fees. It’s already being place to practical use in a number of nations and implementations of XBRL are growing rapidly round the world. The idea behind XBRL, eXtensible Business Reporting Language, is simple. Rather than treating monetary info as a block of text – as in an exceedingly standard web page or a printed document – it provides an identifying tag for every individual item of information. This can be computer readable, for instance, company net profit has its own distinctive tag. HMRC has announced that from 1st April 2011 for any accounting period ending 31st March 2010, all Company Tax Returns should be filed online with accompanying monetary statements and computations in iXBRL format[1]. iXBRL is a new, electronic format for business info, which HMRC expects to produce edges within the construction, analysis and communication of business and financial information. With iXBRL format you have got an XML document that has standard bar codes among it. The bar codes or ‘tags’ effectively convert everybody’s monetary statements and computations into a standard machine-readable template. iXBRL is changing into a global customary for financial reporting. Nearly all firms need to file monetary statements and tax calculations using iXBRL by HMRC. As XBRL reporting is widely utilized by companies everywhere the world, hence, Capium provides iXBRL featured format reports, which can be submitted online to HMRC. You’ll be able to conjointly submit your year end accounts as well as corporation tax in iXBRL format. Capium is consistently updated in line with HMRC latest updates. ## Frequently asked questions **Q: What is iXBRL?** Inline XBRL: a format that tags the financial data in accounts and computations so HMRC and Companies House can read it automatically. **Q: Do Company Tax Returns have to use iXBRL?** Yes. Accounts and computations filed with a Company Tax Return must be in iXBRL format. ## Further reading - [XBRL guide for businesses](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/xbrl-guide-for-uk-businesses) (GOV.UK): Guide to iXBRL including the standard form of iXBRL-tagged presentation of business reports. - [Company Tax Returns](https://www.gov.uk/company-tax-returns) (GOV.UK): How to prepare a Company Tax Return for your limited company or unincorporated association - deadlines, corrections and penalties - [File your accounts and Company Tax Return](https://www.gov.uk/filing-your-company-accounts-and-tax-return) (GOV.UK): The official process and deadlines for filing statutory accounts and the CT600 with HMRC. ## References 1. GOV.UK, *Company Tax Return obligations*. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/company-tax-return-obligations Accessed 21 October 2026.