Corporation Tax Act 2010 section 188EH

Sections 188EC and 188EE: meaning of "the overlapping period"

Section 188EH defines "the overlapping period" for the purposes of calculating limits on group relief for carried-forward losses under sections 188EC and 188EE.

• The overlapping period is the portion of time that is common to both the claim period (the claimant company's accounting period) and the surrender period (the surrendering company's accounting period).
• If, during any part of the overlapping period, the relevant relief condition is not met, that part is excluded from the overlapping period and instead treated as a non-overlapping part of both the surrender period and the claim period.
• The relief condition is whichever qualifying relationship underpins the claim — either the group condition or one of four consortium conditions (consortium conditions 1 to 4).
• This definition is important because the amount of relief available is calculated by reference to the overlapping period, so any reduction in the overlapping period directly reduces the relief that can be claimed.