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iXBRL (Inline XBRL)

Introduction
From April 2011 HMRC require company accounts to be submitted in the form of an iXBRL file. Paper and pdf files will no longer be accepted. An iXBRL file has the same format as a page on a web site and the accounts it contains can be viewed in any web browser simply by opening the file. The following is an example provided by HMRC (click on it to open in a new window in your web browser):

    accounts.html

Each relevant item of data in the above has also been marked with a hidden code contained within the file. The codes are commonly referred to as tags and the list of possible tags is called a taxonomy. A tagged item of data is called a fact. Using the tagged data, HMRC can automatically scan the accounts to highlight any corporation tax cases that require further investigation!

For illustrative purposes, VT have modified the above file to show all the tagged items (facts) with a yellow background. Click on the following to show this version of the accounts:

    accounts modified.html

VT Software used the program VT Fact Viewer to generate the above file. This program is available as a free download.

Generating iXBRL files
There are three ways to generate an iXBRL accounts file:

In theory it is possible to write an iXBRL file from scratch using a text editor such as Notepad. In practice this is virtually impossible, even if you have mastered the necessary technicalities.

VT Final Accounts
The December 2010 edition of VT Final Accounts will have a new button on the VT toolbar called Generate iXBRL File. This will display the following dialog:

The user will just have to click on OK to generate an iXBRL file.

Some practicalities

Submitting an iXBRL accounts file to HMRC
iXBRL accounts files can only be submitted to HMRC as part of a Corporation Tax return. You should be able to import an iXBRL accounts file into your Corporation Tax software package in a similar manner to the system currently used for importing a pdf file. A list of the tax packages that have tested this feature with HMRC is published at www.hmrc.gov.uk/efiling/ctsoft_dev.htm

You can also upload an iXBRL accounts file using HMRC's on-line CT filing product.

Submitting an iXBRL accounts file to Companies House
From the summer of 2010 Companies House will also accept the full accounts of unaudited companies as an iXBRL file, and this will be extended to all main account types by summer 2011. Companies House have not announced any plans to make this mandatory and accounts can still be submitted on paper.

VT have requested that Companies House simply have an Upload button on their web site for uploading an iXBRL file produced by any software package. If they do not do this, VT will write software to transmit the file to Companies House via their gateway. VT do not currently have a release date for this feature.