The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
Charities have a duty to be transparent and accountable to donors, beneficiaries and the public, and are required by law to provide certain documents to the Commission and to keep their information on the public register up to date.
Trustees of every registered charity with an income exceeding £10,000 in their financial year are required to complete an Annual Return form and submit it, together with the charity’s accounts and trustees’ annual report, to the Charity Commission. This must be done within 10 months of the end of the charity’s financial year.
Charities with an annual income of £10,000 or less do not have to complete an Annual Return or supply the Commission with a copy of their annual accounts and trustees’ annual report. However, smaller charities are required to keep their register details updated and so, we ask them to complete an Annual Update form.
Information from the Annual Return and Annual Update is used to maintain charities’ details on the register of charities and is taken as evidence of their continued existence.
All charities have 10 months from the end of their financial year to file their documents and we offer advice and guidance on how to meet the deadline.
Charities that have not sent their annual accounts and returns on time will be listed as defaulters on the register and could risk facing bad publicity and potentially a loss of support from donors and funders.
The Charity Commission also has a statutory duty to maintain an accurate register of charities and to remove any charities that have ceased to operate or exist.
Charities failing to provide evidence of their activity and existence by submitting accounts, Annual Returns or Annual Updates will receive a series of reminders for the overdue information. If the Commission has not received a charity's outstanding documents 22 months after their financial year end, they may be removed from the register.