Which documents do I need to send?
This depends on your charity's income in each financial period. You can check the specific requirements for your charity by choosing the option that describes its annual income:
When should you send the documents to us?
You should send us the required documents as soon as possible after your charity's financial year end and no later than ten months after that date.
Why do I need to complete an Annual Return or Update?
If your charity's income is over £10,000, it is a legal requirement for the trustees to send us an Annual Return each year. For financial periods ending in 2010, the form is called an Annual Return 2010 (AR 2010); for 2009, it is Annual Return 2009 (AR 2009) and so on.
If your charity's income is £10,000 or less, the trustees have a legal duty to advise us of changes to the charity's details including income and expenditure each year. The most convenient way to do this is by completing an Annual Update, which is the same as Part A of the Annual Return.
How many parts of the Annual Return the trustees are required to complete is determined by their charity's income.
Do I need to send my accounts?
All charities must prepare a Trustees' Annual Report (TAR) and accounts and make them available on request. Whether you must send them to the Commission depends on the charity's income.
How should I send my documents?
The easiest, quickest and most secure way is to submit this information online. Most charities now use this method to complete their Annual Returns and/or submit their TAR and accounts.
What will the Charity Commission do with this information?
Much of the information you give will be recorded or displayed on our public Register of Charities.
Charity accounts are normally made public and information from the Annual Return is used to update the charity's Register entry. We make it clear on the form what information may be used for public display.
The following details are not made available to the public:
- charity bank account details
- trustees' addresses
- trustees' telephone numbers
- trustees' dates of birth