Every registered charity in England and Wales has a yearly filing with the Charity Commission. How much goes in depends on the charity's income and its type. The deadline is the same for everyone: 10 months after the end of the financial year. For the many charities whose year ended on 31 March 2026, that's 31 January 2027. This guide sets out what goes in at each size, in the Commission's own words.
The deadline
The Commission's prepare a charity annual return guidance says: "You must submit your annual return within 10 months of the end of your financial year." Its example: "if your financial year end is 31 December your deadline is 31 October the following year."
| Financial year ends | Annual return due by |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2026 | 31 January 2027 |
| 30 June 2026 | 30 April 2027 |
| 31 December 2026 | 31 October 2027 |
You submit it online. GOV.UK says each person needs their own My Charity Commission Account, set up with an individual email address and password.
What to send: unincorporated charities and charitable companies
These are the Commission's headings and requirements:
Income under £10,000. "You only need to report your income and spending."
Income between £10,000 and £25,000. You answer questions about your charity in an annual return. "You do not need to include any other documents."
Income over £25,000. You answer the annual return questions and declare that there are no serious incidents you haven't reported. You also upload copies of your:
- trustees' annual report
- accounts
- independent examiner's report or auditor's report, "if your charity is required to have its accounts independently examined or audited"
What to send: CIOs
Charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) send more, whatever their income. GOV.UK says a CIO must answer the annual return questions and provide copies of its:
- trustees' annual report
- accounts
- independent examiner's or auditor's report, if needed
Over £25,000, a CIO also makes the serious incidents declaration. The Commission's guidance on changing your financial year adds: "If the charity has not been operating, you must still submit your annual return and accounts, even if it is a nil balance."
The trustees' annual report is needed even when you don't send it
The trustees' annual report guidance says: "You must write a trustees' annual report if your charity is registered in England or Wales." At £25,000 or less, an unincorporated charity or charitable company doesn't send it to the Commission. But it still has to write one.
Two practical points from the same guidance:
- If you prepare receipts and payments accounts, "you can prepare a simple report".
- "The report must be dated and signed by one or more trustees who have been authorised to do this by the other trustees."
Do it in this order
GOV.UK says: "Prepare and agree your annual report and accounts first. You can then upload them when you complete your annual return."
So the accounts come first. If your charity needs an independent examination, the examiner needs time before the 10-month deadline too.
Which examination rule applies depends on your year end. The Commission's threshold changes at a glance applies the new, higher thresholds to financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026. A year that ended on 31 March 2026 uses the old ones. Our guide Independent examination thresholds from 30 September 2026 has the full table.
The questions themselves depend on your income, the type of charity and what it does. GOV.UK says to check them before you start, using the 2025 and 2026 question guide.
Worked example (made-up charities)
Four invented charities, all with a financial year ending 31 March 2026, so all due by 31 January 2027:
| Charity | Type | Income | What goes in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth club | Unincorporated | £6,000 | Income and spending only |
| Village hall | Unincorporated | £18,000 | Annual return questions, no other documents |
| Food bank | CIO | £6,000 | Annual return, trustees' annual report and accounts |
| Community centre | Unincorporated | £32,000 | Annual return, serious incidents declaration, trustees' annual report, accounts and independent examiner's report |
The community centre needs an examiner's report because its year ended before 30 September 2026, when the threshold was income over £25,000.
Now suppose the community centre's year ended on 31 December 2026 instead, with the same £32,000. The new thresholds apply, so an independent examination is only needed over £40,000, unless its governing document says otherwise. It still sends the report and accounts, because it's over £25,000. Its deadline is 31 October 2027.
If you need to correct something
GOV.UK says accounts can be replaced by re-uploading them through your My Charity Commission Account, and "A reset is not required". Changing an answer in the annual return is different: you "must apply in writing to request a full reset", then complete the whole return again. GOV.UK adds: "When an annual return is resubmitted, the new submission date will appear on the public register. If the date is after the end of the charity's financial year, the submission will show as late."
What happens if it's late
Repeated late filing can lead to a statutory inquiry. The Commission runs a class inquiry into charities that failed to file their annual documents "for two or more years in the last five years", after a final warning. In its report for April 2024 to March 2025, the inquiry is described as dealing with "the charity trustees' misconduct and/or mismanagement" in failing to file on time.
There's a smaller knock-on effect too. GOV.UK says: "You cannot change your charity's financial year or period if your latest annual return and accounts (if required) are overdue."
It also helps to know that what you send is public. GOV.UK says the Commission "publishes charity annual reports and accounts on its register", and they're "accessible to everyone".
Charitable companies: Companies House as well
A charitable company also files accounts at Companies House. GOV.UK's guidance for private limited companies gives that deadline as "9 months after your company's financial year ends", which is earlier than the Commission's 10 months. Check the Companies House rules for your company.
FAQ
Do all charities have to send accounts to the Charity Commission? No. On the Commission's table, an unincorporated charity or charitable company sends its trustees' annual report and accounts when income is over £25,000. CIOs send them whatever their income.
Our income is under £10,000. Is there anything to do? Yes. GOV.UK says "You only need to report your income and spending", within the same 10 months.
Is this the same in Scotland and Northern Ireland? No. This guide covers the Charity Commission for England and Wales. OSCR (Scotland) and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland have their own rules.
Getting the accounts ready first
The accounts come before the return. treasurersheet reads a year of bank statements (PDFs or photos) and drafts the receipts and payments account (Section A of the CC16 layout) and cash at bank. You add any other assets and liabilities. It runs a bank check and lists every transaction, so a trustee or examiner can follow the working. Your first statement is free. It doesn't write the trustees' annual report or submit the annual return, and the trustees still check and approve the accounts.
This isn't accounting or legal advice. Check the Charity Commission's annual return guidance or an independent examiner for your charity, and check the figures before you submit anything.