The Charities Act 2009 requires all charities to file an annual report with the Charities Regulator every year. In a previous article published by our Charities & Not-for-Profit team, we summarised the information required to be submitted to the Charities Regulator and the process of doing so.

For any charity that has a financial year end of 31 December 2015, its next annual report will be due by 31 October. Therefore, if your charity falls within this category, you must submit your annual report as soon as possible in order to ensure that the legal deadline is met.

What information is required for the annual report?

Charities are required to provide a detailed set of responses to the Charities Regulator every year including information on:

  • the activities carried out by the charity during the year;
  • the direct beneficiaries of the charity during the year;
  • any direct services provided to individuals and the fees charged for such services or, if no fee is charged, the method of selecting who will benefit from the services;
  • the average number of employees and volunteers working for the charity;
  • any voluntary codes that the charity has signed up to;
  • details about the charity's income and expenditure during the year; and
  • a copy of the charity's financial statements.

What form does the annual report take?

The annual report takes the form of an online questionnaire which is completed via each charity's individual account. Each charity should have set up the online account via the Charities Regulator web portal accessed here by ticking the boxes that apply to your charity and typing in the answers to the questions asked. You should submit your annual report online when you are satisfied that all questions have been correctly answered.

When must the annual report be submitted?

The annual report must be filed no later than 10 months after each financial year end. Many charities have a financial year end of 31 December 2015 and for these charities the next annual report deadline is 31 October 2016.

For charities with a different financial year end, the annual report deadline can be determined by checking the table below.    

Financial Year End Annual Reporting Deadline
31 October 2015 31 August 2016 and annually thereafter
30 November 2015 30 September 2016 and annually thereafter
31 December 2015 31 October 2016 and annually thereafter
31 January 2016 30 November 2016 and annually thereafter
29 February 2016 31 December 2016 and annually thereafter
31 March 2016 31 January 2017 and annually thereafter
30 April 2016 28 February 2017 and annually thereafter
31 May 2016 31 March 2017 and annually thereafter
30 June 2016 30 April 2017 and annually thereafter
31 July 2016 31 May 2017 and annually thereafter
31 August 2016 30 June 2017 and annually thereafter
30 September 2016 31 July 2017 and annually thereafter

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.