Charity annual return due 31 October? Five checks before you file

If your charity is registered in England or Wales and its financial year ended on 31 December 2025, its annual reporting deadline is 31 October 2026. The Charity Commission requires reporting within 10 months of the year end. A full annual return is required when income is over £10,000 or the charity is a charitable incorporated organisation. Other registered charities still report their income and spending.^{1 4}

The return is separate from your annual accounts and any charity tax return sent to HMRC. These five checks will help trustees prepare the right information and submit it once, accurately.

1. Confirm the period and rules

Check that the financial period shown in your My Charity Commission Account matches your approved accounts. If the end date is wrong, trustees need to update the Commission's records before filing.²

Use the rules that apply to that period. The higher accounting and examination thresholds introduced on 30 September 2026 apply to financial years ending on or after that date. A return for the year ended 31 December 2025 stays under the earlier thresholds.³ Our guide to the September 2026 accounting threshold changes explains how to prepare for your next year end.

2. Check access and earlier returns

The person filing needs their own My Charity Commission Account, with an individual email address and password. Check that the right person can sign in now, while there is time to solve an access problem.¹

Any outstanding return from an earlier year must be filed before the latest one.⁴ Look at the charity's record and account dashboard before gathering the final figures so an old gap does not delay this submission.

3. Gather the right documents

The documents depend on income and legal structure. A charitable company or unincorporated charity with income over £25,000 must upload its trustees' annual report, accounts and any required independent examiner's or auditor's report. A charitable incorporated organisation, known as a CIO, must upload these documents whatever its income.¹

Agree the report and accounts before starting the return. The Commission's question guide shows the information that may be requested, including income, spending, employees, volunteers, governance, safeguarding and work outside the UK.²

4. Reconcile income and spending

Use the gross income and spending from the approved accounts. The calculation depends on whether the charity prepared receipts and payments accounts or accruals accounts, so follow the definitions in the Commission's question guide.²

Charities already listed on Wonderful.org can download donation and Gift Aid data for a chosen date range. Treat the export as one source record and reconcile it with the charity's bank records and accounting system. Gift Aid relies on a valid donor declaration, and the charity makes the claim to HMRC. Our Gift Aid claim checklist covers the checks to complete before a claim.

5. Review governance and serious incidents

Ask the trustees to review the governance, safeguarding and risk answers before submission. Charities with income over £25,000 must declare that there are no serious incidents left unreported.¹ If a supplier issue affected personal data, use our first checks for a charity data incident and reach a documented reporting decision before filing.

Read the complete return back against the approved accounts and trustee records. Changes to a submitted return require a written request for a full reset and a complete resubmission. The new submission date appears on the public register and can show as late.¹

Take one action today

Open the charity's Commission account and confirm the year end, filer access and any outstanding returns. Then give one person responsibility for assembling the approved accounts, trustees' report and answers before 31 October.

This article provides general information for charities in England and Wales. It does not provide legal or accounting advice. Trustees remain responsible for meeting the requirements that apply to their charity.

Footnotes

1. Charity Commission, annual return preparation guidance, updated 16 September 2026. Read the guidance.
2. Charity Commission, Charity Annual Return 2025 and 2026 question guide. Read the question guide.
3. Charity Commission, accounting threshold changes applying to financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026. Read the threshold summary.
4. Charity Commission, annual return submission service. Read the filing guidance.

Further reading

• Prepare a charity annual return
• Charity Annual Return 2025 and 2026 question guide
• Send a charity's annual return