Written by The Charities (Annual Return) Regulations 2024 (the Regulations) came into force on 1 January 2025 and set out the information that must be included in your charity’s annual return from 1 January 2025 onwards. It is important for registered charities to stay up to date with their filing requirements, so we have prepared a simplified breakdown of the effects of the Regulations.
Who do the Regulations apply to?
The Regulations apply to all registered charities who are required to file annual returns.
Regulation 3 states that they do not apply to common investment funds of charity authorised investment funds, while Regulation 4 states that common deposit funds established or regulated by a common deposit scheme are not required to prepare an annual return.
What does my charity have to file?
For the purposes of 169 (1) and section 169 (2) of the Charities Act 2011 every CIO and any registered charity with an income over £10,000 must prepare an annual return for each of its financial years as required by the Commission. Depending on the income of your charity, the following parts of the Schedule to the Regulations must be completed. This has not changed:
What has changed?
Part A now includes questions on Income Donations, to be answered by all charities with an income over £100,000. These include the value of the charity’s single highest value donation from a corporate donor, from an individual and from a related party during the financial period.
It also now includes a question for unincorporated charities on whether their charity property is held by a holding or custodian trustee on behalf of the charity (this excludes the Official Custodian for Charities).
It also includes slightly varied wording on the appropriate level of DBS Checks required and an additional question on the reporting of serious incidents.
Regulation 5 makes it clear that the Charities (Annual Return) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 and The Charities (Annual Return) Regulations 2022 have been revoked, save that they still apply to annual returns for years ending before 1 January 2025.
Need Advice?
Our Charity Department is on hand to answer any questions you may have, as well as assist with the filing of any annual returns, so do not hesitate to get in touch today with any questions about the recent updates.