Charity annual return questions
This document is to help charities prepare for their annual return by gathering the required information.
Submit your annual return online, once you have the information you need.
There is more guidance on the questions in the online service.
grants’.
If your income is under £10,000 you only need to report your income and spending.
Section: Financial period
You will be asked to confirm the charity's financial period.
Section: Income and spending
all figures to the nearest pound (do not enter decimal points or commas).
accounts are only required where group income is more than £1million).
Section: Confirm income and spending
Please check the gross income figure you have entered here is correct.
Section: Serious incidents
Charity Commission, for the period of this return.
Section: Fundraising
Did your charity raise funds from the public?
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
Did the charity work with any professional fundraisers?
Did your charity have a written agreement with each of its professional fundraisers?
Did your charity work with any commercial participators?
Did your charity have a written agreement with each of its commercial participators?
Section: Grant making
Was grant making the main way your charity carried out its purposes?
Section: Income from government contracts
government or local authorities?
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
How many contracts did your charity have with central government or local authorities?
What was the total value of these contracts?
Section: Income from government grants
government grants’.
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
How many grants did your charity receive from central government or local authorities?
What was the total value of these grants?
Section: Income from outside the UK
Did your charity receive income from outside the UK?
Then answer the following questions.
What is the value of income from each country?
Please round all figures to the nearest pound (do not enter decimal points or commas). If your charity did not have any income from the source, please enter 0 (zero).
Specify the source and amount of income from the options below:
-
Overseas government or quasi government bodies
-
Overseas charities, NGOs or NPOs
-
Other overseas institutions
-
Individuals resident overseas (for example school fees and memberships)
-
Unknown/Do not know
is more than £25,000, only include payments of more than £25,000.
- If you are completing a 2018 annual return, these categories are optional.
Section: Operating and spending outside England and Wales
Did your charity operate outside England and Wales?
covered in the annual return. Then answer the following questions.
If your charity did not spend any money in the country, please enter 0 (zero).
system?
Note: if you are completing a 2018 annual return, this question is optional.
What methods to transfer money did your charity use?
-
Cash courier
-
Other charities or NGOs/Non-Profits
-
Money Service Business (e.g. Western Union)
-
Informal Money Transfer Systems
-
Online payment methods (e.g. PayPal)
-
Other
Note: if you are completing a 2018 annual return, this question is optional.
How much money did your charity send outside the regulated banking system in total? Please round all figures to the nearest pound (do not enter decimal points or commas).
Note: if you are completing a 2018 annual return, this question is optional.
England and Wales?
Note: if you are completing a 2018 annual return, this question is optional.
Section: Subsidiaries
Did the charity have any subsidiaries?
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
Were any of the trustees also directors of the charity's subsidiaries?
Section: Trustee payments
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
Did any of the trustees receive payments or benefits for:
- being a charity trustee?
designers, lawyers, for example)? are paid members of staff
Did any of the trustees resign and then take up employment with the charity?
Section: Employees
Did any of your charity's staff receive total employee benefits of £60,000 or more?
If you answer 'Yes', you will be asked:
Enter the number of staf whose total employee benefits were in each of the following bands:
£60,000 to £70,000 £70,001 to £80,000 £80,001 to £90,000 £90,001 to £100,000 £100,001 to £110,000 £110,001 to £120,000 £120,001 to £130,000 £130,001 to £140,000 £140,001 to £150,000 £150,001 to £200,000 £200,001 to £250,000 £250,001 to £300,000 £300,001 to £350,000 £350,001 to £400,000 £400,001 to £450,000 £450,001 to £500,000 Over £500,000
For your highest paid member of staff only, what was the total value of their employee benefits?
Section: Volunteers
How many UK volunteers, excluding trustees, did the charity have during the financial period?
Section: Financial controls
Did your charity review its internal financial controls?
Section: Safeguarding
roles that are eligible for these checks?
Section: Account type
section is completed by a competent person who is familiar with the charity's accounts.
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the statement of financ
When completing this section you may wish to look at Charities SORP.
Does your charity prepare:
Group accounts Charity only accounts
Section: Income and Endowments
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the Statement of Finan
not enter decimal points or commas.
Donations and legacies
Of the total donations and legacies what amount is Legacies
Of the total donations and legacies what amount is Endowments received
Other trading activity
Investment income
Income from charitable activities
Other income
Total income and endowments
Note: The amount entered for 'Total income and endowments' minus 'Endowments Received' shou 'Income' on the charity Information page. If the charity controls subsidiary undertakings, consolidate accounts where these have been prepared.
Section: Expenditure
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the Statement of Finan
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
not enter decimal points or commas.
Expenditure on raising funds
Of total expenditure on raising funds what amount is Investment management costs
Other expenditure
Expenditure on charitable activities
Of the total expenditure on charitable activities what value is Grants to institutions
Of the total expenditure on charitable activities what value is Governance costs
Total expenditure
Section: Other recognised gains/(losses)
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the Statement of Finan
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
not enter decimal points or commas.
This figure should be prefixed with the minus symbol if it is a negative value.
Gains/(losses) on revaluation of fixed assets
This figure should be prefixed with the minus symbol if it is a negative value.
Actuarial gains/(losses) on defined benefit pension schemes
This figure should be prefixed with the minus symbol if it is a negative value.
Net gains/(losses) on investments
This figure should be prefixed with the minus symbol if it is a negative value.
Other gains/(losses)
Section: Assets
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the Balance Sheet.
not enter decimal points or commas.
Total fixed assets
Of the total fixed assets what value is Fixed asset investments
Total current assets
Of the total current assets what value is Current asset investments
Of the total current assets what value is Cash at bank and in hand
Section: Liabilities
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
The information you need to complete this section will generally be found in the Balance Sheet.
not enter decimal points or commas.
Creditors due within one year
Creditors falling due after one year and provisions
Defined benefit pension scheme asset/(liability)
Total net assets/(liabilities)
Section: Funds
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity.
The indented fields may not represent the whole amount.
not enter decimal points or commas.
Endowment funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds
Section: Additional information
All fields are mandatory - Enter 0 (zero) if the field does not apply to your charity. Enter figures to the nearest pound and restate them in pounds if the accounts have, for example, be not enter decimal points or commas.
Support costs
Depreciation charge for the year Level of reserves Average number of employees
Section: Send Trustees' Annual Report and Accounts
the time of completing the annual return.
You are required to submit your Trustees' Annual Report and accounts for this financial period.
examiners' / auditor's report.
Privacy Notice
including uploading the charity's accounts and trustees' annual report.
annual report.
beneficiaries.
report meet its obligations under the General Data Protection Regulations 2016 and the Data Prote processed. You will need to take particular care if you are including personal data about children, ad or your charity's trustees have a dispensation from including their name in the accounts.
information.
Select this option if you want to attach one file for all reports - file must not exceed 25MB Do not use special characters when naming the file. For example do not use these characters < >
By selecting this option you confirm that the file includes all of the following: Trustees' annual report Accounts Examiner's / auditor's report
accounting records incomplete?
Section: Check and submit your annual return
provided.
Notes