Annual Reporting

There are two segments for annual reporting:

1. Annual return – describes the activities of the church
2. Annual accounts – giving a financial report on the charity’s activities.

Charity Annual Return

Every church, circuit and district is a charity and must produce annual accounts. The overview below outlines the reporting obligations based on the annual income of the charity. All charities must present their annual accounts to the managing trustees in order to be compliant with Charity Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) and their relevant regulatory body.

Click here to view guidance on completing an annual return.

• Any charity in England and Wales with an annual gross income over £100,000 must be registered as a charity and must file and submit their annual accounts with the Charity Commission by 30 June (within 10 months of the financial year ending).
• In Scotland, all charities must register with the Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and must submit an annual return and file their accounts every year by 31 May. Please refer to the OSCR Annual Reporting guidance for more information.
• In the Isle of Man, all charities must prepare its account and a report for filing with the Attorney General within 6 months of the end of the accounting year. Please refer to the guidance from the Isle of Man Government for more information.
• In Jersey, all registered charities must file an annual return with the Jersey Charity Commissioner within two months of the registration anniversary date. Please refer to the Jersey guidance on Managing Your Charity for more information.
• In Guernsey, all registered charities must file an annual validation between 1 January and the last day of February each year. Please refer to the Guernsey Registry guidance for more information.

Currently, many churches do not need to register with the Charity Commission because they have excepted status.

However, even if a church has excepted status, the Church Council are the managing trustees and are subject to charity law and regulation.

Reporting obligations overview

Reporting obligations (1) depend on the gross annual income (2) of the charity:
Click here for guidance on determining gross income.

Under £100,000 (Excepted Status)

• Prepare and submit Standard Form of Accounts to the overseeing body by 31 March (3)
• Present accounts to the managing trustees
• Submit Annual Account to the Charity Commission (England and Wales): Not required
• Accounts type required: Receipts and Payments

£100,000–£250,000

• Prepare and submit Standard Form of Accounts to the overseeing body by 31 March (3)
• Present accounts to the managing trustees
• Submit Annual Account to the Charity Commission (England and Wales) (4)
• Accounts type required: Receipts and Payments

Over £250,000

• Prepare and submit Standard Form of Accounts to the overseeing body by 31 March (3)
• Present accounts to the managing trustees
• Submit Annual Account to the Charity Commission (England and Wales) (4)
• Accounts type required: Accrual Based Accounts

The Charity Commission will ask for a best estimate of the number of volunteers and this does not include charity trustees. In estimating the number of volunteers it is suggested that:

• A local church should exclude any employees and members of the Church Council, unless a member of the Church Council volunteers for the local church in another capacity eg the organist or Sunday school teacher.
• A circuit completing the annual return should also exclude any employees and members of the Circuit Meeting unless they volunteer for the circuit in another capacity eg an unpaid administrator. A circuit only needs to include in their number of volunteers those people who volunteer for the circuit, not all the people who assist at a local church level. This might include those people volunteering for a circuit run project eg a food bank as well as anyone assisting with the running of the circuit, excluding employees.
• A district completing the annual return should exclude any employees and members of Synod as they will be a charity trustee, unless they assist the district in another capacity as a volunteer. The district should only include in their estimation people volunteering for the district or a project of the district eg volunteer District Property Secretary.