Accounts for charitable incorporated organisations

Every charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) must prepare annual accounts and a trustees’ annual report, and send both to the Charity Commission with its annual return within 10 months of the year end, whatever its income. A CIO with gross income of £500,000 or less can choose simple receipts and payments accounts for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026; above that it must prepare accruals accounts under the Charities SORP 2026.

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What must every CIO prepare and send each year?

A CIO deals only with the Charity Commission, not Companies House, so its accounting regime is the Charities Act 2011 one. The Commission’s guidance on accounts rules for CIOs sets out the basics: all CIOs must prepare accounts and a trustees’ annual report, keep financial records such as cash books, invoices, receipts and Gift Aid records for at least 6 years, follow anything their governing document says about financial management, make the accounts and report available to the public on request, and submit information to the Commission every year.

The key difference from other charities is that there is no small charity let out. Section 163(1) of the Charities Act 2011 requires the annual report to go to the Commission within 10 months of the year end only where gross income exceeds £25,000, but section 163(3) applies that requirement to a CIO whatever its income. Section 169(2) similarly removes the £10,000 exemption from the annual return for CIOs. For the legal form itself, see our guide to charitable incorporated organisations.

Receipts and payments or accruals accounts?

Section 133 of the Charities Act 2011, as amended from 30 September 2026 by the Charities Acts 1992 and 2011 (Substitution of Sums) Order 2026, lets trustees elect for receipts and payments accounts where gross income does not exceed £500,000. The Commission’s guidance applies the new figure to financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026; for earlier years the limit was £250,000. The governing document or a funder can still require accruals accounts, and trustees can choose them anyway.

Receipts and payments accounts consist of a statement of receipts and payments for the year and a statement of assets and liabilities at the year end. A CIO must also give notes on any guarantees it has given that could create a liability at the period end, and any debts secured by a charge on its assets. That requirement comes from regulation 62 of the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (General) Regulations 2012 and does not apply to unincorporated charities.
Accruals accounts must give a true and fair view, under regulation 8(4) of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008, and contain a statement of financial activities, a balance sheet and explanatory notes. For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2026 they must follow the Charities SORP 2026, with the level of detail set by the SORP tier.

Gross income is measured differently for each. For receipts and payments it is total receipts excluding proceeds from selling investments or fixed assets, endowment received and loans received. For accruals accounts it is total income in the statement of financial activities for all funds, excluding endowment received but including endowment transferred to income and available to spend.

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Does a CIO need group accounts?

A CIO with one or more subsidiaries, such as a trading company, must prepare group accounts if the group’s combined gross income, after removing transactions within the group, exceeds £1.5 million for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026 (previously £1 million). Group accounts must be accruals accounts and must be audited by a registered auditor. Below the threshold a CIO may prepare group accounts voluntarily, but these are non statutory accounts and can only be filed with the Commission if certain requirements are met.

Do the accounts need an examination or audit?

For financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026, a CIO with gross income of £40,000 or less needs neither, unless its governing document or a funding agreement requires one. Above £40,000 and up to £1.5 million it can choose an independent examination or an audit, and above £500,000 an examiner must be a member of a body listed in the Charities Act 2011, such as ICAEW, ACCA or AAT. An audit is required where gross income exceeds £1.5 million, or exceeds £500,000 with gross assets over £5 million. Our guide to independent examination covers what the examiner does.

What goes in the trustees’ annual report?

A CIO preparing receipts and payments accounts can prepare a simple report, but it must still include reference and administrative details (including the registered name, number, principal office address and trustees’ names), the governing document, its purposes and main activities for the public benefit, a statement on regard to the Commission’s public benefit guidance, a summary of achievements and a financial review covering reserves policy and any funds in deficit. A CIO preparing accruals accounts must follow the SORP 2026 headings, which add plans for future periods and sustainability. The report must be dated and signed by one or more trustees authorised by the others. A CIO whose accounts must be audited must also report on its fundraising approach and complaints.

How and when is everything sent to the Commission?

The annual return is submitted online through an individual My Charity Commission Account within 10 months of the end of the financial year, so a 31 December year end must file by 31 October the following year. A CIO must answer the annual return questions and upload its trustees’ annual report, its accounts and any independent examiner’s or auditor’s report. A CIO with income over £25,000 must also declare that there are no serious incidents it has not reported. Returns for earlier years must be submitted before the latest one.

The Commission publishes CIO accounts and reports on the register. It cannot remove personal data and can only redact in very limited circumstances, so trustees should check that any personal data included is necessary. Unless the governing document says otherwise, electronic signatures can be used on the accounts, report and examiner’s report. If an annual return has to be corrected, the CIO must ask in writing for a reset and resubmit, and the new submission date will appear on the register, whereas replacement accounts can simply be uploaded again.

How does this work in practice?

Illustration only. A foundation CIO has a 31 March year end. For the year ended 31 March 2026 its gross income was £320,000, so it had to prepare accruals accounts and have them examined by a professionally qualified examiner. For the year ending 31 March 2027 it expects income of £340,000. Because that year ends after 30 September 2026, the new thresholds apply: the trustees may switch to receipts and payments accounts, and an independent examination by any suitable examiner, not necessarily a member of a listed body, will be enough. The year starts after 1 January 2026, so if the trustees stay on accruals accounts they must apply SORP 2026, which places the CIO in Tier 1. Whichever route it takes, the CIO must file its annual return, report, accounts and examiner’s report by 31 January 2028.

What happens if a CIO files late?

The submission date appears on the public register, so a late return is visible to anyone checking the charity. The Commission runs a “double defaulter” class inquiry for charities that have failed to file their annual documents for two or more years in the last five, and persistent default can lead to a statutory inquiry under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 into possible misconduct or mismanagement.

What mistakes come up most often?

Assuming a small CIO, like a small trust, need not send its accounts and report to the Commission.
Filing CIO accounts at Companies House, or expecting Companies House reminders.
Leaving out the regulation 62 notes on guarantees and secured debts in receipts and payments accounts.
Applying the new thresholds to a year that ended before 30 September 2026, or SORP 2026 to a year that began before 1 January 2026.
Uploading accounts that the trustees have not formally approved, or a report not signed by an authorised trustee.
Including unnecessary personal data in a report the Commission will publish.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.