Charity accounts guidance flips to post-January 2026 regime

Charity accounting guidance on GOV.UK now addresses financial periods starting on or after 1 January 2026GOV. Each charity follows the guidance matching its structure: trusts and unincorporated associations, charitable companies, or Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs). A charity that does not know its type should check its governing document. The previous coverage — financial years starting on or after 1 November 2016 and before 1 January 2026, with new guidance promised during 2026 — has been superseded: for periods starting on or after 1 January 2026, the updated guidance is the applicable regimeGOV.

For charities preparing accruals accounts, SORP 2026 will apply to reporting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026GOV. Key changes include new accounting rules for income and lease arrangements with practical examples, and three new tiers intended to make reporting more proportionate to the charity's size: Tier 1 for income up to £500,000, Tier 2 for income between £500,000 and £15 million, and Tier 3 for income over £15 million. Trustees' Annual Report requirements have been refreshed, with additional guidance on reporting financial reserves and plans about the future, alongside dedicated sections on impact reporting and environmental, social and governance issues. Social investments carry simplified accounting and reporting requirements, and provisions and contingencies reporting is easier to understand.

The threshold changes expected on 30 September 2026GOV move each boundary upward: independent examination from income over £25,000 to income over £40,000; examination by a professionally qualified examiner from income over £250,000 to income over £500,000; receipts-and-payments accounts for non-company charities from income below £250,000 to income below £500,000; audit from income over £1,000,000 or assets over £3,260,000 to income over £1,500,000 or assets over £5,000,000; and group accounts preparation and audit from aggregate group income of £1,000,000 to £1,500,000. Until then the current figures standGOV, and the figures in the CC31 and CC32 examination guidance apply to financial years ending before 30 September 2026GOV.

Two statements from the previous landing page no longer appear on this page: the sentence that a charity sending its annual report and accounts to the Commission must do so within 10 months of the end of its financial year, and the pointer for financial years ending before 1 April 2009. Each charity now follows the guidance matching its structure — trusts and unincorporated associations, charitable companies, or CIOs — for financial periods starting on or after 1 January 2026. For charities preparing accruals accounts, SORP 2026 is the accounting framework for reporting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026GOV.