Charity Annual Report vs Annual Return: Two Different Filings

Every registered charity in England and Wales must submit an annual return to the Charity Commission. Separately, charities with gross income over £25,000 must prepare a trustees' annual report and attach it to that return. The two filings are related but not the same thing, and confusing them is one of the most common compliance errors trustees make.

The short answer

The trustees' annual report is the narrative document you prepare alongside your accounts, covering your charity's purposes, activities, achievements and finances. The Charity Commission annual return is the online form all registered charities must submit each year. All registered charities file an annual return; charities with gross income over £25,000 must also attach the trustees' annual report and accounts to it. They are related filings but distinct obligations, with different formats, different preparers and different content requirements.

What the trustees' annual report is

The trustees' annual report is a narrative document that charity trustees prepare each year. It sets out the charity's purposes and activities, what it achieved during the year, its financial position, its governance arrangements and its plans for the future. For charities preparing accruals accounts, the Charities SORP (FRS 102) sets additional content requirements on top of the statutory minimum.

The report is not a form you fill in online. You draft it, your trustees approve it and one trustee signs it. It is then filed as part of the accounts package.

For a full walkthrough of what the report must contain and how content requirements scale by income, see the trustees' annual report guide.

What the Charity Commission annual return is

The annual return is an online form submitted through the Charity Commission's My Charity Commission Account portal. All registered charities must submit one, but the content is tiered by income:

• Charities with gross income under £10,000: report income and spending only.
• Charities with gross income between £10,000 and £25,000: answer the standard annual return questions.
• Charities with gross income over £25,000: answer the annual return questions and also attach the trustees' annual report and accounts.

The key point is that every registered charity submits something. The income thresholds determine what you submit, not whether you submit at all.

For a detailed walkthrough of the annual return form, including the questions it asks and the information you need to gather, see the charity commission annual return guide.

How they fit together

The annual return is the filing wrapper. Once your charity's gross income exceeds £25,000, the trustees' annual report and accounts are attached to the return when you submit it through the Commission's portal. The return is not a substitute for the report; nor is the report a substitute for the return. Both are required, and the deadline applies to the whole submission.

Think of it this way: the return is the form that tells the Commission your charity existed and operated during the year; the trustees' annual report and accounts are the documents that show what it did and how it used its money. For smaller charities, the lighter return alone satisfies the obligation.

Comparison table: trustees' annual report vs annual return

Feature	Trustees' annual report	Charity Commission annual return
What it is	A narrative document covering purposes, activities, achievements, governance and finances	An online form summarising the charity's year, submitted through the Commission portal
Who prepares it	The trustees (signed by one trustee on behalf of the board)	The trustees or their agent, completing the online form
Where it goes	Attached to the annual return at filing (income over £25,000); kept as an internal record otherwise	Submitted directly to the Charity Commission via My Charity Commission Account
When it is due	As part of the annual return submission, within 10 months of financial year end	Within 10 months of the end of the financial year
What triggers it	Gross income over £25,000 triggers the obligation to attach it to the return	Registration with the Charity Commission; all registered charities must file

Deadlines and who has to file what

The Charity Commission requires all registered charities to submit their annual return within 10 months of the end of their financial year. The same deadline applies to the attached trustees' annual report and accounts where these are required.

What you file depends on your income:

• Under £10,000: annual return with income and spending figures only. No obligation to attach a trustees' annual report.
• £10,000 to £25,000: annual return answering the standard questions. No obligation to attach a trustees' annual report.
• Over £25,000: annual return plus the trustees' annual report and accounts attached. The accounts format (receipts and payments or accruals) depends on your income and structure; see the charity accounts service for how this works in practice.

Note that this 10-month deadline is specific to the Charity Commission. It is not the same as the Companies House accounts deadline, which operates on a different timetable for charitable companies.

Do not confuse either with the Companies House confirmation statement

If your charity is also a company (a charitable company limited by guarantee, for example), it has a third annual filing obligation: a confirmation statement at Companies House. This is separate from both the Charity Commission annual return and the trustees' annual report. The confirmation statement and the mechanics around it are a Companies House requirement, not a Charity Commission one.

The deadline and process for the confirmation statement differ from the Commission's 10-month rule. If your charity is structured as a company, check the Companies House guidance on confirmation statements to make sure both filing obligations are tracked separately.

A charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), by contrast, registers only with the Charity Commission and has no Companies House filing obligations of this kind. That distinction is one of the headline practical advantages of the CIO structure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a charity's annual report and annual return?

The trustees' annual report is a narrative document you prepare alongside your accounts, covering your charity's purposes, activities and finances. The annual return is the Charity Commission's online form that all registered charities must submit each year. For charities with gross income over £25,000, the report and accounts are attached to the return at filing. They are related but distinct obligations.

Do all charities file both?

All registered charities must submit an annual return. Only those with gross income over £25,000 must attach the trustees' annual report and accounts to it. Charities with income below that threshold file a lighter return, with no obligation to attach a formal report.

When is the annual return due?

The Charity Commission requires the annual return to be submitted within 10 months of the end of your financial year.

Does a small charity have to file a trustees' annual report?

Charities with gross income of £25,000 or less are not required to attach a trustees' annual report to their annual return. All registered charities must still submit an annual return. Preparing an annual report is good governance even if you do not have to file it.

Is the annual return the same as the accounts?

No. The annual return is the Charity Commission's online filing form. Your accounts (and the trustees' annual report) are prepared separately and, for charities with income over £25,000, attached to the return when you submit it.

Who prepares the trustees' annual report?

The trustees prepare the annual report. One trustee signs it on behalf of the board, with the date of approval recorded. For charities following the Charities SORP, the report must also meet the SORP's additional disclosure requirements on top of the statutory minimum.

Do charitable companies file a confirmation statement too?

Yes. Charitable companies have a separate annual filing obligation at Companies House. This is distinct from the Charity Commission annual return and the trustees' annual report. See the Companies House guidance for the mechanics; do not rely on the Commission's 10-month deadline for this filing, as the two regimes operate independently.