Research
UK Small Charity Finance Index
What a normal charity actually looks like financially: every registered England and Wales charity, mapped against the scrutiny thresholds that decide whether it needs an independent examination or an audit. Compiled from Charity Commission open data, updated 2026-07-11.
Charities by scrutiny band
The Charities Act sets the external scrutiny a charity needs by gross income. For financial years ending before 30 September 2026: registration at £5,000, independent examination above £25,000, accruals accounts and a qualified examiner above £250,000, and a statutory audit above £1m. For financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026 the scrutiny gates rise to £40,000, £500,000 and £1.5m. This is where the register actually sits against the pre-change gates (of 162,611 charities with a reported income).
| Income band | Charities | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under £5,000 (below the registration threshold) | 42,908 | 26.4% |
| £5,000 to £25,000 (no external scrutiny required) | 43,860 | 27% |
| £25,001 to £100,000 (independent examination) | 32,616 | 20.1% |
| £100,001 to £250,000 (independent examination) | 18,693 | 11.5% |
| £250,001 to £1m (independent examination by a qualified examiner, accruals accounts) | 15,224 | 9.4% |
| Over £1m (statutory audit) | 9,308 | 5.7% |
The audit band is income-only: charities above £250,000 income also need an audit if gross assets exceed £3.26m (£500,000 and £5m for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026), so the true audit share is slightly higher. Not sure where your charity falls? Use our independent examination vs audit checker.
What a normal charity income looks like
Half of all charities with a reported income run on £21,050 a year or less. A quarter run on £4,410 or less, a quarter on more than £112,602, and only the top tenth exceed £458,523. The mean (£662,961) is pulled far above the median by a small number of very large charities, which is why "average charity" statistics based on the mean are misleading.
Registrations and removals per year
| Year | Registrations | Removals | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5,963 | 4,053 | +1,910 |
| 2017 | 5,564 | 4,212 | +1,352 |
| 2018 | 4,930 | 4,957 | -27 |
| 2019 | 5,743 | 5,774 | -31 |
| 2020 | 5,712 | 3,810 | +1,902 |
| 2021 | 4,302 | 3,591 | +711 |
| 2022 | 4,015 | 5,534 | -1,519 |
| 2023 | 4,809 | 4,220 | +589 |
| 2024 | 5,149 | 4,082 | +1,067 |
| 2025 | 4,767 | 4,272 | +495 |
The CIC layer: Community Interest Companies
Community Interest Companies are the fast-growing social enterprise structure that is often confused with charity status (a CIC is not a charity and gets no charity tax reliefs). The Companies House register currently shows 44,258 CICs, of which 42,095 are active.
| Year | CIC incorporations |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 991 |
| 2017 | 1,172 |
| 2018 | 1,363 |
| 2019 | 2,124 |
| 2020 | 2,553 |
| 2021 | 2,687 |
| 2022 | 3,105 |
| 2023 | 4,246 |
| 2024 | 6,079 |
| 2025 | 9,500 |
Incorporation years count companies still on the register (dissolved CICs drop out over time, so early years understate true formation volumes).
Methodology and sources
Income figures are each charity's latest reported gross income (latest_income). Main charities only (linked charities excluded). Scrutiny bands use the thresholds for financial years ending before 30 September 2026; for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026 the gates rise to £40,000 (independent examination), £500,000 (accruals/qualified examiner) and £1.5m (audit), per https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-charity-accounting-and-reporting. The 'audit' band is income-only: charities over £250,000 income with gross assets over £3.26m (£500,000 and £5m for years ending on or after 30 September 2026) also require an audit, but asset data is not in the headline extract, so the audit share shown is a floor. Registrations/removals use date_of_registration and date_of_removal across the full extract including removed charities; the Commission notes removed-charity history is complete only for recent decades. Current partial year excluded.
- Charity Commission full register extract (charity table, daily) (Charity Commission for England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Companies House free company data product (monthly) (Companies House, Open Government Licence v3.0)
Download the scrutiny-band data as CSV (free to reuse with attribution to Trustee Tax).
Is your charity at one of these thresholds?
Crossing a scrutiny threshold (£25,000 or £250,000 now; £40,000 or £500,000 for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026) changes what your trustees must file and who can examine your accounts. Tell us where you are and we will confirm exactly what applies.