New guidance was published on 12 November 2018 regarding how to change a charity’s accounting reference date (or accounting year end as it it’s more commonly known).
The guidance differentiates between Rules for charities that are not companies and Rules for charities that are companies
Rules for charities that are not companies
If your charity is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) or unincorporated (not a company) you can change the financial year or period to run for more or less than 12 months.
It needs to be a minimum of 6 months, and no longer than 18 months.
You can only:
- change the dates for your current financial year
- make a change once every 3 years
Changing your financial year or period will also change your deadline for filing the annual return and accounts.
Rules for charities that are companies
If your charity is incorporated (a company) you can shorten your financial year or period as often as you’d like.
The minimum period you can shorten it by is 1 day.
You can lengthen your company’s financial year to a maximum of 18 months, but this can only be done once every 5 financial periods.
You cannot change your charity’s financial year or period if your latest annual return and accounts (if required) are overdue.
To sign in and change your financial year you will need your:
- charity registration number
- charity’s online services password, you can request a new password if needed
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss changing your charity’s accounting year-end. Contact Lesley Malkin
