Trustees' Annual Report: What to Include and How to Write It

The trustees' annual report is the document where charity trustees account to the public for how their charity has used its resources over the past year. It sits alongside the charity's accounts and is submitted to the Charity Commission as part of the annual return. Together, the report and accounts are the public record of a charity's work.

For many small charities, writing the trustees' annual report feels like a compliance chore. Done well, it is also the charity's most powerful public-facing document — an honest account of what it set out to do, what it achieved, and what it plans to do next.

Who must produce a trustees' annual report?

Registered charities with income over £25,000 must submit a trustees' annual report alongside their annual return to the Charity Commission. Charities with income up to £25,000 must submit the annual return but are not required to file a trustees' annual report (though preparing one is good practice). For the exact annual return thresholds, see the gov.uk guidance on preparing a charity annual return.

What must the report include?

The Charity Commission's guidance on preparing a trustees' annual report sets out the required content. The requirements differ based on income size.

Smaller charities (income under £500,000)

Charities below £500,000 income can use a simplified format. The required content is:

Reference and administrative information:

• The charity's name and registration number
• The address of the principal office or registered contact address
• Names of all trustees who served during the year and any changes in the year
• Names of any advisers (bankers, auditors, solicitors) if relevant to the accounts

Structure, governance and management:

• How the charity is constituted (for example, "a charitable incorporated organisation governed by its constitution")
• How trustees are recruited and appointed
• Any other organisations or groups with which the charity is connected

Objectives and activities:

• The charity's charitable purposes
• A summary of the activities carried out during the year to further those purposes and deliver public benefit
• How the charity's activities deliver public benefit — this must be explicit, not assumed

Achievements and performance:

• The main achievements of the year
• Any significant difficulties or changes

Financial review:

• A brief comment on the financial results for the year
• A statement of the reserves policy — what level of reserves the charity holds and why

Declaration:

• The report must be signed by one or more trustees and dated

Larger charities (income over £500,000)

Charities above £500,000 follow a more detailed format, including:

• A formal description of the charity's overall strategy and objectives for the year
• A description of significant risks and how they are managed (see our charity risk register guide)
• Details of how the charity has performed against its objectives
• An explanation of the charity's investment policy (if any)
• Any significant events affecting the charity since the year end

For charities over £1 million income, the accounts must be audited by a registered auditor; for those between £25,000 and £1 million, an independent examination is required. The government intends to raise these thresholds on 1 October 2026, subject to secondary legislation — see our independent examination guide for the proposed figures.

SORP 2026 changes for small charities

SORP 2026 applies to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026 and introduces a three-tier framework based on income size (see charitiessorp.org for the published SORP document):

• Tier 1 (income up to £500,000): The majority of UK charities fall here. SORP 2026 is expected to require Tier 1 charities to report on outcomes (what changed for beneficiaries), not just outputs (what activities were delivered). This is a shift from previous practice where many small charities described activities without linking them to impact.
• Tier 2 (£500,000 to £15 million): Standard SORP requirements.
• Tier 3 (over £15 million): Additional sustainability disclosures.

The practical implication for Tier 1 charities: if your report has historically said "we ran 12 support sessions for 48 people," SORP 2026 expects you to add what changed for those people as a result. It does not need to be an academic impact evaluation — "participants reported improved confidence and reduced isolation" based on end-of-session feedback is sufficient.

How to structure the report

For a small charity (under £500,000 income), a practical structure is:

1. Reference and administration — statutory information, one page. Names, addresses, constitution type, trustee list.

2. Structure, governance and management — half a page. How the charity is governed, how trustees are appointed, any affiliations.

3. Objectives and activities — one to two paragraphs. State the charitable purposes in plain English. Describe the main activities.

4. Achievements — one to two pages. What the charity did and what changed as a result. Be specific: numbers of people helped, services delivered, outcomes reported. This is the public benefit section.

5. Financial review — one page. Key financial figures (total income, total expenditure, net movement, closing balances). Reserves policy and current reserve level. Any significant financial issues.

6. Plans for next year — half a page. What the charity intends to do in the coming year.

7. Declaration — signed by at least one trustee.

The whole document for a small charity does not need to be more than five to eight pages, including the financial review. A dense report that takes ten minutes to read is less useful to donors, funders, and the Commission than a clear one-pager per section.

Common mistakes

Writing about activities, not outcomes. "We ran a food bank for 200 families" is activity. "200 families accessed emergency food support; end-of-year surveys showed 84% of repeat users experienced reduced financial stress" is outcome (illustrative example). SORP 2026 expects the latter.

Copying last year's report. The objectives and activities section should reflect what the charity actually did in the year, not what it planned to do. If the charity's plans changed during the year, the report should acknowledge that.

Missing the public benefit statement. The report must include an explicit statement of how the charity delivers public benefit. The Charity Commission expects trustees to confirm they have considered this, not assume it is obvious from the charity's name.

Unsigned reports. A trustees' annual report that has not been signed and dated by at least one trustee is not valid.

Submitting the report

The trustees' annual report is submitted to the Charity Commission as part of the annual return. For charities above £25,000 income, the report, accounts, and independent examiner's report (or audit report) are uploaded as PDFs through My Charity Commission Account. The report must be approved by the full board before submission — it cannot be submitted by one trustee without board approval.

For a step-by-step guide to the submission process, see our charity annual return guide.

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This guide applies to charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. SORP 2026 applies to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Sources

• Prepare a charity trustees' annual report — GOV.UK
• Prepare a charity annual return — GOV.UK
• Charities SORP 2026 — charitiessorp.org