Check Your SORP 2026 Reporting Tier — Free Calculator for UK Charities

The Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 2026 applies to accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2026. It replaces the previous SORP with a new three-tier framework that scales reporting requirements to charity size.

Tier 1 covers charities that prepare accruals accounts and have gross income of not more than £500,000 — the majority of registered charities in England and Wales. (SORP paragraph 35 sends non-company charities with gross income of £250,000 or less that have chosen receipts and payments accounts to their own jurisdiction's regulatory requirements instead, outside the tiering altogether.) These charities benefit from the simplest reporting under the new framework: lighter disclosures, the option to present income and expenditure by natural classification (donations, grants) rather than by activity, and no required cash flow statement where the charity qualifies as a small entity under FRS 102. Tier 2 covers charities above £500,000 with income of not more than £15 million, on standard SORP requirements, and Tier 3 (above £15 million) requires extra disclosures — Tier 3 is the only tier required to produce a statement of cash flows unconditionally, because SORP Table 14.1A relieves Tier 1 and Tier 2 charities of it only where they meet the definition of a small entity in paragraph 7.1B of FRS 102 (one that does not must still produce one), and Tier 3 is also the only tier for which sustainability (ESG) reporting is a "must" rather than a "may".

Separately, SI 2026/427 raises a set of financial thresholds in the Charities Act 2011. The statutory audit threshold rises from £1 million to £1.5 million gross income and the gross-assets limb of the audit test from £3.26 million to £5 million (art.3(4)). The independent examination threshold rises from £25,000 to £40,000, and the income level above which the examiner must be a qualified member of a listed body rises from £250,000 to £500,000 (art.3(5)). The accruals accounts threshold for non-company charities rises from £250,000 to £500,000 (art.3(3)). The Order came into force on 30 September 2026, but art.5(6) keys these changes to each charity's financial year end: they do not apply to a financial year ending before 30 September 2026, whatever the calendar date. These changes affect which charities need external review of their accounts and which can use simpler receipts and payments accounts, regardless of SORP tier.

If your charity's income is close to a tier boundary, discuss the implications with your independent examiner or accountant before your next financial year end. The tier is determined by income in the relevant accounting period, so it can change from year to year.