How to complete your Annual Return with Charities Services

Every year, all registered charities must file an annual return with Charities Services (Ngā Ratonga Kaupapa Atawhai). This keeps your organisation’s details up to date and ensures you stay registered. Charities that don’t file their annual return are removed from the Charities Register, so it’s important not to miss this step.

Your annual return is due six months after your charity's balance date.

Before you start

Once you’ve completed your financial statements with Good Numbers, you’re already most of the way there. The annual return just asks for a few extra details, such as:

• Your organisation’s contact information and addresses
• The details of your officers (your board or committee members)
• Information about the number of staff and volunteers you have

Make sure you have these details on hand before you begin.

About your officers

The annual return asks you to confirm existing offices or update them if they have changed. If you have new officers to add, you will need:

• Their full name
• Contact details
• Residential address
• Date of birth

About your staff and volunteers

The annual return asks about your staff and volunteers. You’ll need to provide:

• The number of staff and volunteers your organisation has
• An estimate of the hours they contribute each week, month, or year

These numbers don’t need to be perfect. Charities Services just wants a general sense of your organisation’s size and contribution.

Submitting your return

You can complete your charity’s annual return online through the Charities Services website. It’s quick and straightforward. The hardest part is remembering your username and password!

When prompted, upload the financial statements you created with Good Numbers. These should already include all the key details required for your return.

Most charities need to pay a small fee to have their annual return processed. If you do it all online, the fee is about $50. You must pay this fee before your annual return is listed on the Charities Register.

Tips

• The number of volunteers and their hours contributed is an excellent item to include in your statement of service performance.
• Charity services request that you file your annual returns within six months of your year-end date. For example, if your year ends on 31st March, you should file by the 30th of September. However, even if you've gone past this time, it's still a good idea to file your annual return as soon as possible.
• If you know you're going to be late filing your annual return, you can get in touch with Charity Services and ask them to extend your deadline.

Need a hand?
If you get stuck, you can check the Charities Services step-by-step filing guide.