Have you submitted your online annual return?
Every year, each charity registered in Scotland must send us an online annual return, along with annual accounts, a Trustees’ Annual Report and an external scrutiny report.
This is a legal requirement, and charities must send this information to us within 9 months of their financial year-end date.
Almost 20% of Scottish charities have a deadline in December. If your charity’s deadline is coming up soon, please ensure you are ready to submit your online annual return. Please note, our offices will be closed during the festive period and we will be unable to answer queries during this time. Our phone lines will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 24 December 2024 and will remain closed until 9.30am on Friday 3 January 2024.
You can also sign up for our webinar, Getting it right: your online annual return and accounts, on Wednesday 11 December from 1-2pm for more help and support.
How do I use OSCR Online to submit an online annual return?
If you are the principal contact for a charity or are responsible for submitting the online annual return, please log in to OSCR Online now to ensure you have access to the system.
Click here to log in to OSCR Online. Once logged in, you can update your charity’s details and add or remove charity users if necessary, as well as complete the online annual return.
On our website you will find guidance to help you use OSCR Online, including:
- How to submit an online annual return
- How to update your principal contact details
- FAQs including how to reset your password, add/remove users and update your charity details.
Read more information and guidance about charity accounting and annual submissions here:
What happens if my charity is late submitting the online annual return?
If your charity does not submit their online annual return before the deadline, a red box with your late submission date will appear on your Scottish Charity Register entry to highlight this to the public and others, such as funders.
It’s important to remember that your register page will continue to show historical data from annual returns from the previous five years, so everyone can see whether you submitted on time.
When charities fail to submit their accounts on time, and fail to engage with us about this, we have the power to remove them from the Scottish Charity Register. Ultimately, you could lose your charitable status if you fail to submit.
How do I know when my deadline is?
If you are unsure when your charity’s deadline is, you can check this on your Scottish Charity Register entry.
The Annual Information Submission History table shows your year-end date. The deadline to submit your online annual return is 9 months after this date. For example, when a charity has a financial year-end of 31 March its deadline date is 31 December.