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Search the charity register to find details of registered charities in England and Wales including contact information, activities, latest financial reports and current trustees.
Tax exemptions and reliefs for charities - apply for recognition by HMRC as a charity, reclaim tax on Gift Aid, profits and expenditure
As a charity you can get certain tax reliefs. To benefit you must be…
As a charity you do not pay tax on most of your income and gains if you…
To get tax relief your charity must be: based in the UK established for…
If you receive income with tax deducted, for example donations you can…
If your charity has income that does not qualify for tax relief you must…
To start a charity you need trustees, to choose a business structure, decide suitable charitable purposes and you may have to register with the Charity Commission.
There are 6 steps to setting up a charity. Find trustees for your charity…
Your charity must have ‘charitable purposes’ that help the public (known…
The official name of your charity is known as its ‘main name’. Your…
You must choose a structure for your charity, which will affect things…
You must create a ‘governing document’ (or ‘rulebook’) for your charity…
You must apply to register your charity if both: its income is at least…
We register and regulate charities in England and Wales, to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence. The Charity Commission is a non-ministerial department.
Read guidance about raising funds if you are thinking of setting up a new charity.
VAT relief available to charities - relief, what you pay, registering, charging VAT
David Holdsworth's speech at the Charity Commission's Annual Public Meeting 2025
How to link charities to make accounting and reporting easier.
This document contains the following information: The Official Custodian for Charities annual accounts 2015 to 2016.
Find out what a charity is, how VAT affects charities, how to treat a charity's income for VAT and what VAT reliefs a charity can get on what it buys.
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