Charities Register — file your annual return or lose registration

Before you apply

The most common way a charity loses its registration is simply not filing. Sixty percent of all deregistrations from the Charities Register have been for failure to file an annual return. Not a dispute about charitable purpose, not wrongdoing — paperwork nobody got to.

Charities Services now give more opportunity to file before acting, but where a charity has missed two or more years they can move to deregister.

Why this belongs in a funding directory. Registered charitable status is an eligibility requirement for a great many of the funds listed here, and deregistration is usually discovered when an application is declined.

A filing fee was introduced and this record previously said filing is free — that's now only true below $10,000 gross income. Above that, filing costs $51.11 online with documents uploaded, or $76.67 either online with documents by post/email or on paper. Charities Services do not invoice in advance — you pay via internet banking using your charity registration number as the payment reference.

What deregistration actually costs. You lose the charities income tax exemption and become liable for income tax unless you qualify for another exemption — a deregistered sports club, for instance, might still qualify as an amateur sports body. There is also a one-off tax on accumulated assets held at the date of deregistration. You have twelve months to distribute those assets to another registered charity or to charitable purposes, and anything left after twelve months is taxed.

The way back is quick if you move. Re-apply and get registered again within twelve months of deregistration and the asset tax does not apply.

A point specific to marae. Marae assets generally cannot be disposed of or transferred to another entity under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, which sits awkwardly with a rule that taxes assets you fail to distribute. Government has recognised this and refinements have been made to the deregistration tax rules on fairness grounds. If your marae is deregistered, get advice rather than assuming the standard rules apply to you.

Two things to do. Look your organisation up on register.charities.govt.nz and check the status and the date the last annual return was filed. And find out your balance date, because the deadline is six months after it and not a fixed day of the year.

Charities that file using the Tier 4 combined form do not file financial statements separately — they are included in the return.

The parallel gate for incorporated societies is listed here separately, and the consequences there are more severe.