The new charity thresholds are here: what they mean for your data

For charities in England and Wales, DCMS has confirmed that the new financial thresholds come into effect on 30 September 2026. The key date is the end of your financial year, not when you prepare or submit your accounts.

The headline change is that the income threshold for a mandatory statutory audit is rising from £1 million to £1.5 million. The government estimates this will take around 2,000 charities out of the mandatory audit regime. The main changes are summarised below.

The thinking behind it is sensible. The aim is to keep regulation proportionate to a charity's size, resetting the framework after years of inflation. The changes are expected to save the sector an estimated £47 million a year, money and time that can go back into the work that matters.

Every charity's situation is different, so it's always worth checking with your accountant or independent examiner how the changes apply to you.

Here's the thing. An audit is one moment in the year when someone independent looks closely at your numbers. Take it away, and the questions don't disappear. They simply come from elsewhere, and often more frequently.

Your trustees still need to know how many people you supported this quarter. Your funders still want evidence that their grant made a difference. Your volunteers' hours still add up to something worth celebrating. And when a new funding opportunity lands with a two-week deadline, nobody wants to spend a week piecing together figures from three spreadsheets and a notebook.

In many ways, lighter external checks put more responsibility on the charity itself. When the reassurance of a formal audit is no longer part of the picture, trustees rely even more heavily on the information their team gives them. That information needs to be accurate, consistent and easy to find.

It's worth remembering the wider picture. Many charities are seeing demand for their services rise while budgets and teams stay the same or shrink. In that climate, time saved on audit preparation is precious, but only if it isn't lost again chasing information across the organisation.

Funders are also asking sharper questions. Grant applications increasingly expect clear evidence of outcomes, not just activity. Being able to show who you've helped, how often and with what result can make the difference between a successful bid and a near miss.

It's easy to think of record-keeping as an admin task. But behind every data point is a person: someone who called your helpline, a family you visited, a volunteer who gave up their Saturday. Recording that well means you can tell their story properly, spot where demand is growing, and make better decisions about where to focus.

It also protects your team. When records live in one place rather than in someone's inbox, knowledge doesn't walk out of the door when a staff member moves on.

If any of those questions gave you pause, you're not alone, and it's a good time to act.

This is exactly why we built Charitylog. It brings your casework, contacts, volunteers and activities together in one place, so the numbers your trustees and funders ask for come from the same source as your day-to-day work. No last-minute scrambles, no conflicting spreadsheets, just a clear picture of what your charity is achieving.

The new thresholds are a welcome change. Use the time they free up wisely, and make sure the information behind your decisions is as strong as the work it represents.

Want to see how Charitylog could help your team spend less time on admin and more time on impact? Book a demo