Accounting reference date

The accounting reference date is a small detail that drives your whole reporting calendar. It is simply the date your financial year ends — but everything else, from preparing accounts to filing deadlines, counts from it.

In England and Wales a charity’s annual return and accounts must be filed within 10 months of its accounting reference date — so a 31 March year end gives a 31 January deadline. (Source: GOV.UK, Prepare a charity annual return; Companies House guidance, accessed 9 July 2026.) For a charitable company, the same date is the accounting reference date held at Companies House, which sets its own filing clock too.

You can change your year end, within limits and with the right notifications, but it will shift your deadlines. Keep the date and its deadlines visible — see the annual return entry and the UK Charity Compliance Handbook.