Apply for HMRC Exempt Charity Status
Charitable community benefit societies can apply to HMRC for Exempt Charity Status once registered with the FCA. Let Co‑operatives UK handle your application smoothly for a fixed fee of £350 + VAT.
What is exempt charity status?
When registering as a Charitable Community Benefit Society (CBS) you have the option of applying to HMRC for Exempt Charity Status for tax purposes. While a charitable CBS must comply with Charity Law and is considered a charity in law, it cannot register with the Charity Commission and will not be regulated by them. As such the society can never call itself a 'registered charity'.
The HMRC application process is separate from the charitable society registration. You must have already obtained the FCA seal of approval on the registration of a charitable community benefit society. For more information on the society registration process please see our step by step guide or contact [email protected].
HMRC requires that a charity has named 'Authorised' and 'Other' Officials for compliance:
- Authorised officials are legally accountable for running your charity, eg a trustee, director or treasurer. You must appoint a minimum of one person to carry out this role but you can add up to two.
- Other officials’ within your charity to manage its tax, eg claim Gift Aid and file a tax return. You must appoint a minimum of two persons to carry out this role but you can add up to three.
Let Co-operatives UK handle your application
If you would like Co-operatives UK to manage the HMRC application on your behalf, please complete the form below. Co-operatives UK charge £350 plus VAT for this service (T&Cs apply).
Some of the questions will ask for details of Authorised and Other Officials for the charitable society as required by HMRC.
- The society will need at least 1 Authorised Official and 2 Other Officials, and you will need to have a current bank account in the society's name.
- You will need to give names of a minimum of 3 separate people to carry out these roles.
- You must be able to prove that all the managers who deal with your finances (including the authorised officials and responsible persons) are fit to run your charity. This is sometimes called the ‘fit and proper persons test’.
- You can do this by asking them to sign a declaration. HMRC has a draft declaration at the end of their help sheet you can use.
- You only need to send the declaration to HMRC if they ask for it and we don’t need for the purposes of this application. Keep it whilst the person works for your charity and for 4 years after they leave.
Please note: This form does not have a save and resume function.
Please confirm the following before commencing the application from:
