Most charities have little to no compliance requirements under the Common Reporting Standard, but there is not a blanket exemption for the charity sector. 

Numerous charities, especially those that make grants or have debt instruments, may find themselves caught by a reporting obligation.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a reporting model imposed from 2016 in the UK by the European Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC) to enable the exchange of certain financial information between tax jurisdictions under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The reporting requirements under CRS mainly catch financial institutions such as banks and investment managers; however the scope of the requirements is broad and can cover other types of organisation. With this in mind, whether a charity needs to report at all, and what needs to be reported, depends on the type of charity and its activities.

Follow our step by step process to give you an indication of what your charity needs to do in order to comply with the CRS. 

Please note that official regulations on the CRS are lengthy and cover a wide range of possible scenarios and although this short guide does not cover the full detail and every possibility, it does give you an essential outline of your requirements.