Update 29 - April 2008
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Only nine weeks until tax laws change! Have you applied to register yet?
Quick index
- Registration update
- Beyond registration- wider roles of Commission
- Reminder - Annual Returns
- Advising the Commission of your application decisions
- Your legal name
- Promoting your Charities’ registration number
- The Charities Register
- Searching the Charities Register
- Restricting information from the public register
- Online user accounts
- Upcoming workshops and seminars
- Charitable giving tax laws effective 1 April
- Payroll giving and tax treatment of volunteers’ reimbursements and honoraria
Registration Update - 29 April 2008
Charities registered: 4,990
Processing time: our registration analysts are currently reviewing applications received from 30 January 2008.
If you don’t hear from us straightaway after receiving confirmation that we have received your application, don’t be concerned. We are concentrating all our efforts on processing applications as they reach the front of the queue, so you may not hear from us until you are registered. If we need further information from you, or when we have processed your application, we will be in touch.
Beyond Registration - Wider role of the Commission
At the Charities Commission we are tasked with two separate but interlinked fields of work. The first is to provide a registration and monitoring system for charities in New Zealand. The second is to provide support and education for charities.In our first two years of establishment, it has been the first field of work that has necessarily occupied the majority of our time and resources. This is because charities need to be able to access charitable tax exemptions from Inland Revenue after 1 July 2008 and because registration collects the information needed to identify and provide relevant services and assistance in the future.
Although focusing on registration has been our immediate priority, we are now starting to shape the Commission's future role and functions. As a part of this process, a range of developmental work is underway. This includes developing a strategic plan with a view longer than that outlined in our 2007- 2010 Statement of Intent. It also includes preliminary work to guide the development of education strategies to assist the charitable sector’s governance and management; developing a focus for our ongoing role of monitoring charities; and initiating research against which public trust and confidence in the sector can be benchmarked.
Reminder - Annual Returns
The Charities Act 2005 requires registered charities to file an Annual Return with the Commission within six months of their balance date. This information helps the Commission to monitor registered charities to ensure they remain qualified to be registered, and provides information to the public about how charities carry out their charitable purpose.
If you are sending your Annual Return to the Commission, please remember that you must include both your completed Annual Return form AND a copy of your audited or un-audited Financial Accounts.
You can complete your Annual Return online or on paper. To complete the form online, simply log into your account at http://www.register.charities.govt.nz/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fCharitiesRegister%2fDefault.aspx, and access your pre-populated form. If you prefer to use a paper form, you can print a blank copy of Form 4 from the website. Remember though, we have already filled in 19 of the 24 question in the online forms, so this is the easiest option.
Please note, some changes that you need to tell us about may take place at your annual general meeting (AGM). In this case you may choose to report them as part of your Annual Return; as long as we receive your Annual Return Form within three months of the changes being made.
Incorporated societies should also note that their registered charity status means they do not need to send an annual financial statement to the Companies Office. They only need to send an Annual Return to the Charities Commission.
If you would like any help or a copy of the form to be posted to you, please phone our free information line 0508 CHARITIES (0508 242 748) or email info@charities.govt.nz
For more information visit www.charities.govt.nz/guidance/annual_returns.html
Tell us when you'll tell us
Sometimes the Commission requests direction or further information from charities about their applications.
You can let it know how you wish to proceed and/or provide it with the requested information in writing (quoting your charity reference number) or through your online user account.
Even, if you can’t provide the information right away, it is best to let us know as soon as possible when we can expect to receive it. This is because we will continue to assess your application without the benefit of the information if it does not hear from you within twenty working days.
Your legal name
We have noticed a number of you are applying using your common names or your legal description instead of your legal name. This delays processing your application, because we have to contact you to get it changed.
The first question asked on the application form is for the legal name of your organisation. The legal name is the name used on formal documents such as your rules, trust deed or other governing document.
If your group has been registered with the Companies Office, or created or registered under any other legislation, use the name that you are registered under, or the name given to you by that legislation.
If you are trustees of a trust, use the name under which you are incorporated as a board under the Charitable Trusts Act. If you are not incorporated as a board, use the name of the trust, or a name nominated by the trustees.
For more information visit www.charities.govt.nz/guidance/name.html
Promoting your unique registration number
As the Register grows it will become a useful tool to help the public decide which charities to support.
The unique registration number provided on your registration certificate can be quoted on your promotional materials to show the public you have a recognised charitable purpose.
Displaying your registration number on your promotional materials is not compulsory.
However, if you choose to do so, we suggest you use the following wording on your print materials and website:
“XYZ Trust – CC123456 – is a registered charitable entity in terms of the Charities Act 2005. For more information about XYZ Trust, visit the Charities Register at www.charities.govt.nz.”
You may like to use this wording in conjunction with your organisation’s logo. Please note though, that the Charities Commission does not make its logo available for any other organisation to use.
For more information visit www.charities.govt.nz/news/fact_sheets/registration_number.htm
The Charities Register
One of the Charities Commission’s roles is to set up a publicly accessible record of registered charities. This Charities Register promotes public trust and confidence in the charitable sector by providing a fair and transparent way of identifying genuine charities.
In common with the companies register, the Charities Register provides the public with information about the activities of registered charities and the way they use their resources. This involves ongoing monitoring to ensure the activities of charities on the Register are aligned with their charitable purpose.
The Commission is currently working to register charities and enter their details into the Charities Register. Later this year, when the Register is more populated, funders and the public will be able to use the information provided on the Register to make informed decisions about the charities they support. The Register can also act as a starting point for people wanting to contact a charity.
In addition, the statistical information that will be collected by the Register will provide the government with a picture of the sector that will help them better understand the sector’s needs and influence policy. The same information will help the Commission provide education and support for charities.
Searching the Charities Register
Although the Charities Register is still being populated, it currently contains information on 5,000 Registered Charities.
You can search for a particular charity at http://www.register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ using their name, keywords, or registration number. Information about registered charities is also available from our free info line 0508 CHARITIES (0508 242 748).
The following information will usually be available on the register: the name, address and registration number of the charitable entity; the names of the current officers and of all officers since the organisation was first registered as a charitable entity; a copy of the rules; the application for registration as a charitable entity (including all required accompanying information and documents); each annual return and change notice.
Please note, the Register has been set up to specifically prevent it being used to generate mailing lists, so you won’t be able to print out a complete list of charity contact details.
Restricting information from the public Register
The Charities Commission may restrict public access to information and documents about registered charities if it considers it in the public interest to do so.
If you would like information restricted from public access, you need to request this and explain your reasons in writing. You can do this by attaching a letter to your application, writing to the commission (citing your charities reference or registration number), or through your online user account.
For more information visit http://www.charities.govt.nz/news/fact_sheets/restricting_public_access_to_info.html
Online user accounts
All applicants receive a username and password either by post or by email when they submit their application. You can use these to track your application or contact the Commission about it.
To use your online user account go to http://www.register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ and click on “log in”, and enter the provided username and password.
The first time you log in you will be asked to change your system-generated password to another of your choice. If you have forgotten your password you can enter your details on the screen, click the ‘submit’ button and the system will generate a new password for you. This is sent to the email or postal address you gave us in your application.
Registration workshops and seminars
The Commission is holding a series of registration workshops and seminars in the next few months. Workshops provide information to charities who are considering applying for registered charity status with the Commission. Seminars provide training for professional and community advisors on assisting organisations with their applications.
We also attend funding expos, where we often make presentations and are available to answer your questions.
Upcoming workshops:
21 May, 9.30–11.30am or 1.00–3.00 pm, Onehunga Community Centre, 83 Church Road, Onehunga.
22 May, 10.00am–12.00pm or 2.00pm–4.00pm, Western Springs Garden Community Hall, 956 Great North Road, Western Springs.
23 May, 10.00am–12.00pm (followed at 12.30pm by online application “lab”, facilitated by the Auckland City Council), Wesley Community Centre, 740 Sandringham Road, Mt Roskill.
To book any of these workshops, contact Jan Ziegler- Peri at Auckland City Council on (09) 354 2033.
Upcoming funding expos:
16 May, Hope Community Centre, Nelson. To book, contact Judene Edgar, (03) 544 1927
Charitable giving tax laws effective
Tax rules for charitable giving took effect on 1 April 2008. These include: the removal of the $1,890 rebate threshold on donations made by individuals; the removal of the 5 per cent deduction limit on donations made by companies and Māori authorities; and the company deduction for the donations will be extended to include unlisted companies with five or fewer shareholders.
For more information visit Inland Revenue's website
Payroll giving and tax treatment of volunteers' reimbursements and honoraria
The Government has announced the introduction next year of a voluntary payroll giving system that will enable people to donate to charitable and philanthropic causes through work-based payroll deductions.
At the same time, changes will be made to clarify the law on how reimbursements and honoraria paid to volunteers in the non-profit sector are to be treated for tax purposes. Reimbursements based on actual costs incurred by volunteers will be tax-exempt, with no limits.
If a paying organisation has a process for making a reasonable estimate of the costs likely to be incurred by volunteers, payments made to volunteers based on that estimate will also be treated as tax-exempt income.
Honoraria will continue to be subject to withholding tax. Organisations will have to pay reimbursements separately from honoraria if recipients are to have their reimbursements treated as tax-free.
Payroll giving will be voluntary for both employees and employers. It will operate through the PAYE system and will be available to employers who file their employer monthly schedules electronically. Each payday, employees who donate will receive a PAYE credit on their donation. Employers will offset the credit against the PAYE calculated on the employee’s gross pay. The PAYE credit will be calculated on a set rate of 33⅓%.
The current end-of-year rebate claim process will continue – employees who do not or are not able to donate through payroll giving can still claim tax relief on their donations through the rebate process.
Both changes will be included in the next taxation bill, scheduled for introduction in late June this year.
For more information visit http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/charitable+giving+made+easier+donors+and+volunteers