CHAR500 Filing: Due Dates, Extension & Audit Rules

The CHAR500 is the annual financial report that charities registered with the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau must file. For organizations registered under Article 7-A of the Executive Law or as dual filers, it is due four and a half months after fiscal year end, which is May 15 for a calendar-year organization; organizations registered only under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law have six months. The Charities Bureau grants an automatic 180-day extension without a written request. Article 7-A and dual filers attach an independent CPA audit if gross revenue and support exceed $1 million, a CPA review between $250,000 and $1 million, and an unaudited report at or below $250,000. Goldenthal & Suss Consulting P.C., a New York City CPA firm, prepares CHAR500 filings and the audits and reviews that go with them.

Filed with: NYS Attorney General, Charities Bureau
7-A & dual filers due: 4½ months after fiscal year end
EPTL-only filers due: 6 months after fiscal year end
Extension: Automatic 180 days, no request needed

Start with your registration category

Due dates and attachments depend on how the organization is registered with the Charities Bureau. You can confirm yours in the Charities Registry at CharitiesNYS.com.

Article 7-A: registered to solicit contributions in New York under Article 7-A of the Executive Law.
EPTL: registered under the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law because the organization holds assets or conducts activities for charitable purposes in New York.
Dual: registered under both. Most operating charities that fundraise in New York are dual filers.

Due dates

The Charities Bureau's published schedule, for the two most common fiscal year ends:

December 31 year end: 7-A and dual filers due May 15 (November 15 with the extension); EPTL-only filers due June 30 (December 31 with the extension).
June 30 year end: 7-A and dual filers due November 15 (May 15 with the extension); EPTL-only filers due December 31 (June 30 with the extension).

How the extension works

Since March 2015 the Charities Bureau has granted an automatic 180-day extension to file the CHAR500, with no written request required. The complete filing, with every attachment and the fee, must be in within 180 days of the original deadline.

Two cautions. The State's extension is separate from the IRS: if you need more time on the Form 990 you still request that from the IRS, and you should keep that request in your records. And the Bureau reserves the discretion to deny an extension, so a filing that is habitually late is a risk worth avoiding.

What has to be attached (Article 7-A and dual filers)

The financial-report attachment is set by gross revenue and support under Executive Law § 172-b, in tiers that have applied since July 1, 2021:

Over $1,000,000: financial statements audited by an independent CPA.
$250,000 to $1,000,000: financial statements reviewed by an independent CPA. An audit may be filed instead.
$250,000 or less: an unaudited financial report is accepted.
In every tier, a copy of the organization's IRS Form 990-series return for the same year.

Fees

The filing fee is calculated on the CHAR500 itself. The Article 7-A fee is based on total revenue and support, the EPTL fee is based on net worth at year end, and dual filers pay both. Because the schedule has changed over the years, work it out from the current form rather than last year's check.

Where filings go wrong

Most problems are avoidable with a final check before submission:

Testing the threshold on the wrong number. The test is gross revenue and support, not net income and not a single program's budget.
Attaching a review when an audit was required, because revenue crossed $1 million in the year being reported.
Financial statements that do not agree with the Form 990 filed for the same year.
Missing the second signature. The certification needs both the president or another authorized officer and the chief financial officer or treasurer.
Letting the filing lapse while City or State prequalification depends on it.

What this engagement covers

CHAR500 preparation and online submission support
Registration category and due-date review
Fee calculation
CPA audits and reviews for the required attachment
Form 990 preparation and reconciliation to the financial statements
Delinquent and amended filings

Frequently asked

When is the CHAR500 due?

For Article 7-A and dual filers, four and a half months after fiscal year end: May 15 for a December 31 year end and November 15 for a June 30 year end. Organizations registered only under the EPTL have six months: June 30 and December 31 respectively. You can confirm your registration category in the Charities Registry at CharitiesNYS.com.

Is there an extension for the CHAR500?

Yes. The Charities Bureau grants an automatic 180-day extension and no written request is required. The complete filing, including attachments and fee, must be submitted within 180 days of the original due date. The extension is separate from any IRS extension for the Form 990.

Does our CHAR500 need an audit?

For Article 7-A and dual filers it depends on gross revenue and support: over $1,000,000 requires financial statements audited by an independent CPA, $250,000 to $1,000,000 requires a CPA review, and $250,000 or less allows an unaudited financial report. A funder, lender, or your own bylaws can require an audit even below those levels.

Can you prepare our CHAR500 if another firm did our audit?

Yes. The CHAR500 is a separate filing from the audit. We can prepare and review the filing using your audited or reviewed statements and Form 990, and check that the figures agree before it goes to the Charities Bureau.

What happens if a charity doesn't file its CHAR500?

An organization registered under Article 7-A loses that registration automatically if it fails to meet the reporting requirements, and the Attorney General can seek civil penalties; EPTL filers face daily fines under EPTL § 8-1.4. In practice the earlier consequence is often with funders: City and State grant prequalification treat the Charities Bureau filing as a current document, so a lapsed filing can hold up funding.

Sources & review
Due dates, registration categories, and the automatic 180-day extension per the AG Charities Bureau notice 'Extension Request Procedure Change' (2015-03-17), linked from ag.ny.gov's CHAR500 page on 2026-10-29. Attachment tiers per Executive Law § 172-b (effective 2021-07-01). Signature requirement and penalties per the AG's current CHAR500-C instructions (same Charities Bureau rules; the standard CHAR500 instructions PDF was not retrievable as text). Fee amounts deliberately not quoted; the schedule has changed across form years. Reviewed 2026-10-29. Thresholds and deadlines change — confirm current requirements before relying on them.

CHAR500 Annual Filing for New York Charities