First Minister and SNP leader Humza Yousaf has made changes to the way his party records donations
The SNP made a loss of more than £800,000 last year after its income and membership dropped, its accounts show.
It is the party’s second biggest deficit ever recorded – and its largest in a non-election year.
SNP membership fell from the 104,000 it had two years ago to 72,000 in March – although the party said numbers had risen to about 74,000 in April.
Its membership income fell from £2,516,854 in 2021 to £2,286,944 in 2022.
And its reportable donations fell from £695,351 to £368,538, with the party recording a total loss of £804,278.
The Electoral Commission publishes annual accounts of all parties that spend more than £250,000.
SNP treasurer Stuart McDonald blamed the cost of living crisis for the drop in party membership, and said it was important to “return the party to surplus in 2023 as we build towards the next general election”.
He added: “Like every membership organisation today, we face challenges and uncertainty in the face of rising inflation and the cost of living crisis which impacts on our members.”
The Electoral Commission report also showed the SNP ended 2022 with a negative balance of almost £220,000, and its accumulated reserves fell from £584,649 to negative £219,629.
The SNP had faced a race against time to file its accounts ahead of the Electoral Commission deadline after appointing new auditors in May.
The firm that previously carried out had quit in the autumn of last year.
A Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances and funding, codenamed Operation Branchform, is ongoing.
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, her husband and ex-party chief executive Peter Murrell and former treasurer Colin Beattie have all been arrested as part of the inquiry before later being released without charge pending further investigations.
