IRS Form 990-N: E-Filing for Small Organizations

If your nonprofit had previously been exempt from filing a Form 990 with the IRS, you are most likely now required to file a Form 990-N.

A provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 requires small nonprofits to file the Form 990-N if they had been exempt from filing the Form 990 because their annual gross receipts are $25,000 or less.  The due date for filing the form is the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of an organization’s tax year.

While there is no penalty for late filings, those organizations that fail to file a Form 990-N for three consecutive years will automatically lose their tax-exempt status. If your nonprofit did not file for the past three years, the final deadline to file a 990-N and not lose your tax-exempt status was on October 15, 2010.

The IRS has a frequently asked questions section about the 990-N.  This, and more about the 990-N is at www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=169250,00.html.

New 990 Filing Thresholds for Tax Year 2010 for Most 501(c)(3) Organizations

Organizations with gross receipts normally less than $50,000 must file Form 990-N (but may choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ).  In prior years only organizations with gross receipts normally less than $25,000 could file the 990-N.

Organizations with gross receipts greater than $50,000 and less than $200,000 and total assets less than $500,000 must file Form 990-EZ or a complete Form 990.

Organizations with gross receipts greater than $200,000 or total assets greater than $500,000 must file Form 990.  Private foundations must file Form 990-PF.

More information, including links to all forms, is at www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=184445,00.html.

These articles originally appeared in the October 2008 issue, numerous issues during 2010, and the January 2011 issue of New York Nonprofits, the monthly publication of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc. www.npccny.org

last updated on 12/8/10