An Overview of IRS Form 990

The official IRS subtitle of Form 990 is Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax.  It is tempting to consider this a tax return because it so resembles a corporate tax form, but the IRS calls it an information return.  The reason for this is that nonprofits are tax exempt and, therefore, they typically do not pay corporate income taxes.  What the IRS wants is information, or details, about your nonprofit’s income, expenses, and activities during the past year.

There are 5 versions of Form 990:  Form 990-N, Form 990-EZ, Form 990 (long form), Form 990-PF, and Form 990-T.  Each one is distinctly different.  The version that your nonprofit must file is dependent upon a number of factors, chief among them being organizational gross revenue.  We will explore the details and thresholds for each in separate articles in this series.  Suffice it to say that, at a bare minimum, the IRS wants to know if your nonprofit is still functioning as of the end of your last fiscal year, and if so, how much revenue did it take in?  Depending upon how much money was received, or the value of your nonprofit’s assets, the information disclosure increases considerably.  If your nonprofit must file a Form 990-N, the disclosure level is minimal.  If it is a Form 990 long form, you may have a 30 page return to prepare!

Despite the different versions, the IRS is consistent regarding the due date.  Form 990 is always due by the 15th of the 5th month, following the end of the fiscal year.  So, if your nonprofit has its accounting, or fiscal, year ending December 31 each year, your due date is May 15 of the following year.  Similarly, if your fiscal year ends on June 30, your Form 990 due date is November 15.  The IRS does allow organizations to request one, 6-month extension of the due date by filing Form 8868 on or before the original due date of the return.  If your extension is filed late, it will be denied.

Another really critical thing to note is the cost of filing late.  Returns that are filed after the due date or extension date are subject to a penalty of $20 per day, up to a max of $10,000 or 5% of the organization’s gross receipts for that year.  Ouch!  And worse yet, for nonprofits with annual income over $1 million, the penalty increases to $100 per day up to a max of $50,000.  Suffice it to say, don’t file late!