There's Another IRS Deadline Soon!

Have you ever volunteered for a nonprofit or charity? Chances are, it was a 501(c)(3) organization recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS. But did you know that even tax-exempt organizations have to report to the IRS every year?

Well, head’s up: they do and their main deadline is coming up!

In order to confirm that they’re still operating within the regulations for tax-exempt organizations with the IRS each year, these groups must file one of the forms in the 990 Form Series. And their deadline to have their 990 Form filed is the 15th day of the fifth month after their tax year end date. So, for organizations that follow a calendar year tax year - which runs from January 1 to December 31 - that deadline is May 15!

Curious to know more about the 990 Forms? Well, we’ll tell ya! First, there’s the one that started it all: the 990 Form, also known as the 990 Long Form. This one’s filed by organizations that receive $200,000 or more in gross receipts for the year or those with more than $500,000 in total assets. A lot of information is needed for the 990 Long Form to confirm such large amounts of money are being used for the organization’s tax-exempt purpose.

Slightly less in-depth is the 990-EZ Form, which is filed by organizations that receive between $50,000 and $200,000 in gross receipts annually. Not as much information is needed to complete Form 990-EZ, but filers should still be prepared to provide thorough data on their contributions, expenses, assets, etc. to complete the form.

For those tax-exempt organizations that make fewer than $50,000 in gross receipts annually - which is the majority of them - there’s the Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard. It gets this name because it’s an online-only form that must be e-filed either with the IRS directly or through a third-party, IRS-authorized e-file provider (psst…like ExpressTaxExempt!). With the 990-N, all filers need to do is provide their organizations basic identifying information (name, EIN, address, contact), confirm that they made less than $50,000 and are still operational, and submit the return.

Now, based on how they’re set up and receive donations, some tax-exempt organizations fall under the category Private Foundation. These organizations, regardless of their total gross receipts, must file Form 990-PF.

And now for the best part: all of these forms are available to e-file more easily than ever with our sister product, ExpressTaxExempt! They even have the extension form for the 990 Series, Form 8868, so users can get an automatic 6 extra months to file if they need it. So why not pop on over to their website and check ‘em out? Or, if you want, give us a call and we’ll put you right in touch with them to answer any questions you may have!

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Has Your Nonprofit Filed the 2015 Form 990?

Did you know that there are over 1.5 million tax-exempt organizations in the US? That includes 1,097,689 public charities, 105,030 private foundations, and 368,337 other types of non-profit organizations, according to the IRS Business Master Files (BMF).

Nonprofit organizations include everything from neighborhood associations to large universities and foundations, soup kitchens and traditional charities to local churches. To maintain their duties in raising awareness/funds and volunteering for their causes, nonprofit organizations can file for tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 501(c). Once approved, they must then file some variant of the 990 Form each year to keep their tax-exempt status.

ExpressTaxExempt, a sister product of ExpressIRSForms, offers simplified and streamlined e-filing for three of the most used 990 Forms: Form 990-N (e-Postcard), Form 990-EZ, and the full 990 long form. ExpressTaxExempt is also working to add more versions of the 990 Form, as well as Form 1023, the application for tax-exempt status, to become a complete solution for tax-exempt organizations and nonprofits.

Once you create an account with ExpressTaxExempt, the program will ask you a few questions to determine which form your organization needs to file. The 990-N (e-Postcard) is filed by organizations that make less than $50,000 per year in gross receipts. It’s a quick form that only requires your organization’s details, including the tax period year, and confirmation your organization is still operational and made less than $50,000 that year. The majority of the organizations who file through ETE file this form, and it’s free to e-file for the current tax year (2015). But if you need to e-file tax years 2013 or 2014, it’s only $9.90.

Since the other two forms are filed by organizations who make significantly more in gross receipts each year, they’re a bit more in depth as far as the reporting information goes. Form 990-EZ is the shorter of these two forms, filed by organizations making between $50,000 and $200,000 in gross receipts - with total assets less than $500,000 - for the filing year.

With only one form left, this means organizations making more than $200,000 in gross receipts with assets totaling over $500,000 must file Form 990, the long form. Both Forms 990 and 990-EZ require more extensive reporting on your organization’s revenue and expenses, contributions, volunteers, and employees, etc. Because of the in-depth nature of these forms, ETE breaks down the form into a simplified interview-style process. You just answer questions about your organization and enter a few numbers to show what’s on the books; the program will even automatically compile any schedules you’re required to have based on how you answer the questions.

Because not all organizations follow a calendar year tax period, the official 990 deadline for every tax-exempt organization is the fifteenth day of the fifth month after your tax period end date. So calendar year filers - those with tax periods from January 1 to December 31 - have a deadline of May 15 the year following the year for which they’re filing. In other words, the 2015 990 form deadline for calendar year filers is May 16, 2016! (May 15 is on a Sunday.)


But don’t worry, if your organization still hasn’t filed, you know exactly where to do it: www.ExpressTaxExempt.com. It’s simple, fast, and you have the same friendly, expert customer support you’re used to over here at ExpressIRSForms. They keep the same hours we do, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT; give them a call at (704) 839-2321 or send them a live chat for help getting started. You can also send any questions you have 24/7 to support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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