Nonprofit filing resources
Our guides explain the IRS rules for exempt organization returns, and our articles cover e-filing a return your organization has already prepared. Each guide links to the official page it summarizes.
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Choose a form
- Form 990-N, 990-EZ or 990: which to fileThe three tests, what "normally $50,000" means, who must file Form 990 regardless, and who doesn't file at all.
- Form 990 for PTAs, PTOs and booster clubsWhether a unit under a state group exemption files its own return, which form, the July–June deadline, and the treasurer handover.
- Private foundation filing requirementsForm 990-PF, its deadline and extension, and the separate returns a foundation may owe.
- Who can file Form 990-NThe "normally $50,000 or less" test, what the e-Postcard asks for, and when it's due.
- Form 990-N filing problemsEIN not in IRS records, IRS sign-in, filing too early, late and prior-year notices, and checking a past filing.
Prepare to file
- Starting from last year's returnWhat comes across from last year's Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF, and what you still enter.
- Schedule A: public charity statusWho attaches Schedule A, the 33⅓% and 10% public support tests over five years, the 2% limit and the first five years.
- Schedule B: listing contributorsThe $5,000 rule, the 2% special rule for public charities, the no-Schedule-B box, and which donor details are public.
- Filing with an AI assistantHow to enter a prepared return with an AI assistant, and the steps a person has to take.
- How to e-file the Form 990 PDF you preparedWhat to check before you choose how to e-file a completed Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF, and what to keep afterwards.
- Stop paying for Form 990-NThe IRS accepts the e-Postcard for free, yet some services charge up to $55 a year to file it. We file it free, permanently.
Deadlines and extensions
- Form 990 filing deadlinesThe general due date for each tax-year end, and how weekends and holidays move it.
- Form 8868 extensionsWhen Form 8868 extends an annual return, and why tax is still due on the original date.
- Late filing penaltiesThe daily penalty for a late return, reasonable cause, and the three-year revocation rule.