25 Things You Need To Know Before The Form 990 Due Date
Are you ready to file your nonprofit 990 Form? Tuesday, May 15, 2018, is the 990 due date for all organizations that run on a typical calendar year.
You need to file IRS Form 990 on or before the 
deadline to avoid penalties or worse…tax-exempt status revocation. So to help you get ready here are 25 things you need to know before the Form 990 due date.
25 Things You Need To Know Before The Form 990 Due Date
1) When is Form 990 due for calendar tax year filers?
Organizations that operate on a calendar tax year (January – December) must file Form 990 by May 15th. Here is What You Need To Know About IRS Form 990.
2) When does Form 990 have to be filed?
Form 990 must be filed by the fifteenth day of the fifth month following the organization’s tax year end date. The standard deadline for calendar tax year organizations is May 15th. Learn more about Filing Form 990 with a Fiscal Tax Year.
3) When does Form 990 become public?
Typically, 990 tax forms take months to become public record. TaxBandits’ partnership with GuideStar speeds up this process by directly sending the accepted Form 990 to GuideStar to be added to its database.
4) How can I file Form 990-N?
Filing Form 990-N is very simple and can literally be completed in minutes. First, enter your organization’s EIN and review filing history; select the filing appropriate filing year and review the Form 990-N summary, then pay and transmit directly to the IRS.
Click here to learn more about what information is required to file Form 990-N.
5) Can a 990 Form be amended?
It most certainly can be! You can easily e-file an amended tax return from your TaxBandits account by filing a new return with the corrected information.
6) Can Form 990 be filed electronically?
Yes.TaxBandits supports electronic filing for each form in the Form 990 Series.
7) Is there an extension for Form 990?
IRS Form 990 filers can receive an additional six months time to file for their exempt organization with tax extension Form 8868. Users that file a Form 8868 must do so by the original filing deadline of their appropriate form.
8) Can I copy information from a prior return to the current year?
Yes, you can copy information from a previously accepted return filed with TaxBandits to a new return using the Prior Year Autofill feature.
9) What incentives are there for e-filing vs. paper filing?
When you file your IRS Form 990 with TaxBandits, we provide you with exclusive features that make filing IRS Form 990 easy. Check out these features here.
10) What Form 990 do I need to file for my organization?
The appropriate 990 tax form for your organization is determined by its annual gross receipts/total assets at the time of filing the return. Click here to determine the correct Form 990 to file.
11) Where can I find a Form 990 for a non-profit?
Accepted Form 990 tax returns that have become public record can be found on GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit organization information. Your organization’s information can also be listed in this database with ExpressTaxExempt & GuideStar’s partnership.
12) How do you file Form 990 online?
Filing Form 990 online using TaxBandits can be done with the following steps:
- Sign in or create your free account
- Add organization details
- Complete form interview process
- Review information and audit report
- Pay and transmit directly to the IRS
Learn more about how to easily file your IRS Form 990 online.
13) What is the difference between a calendar and fiscal tax year?
Calendar Year – 12 consecutive months beginning January 1 and ending on December 31.
Fiscal Year – 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December.
See Filing Form 990 with a Fiscal Tax Year for more information regarding fiscal year tax filings.
14) Why is filing Form 990 important?
E-filing IRS Form 990 is important because it reports revenue, expenses, management, and activities of your organization. Failing to file can lead to IRS penalties that can cost your organization up to thousands of dollars. Failing to file for three consecutive years will forfeit your exemption status.
15) What is Form 990-PF?
Filed by Exempt & Taxable Private Foundations as well as Non-exempt Charitable Trusts, Form 990-PF collects information on an organization’s assets, financial activities, trustees and officers, grants awarded for the specified fiscal year, and most importantly, maintains the tax-exempt status of the organization.
Curious as to what the difference is between a public charity and private foundation? Find out here.
16) Can I file Form 990 or 990-EZ instead of Form 990-PF?
No. If your organization qualifies as a Private Foundation, you will need to file Form 990-PF to ensure you have reported all required information for private foundations.
17) What is the difference between Form 990 and Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
Organizations that have gross receipts less than or equal to $50,000 file Form 990-N (e-Postcard). If an organization has a large number of gross receipts that are more than or equal to $200,000 or total assets more than or equal to $500,000 they must file a Form 990.
18) If my organization’s exempt status has been revoked, will the IRS still accept my return?
No, the IRS will reject the return stating that the organization should establish an exempt status. You can reinstate the exempt status of the organization by applying the appropriate form (Form 1023 or 1024), providing reasonable cause for not filing returns for three consecutive years.
19) Who is considered to be Principal Officers in my organization?
Principal Officers include the organization’s president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief accounting officer, or other corporate officers (such as a tax officer).
20) What organizations are ineligible to e-file Form 990-N?
Any organization that is not recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS or any tax-exempt organization with more than $50,000 in gross receipts is ineligible to e-file Form 990-N.
21) Who must file Form 990-EZ?
IRS Form 990-EZ must be filed by exempt organizations that have gross receipts less than $200,000 and total assets less than $500,000.
22) What is a group return?
A group return occurs when a parent organization is filing for its subsidiary organizations. This takes the burden of filing the Form 990-EZ from the smaller organizations and gives it to their larger overseeing organization. Subsidiary organizations should check with their parent organization before deciding not to file.
23) What are “gross receipts?”
Gross receipts are the total amounts that an organization has received from all sources during its tax year, without subtracting any costs or expenses.
24) Are there any penalties for not filing a 990 tax form?
Yes, there is a penalty of $20 a day. Organizations with annual gross receipts exceeding $1 million are subject to a penalty of $100 for each day failure continues (with a maximum penalty for any one return of $50,000).
25) How do I e-file for an extension?
E-filing for an extension of time to file is as easy as creating an account with TaxBandits and starting the Form 8868. The Form 8868 is an application for an extension of time to file your Form 990 (except the 990-N). Please note, this is not an extension of time to pay any taxes that may be due.
Let Us Help Your Tax-Exempt Organization
As a charitable organization, you are constantly helping others now let us help you file your nonprofit IRS Form 990. In addition to being approved and trusted by the IRS, we are also partnered with GuideStar. When you file with TaxBandits we will automatically send GuideStar Form 990. Instead of waiting months for your form to be processed and then transmitted, GuideStar will immediately publish your nonprofit IRS Form 990.
Start filing today and get back to what is really important!
E-File Your Nonprofit IRS Form 990 Today
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