May 15th – The Major Form 990 Deadline for Tax-Exempt Organizations is Almost Here!

Nonprofits have a major deadline this Monday!

Stephanie Glanville | May 12, 2023 | Read time: 5 minute(s) | Deadline, Nonprofits | No Comments

While the businesses are done with their biggest tax filing season of the year, it’s time for nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations to meet their biggest annual filing deadline!

Of course, they don’t have to pay taxes. However, that doesn’t make them exempt from filing annual tax returns. For tax-exempt organizations following the calendar tax year, the deadline for filing the 990 series forms is May 15, 2023!

Here is everything the tax-exempt organizations should know to meet their 990 deadlines.

990 Series Forms – An Overview

The IRS grants tax-exempt status to nonprofit organizations that serve their community by offering educational, religious, and other types of outreach. This status means that these organizations are not required to file federal income taxes.

To make sure that these organizations don’t misuse their tax-exempt status, the IRS requires them to file 990 Series returns every year. 990 returns are designed for reporting financial information, activities, and certain other information about the nonprofit organization.

There are different types of 990 series forms, organizations must file the return that best applies to its financial size and structure.

Form 990-N – Organizations with gross receipts ≤ $50,000
Form 990-EZ – Organizations with gross receipts < $200,000 and assets < $500,000
Form 990 – Organizations with gross receipts ≥ $200,000 or assets ≥ $500,000
Form 990-PF – Organizations treated as Private Foundations

In addition to these, there is also Form 990-T, which can be filed by organizations that file Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF to report any unrelated business income of $1000 or more during the tax year.

Information Required for 990 Filing

990 forms require a lot of information. Here is an overview of the information that an organization must have to file Form 990.

Organization’s basic information, such as Name, EIN, address, etc.
Financial information such as Revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, etc.
Activities carried out by the organization (Eg: Program services)
Compensation details of the organization members
Other IRS tax filings that the organization may be required to complete

Also, based on the information the organization reports on their 990 return, they may be required to include 990 schedules to report additional information.

Extension of Form 990 Deadline

Organizations that need more time to prepare their 990 returns have the option to request an automatic extension of time by filing Form 8868.

By filing 8868 on or before the original deadline ( May 15th), the organization can extend its deadline by up to 6 months.

Note: The deadline for filing Form 990 can only be extended once during the tax year using Form 8868.

IRS Mandated the E-filing of 990 Forms

Organizations that are required to file 990 returns must file them electronically. The IRS doesn’t accept paper copies of 990 forms.

This means that organizations need to find an IRS-authorized e-file provider to help them meet the filing requirements. Our sister product, Tax990, has an awesome e-filing solution for nonprofits.

Tax990 – A Comprehensive 990 E-Filing Solution

Our sister product, Tax 990, formerly ExpressTaxExempt, is an IRS-authorized e-file provider that supports the e-filing of Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-N, and 990-T. They also support the e-filing of extension Form 8868.

Enjoy all of these benefits when you file Form 990 with Tax990,