Getting started

Form 990-N for gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, Form 990-EZ under $200,000 in receipts and $500,000 in assets, Form 990 above that, Form 990-PF for private foundations.

The IRS test for the 990-N limit: $75,000 in the first year, a $60,000 average in years one to three, a $50,000 three-year average after that.

The 990-N is eight items of basic information. The 990-EZ is a short annual return with revenue, expenses, a balance sheet, officers and Schedule A.

The tax year is the year your accounting year begins. 990.tax uses the year end on your IRS record and does not let you file before the year has ended.

Form 990-N and 990-EZ are due the 15th day of the 5th month after your tax year ends: May 15 for a calendar year. Weekends and holidays move it to the next business day.

The IRS accepts e-filed exempt-organization returns for the current tax year and the two before it. Today 990.tax files tax years 2023–2024; 2025 opens when the IRS approves it.

An organization that does not file a required 990-N, 990-EZ or 990 for three consecutive years loses its tax-exempt status automatically. How to check and what to do.

There is no IRS penalty for a late Form 990-N. A late Form 990-EZ can be charged a daily penalty. California Form 199 has its own small penalty.

990.tax files Form 990-N, 990-EZ, 8868 and California Form 199. It does not file Form 990, 990-PF, 990-T, state forms outside California, or 990-EZ returns that need certain schedules.