Continued...
provide the Internal Revenue Service with annual financial information. A short version, Form 990-EZ, may be used by organizations with gross receipts of less than $100,000 and total assets of less than $250,000. Another variant, Form 990-PF, is available for private foundation organizations.
The Form 990 provides the public with financial information about a given organization, and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. In June 2007, the IRS released a new Form 990 that requires significant disclosures on governance and boards of directors. These new disclosures are required for all nonprofit filers for the 2009 tax year, with more significant reporting requirements for nonprofits with over $1 million in revenues or $2.5 million in assets. In addition, certain nonprofits have more comprehensive reporting requirements, such as hospitals and other health care organizations (Schedule H).
The Form 990 disclosures do not require but strongly encourage nonprofit boards to adopt a variety of board policies regarding governance practices. These suggestions go beyond Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for nonprofits to adopt whistleblower and document retention policies. The IRS has indicated they will use the Form 990 as an enforcement tool, particularly regarding executive compensation. For example, nonprofits that adopt specific procedures regarding executive compensation are offered "safe harbor" from excessive compensation rules under section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulation section 53.4958-6.
Public Inspection IRC 6104(d) regulations state that an organization must provide copies of its three most recent Form 990s to anyone who requests them, whether in person, by mail, fax, or e-mail. Additionally, requests may be made via the IRS using Form 4506-A, and PDF copies can often be found online on sites such as Foundation Center's 990 Finder and Guidestar.org.
- New IRS Form 990
- Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ
- 990 Finder IRS Form 990 lookup tool; provides PDF copies of annual returns.
- Guidestar IRS Form 990's and other information for selection of nonprofits.
- Charity Navigator uses IRS Forms 990 to rate charities.
- BoardSource Governance requirements in 990.
1040 series
1040
|
|
Home