Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax and
Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax

Changes To Note

• On January 10, 2001, the Treasury Department issued Temporary Regulations interpreting the benefit limitation provisions of section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code. These provisions are important to the exempt organization community as a whole and for ensuring compliance in this area. These new Regulations advise organizations on avoiding situations that may give rise to inurement.
• Section 501(c)(3) organizations required to complete lines 26, 27, or 28 of Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ), Organization Exempt Under Section 501(c)(3), must prepare lists for their own records to substantiate amounts on those lines. These lists are not to be filed with the return.

Purpose of Form

• Form 990 and Form 990-EZ are used by tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033.
• An organization's completed Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, is available for public inspection as required by section 6104. Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), Schedule of Contributors, is open for public inspection for section 527 organizations filing Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.
• Some members of the public rely on Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, as the primary or sole source of information about a particular organization. How the public perceives an organization in such cases may be determined by the information presented on its return. Therefore, please make sure the return is complete and accurate and fully describes the organization's programs and accomplishments.
• Use the Form 990, and Form 990-EZ, to send a required election to the IRS, such as the election to capitalize costs under section 266.

Phone Help

If you have questions and/or need help completing Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, please call 1-877-829-5500. This toll-free telephone service is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Photographs of Missing Children

The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of missing children selected by the Center may appear in instructions on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.

General Instructions

Note: The General Instructions apply to both Form 990 and Form 990-EZ. See also the Specific Instructions for each of these forms.

A. Who Must File

Filing tests

If the organization does not meet any of the exceptions listed in General Instruction B, and its annual gross receipts are normally more than $25,000, it must file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. See the gross receipts discussion in General Instruction B.

If the organization's gross receipts during the year are less than $100,000 and its total assets at the end of the year are less than $250,000, it may file Form 990-EZ, instead of Form 990. Even if the organization meets this test, it can still file Form 990.

Organizations required to file Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ), Organization Exempt Under Section 501(c)(3), that do not meet the support tests discussed in the instructions for Part IV of that schedule should contact the Service at the following address to re-evaluate their determination-of-filing requirements.
Internal Revenue Service
TE/GE Customer Account Services Office
P.O. Box 2508
Cincinnati, OH 45201

Political organizations that are required under section 6012(a)(6) to file an income tax return (Form 1120-POL, U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Political Organizations) are also required to file Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, for tax years beginning after June 30, 2000 (Rev. Rul. 2000-49, 2000-44 I.R.B. 430).

Combined Federal Campaign. Smaller organizations applying to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign may submit a completed Form 990-EZ (instead of Form 990) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

However, these organizations must also submit to OPM, attached to the Form 990-EZ, pages 1 and 2 of Form 990 with the following completed: Part I, lines 1a-1d and 13-15; Part II, all lines. These organizations should not send this Form 990 attachment to the IRS.

Section 501(a), (e), (f), (k), and (n) organizations

Except for those types of organizations listed in General Instruction B, an annual return on Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, is required from every organization exempt from tax under section 501(a), including foreign organizations and cooperative service organizations described in sections 501(e) and (f); child care organizations described in section 501(k); and charitable risk pools described in section 501(n).

Section 501(c)(3), 501(e), (f), (k), and (n) organizations must also attach a completed Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ) to their Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.

For purposes of these instructions, the term section 501(c)(3) includes organizations exempt under sections 501(e), (f), (k), and (n).

Disregarded Entities

A disregarded entity, as described in Regulations sections 301.7701-1 through 301.7701-3, is treated as a branch or division of its parent organization for Federal tax purposes. Therefore, financial and other information applicable to a disregarded entity must be reported as the parent organization's information.

Section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts

Any nonexempt charitable trust (described in section 4947(a)(1)) not treated as a private foundation is also required to file Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, along with a completed Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ). See the discussion in General Instruction D for exceptions to filing Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts.

If an organization's exemption application is pending

If the organization's application for exemption is pending, check the application pending box in the heading of the return and complete the return.

If the organization received a Form 990 Package but is not required to file

If the organization received a Form 990 Package with a preaddressed label, we ask that the organization file a return even if it is not required to do so.

• Attach the label to the name and address space on the return. See the Specific Instructions for both Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, Item C.
• Check the box in the heading of the Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, to indicate that the organization's gross receipts are normally not more than $25,000;
• Sign the return; and
• Send it to the Ogden Service Center. See General Instruction H.
• The organization does not have to complete Parts I through X of the Form 990, or Parts I through V of the Form 990-EZ.

Following the above instructions will help us to update our records, and we will not have to contact the organization later to ask why no return was filed.

If the organization files a return this way, it will not be mailed a Form 990 Package in later years and does not have to file Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, again until its gross receipts are normally more than $25,000. If the organization terminates or undergoes a substantial contraction, see the instructions for line 79 of Form 990, or line 36 of Form 990-EZ.

Exempt organizations that filed Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, but are no longer required to file because they meet a specific exemption (other than exemption 14 in General Instruction B) should advise their area office so their filing status can be updated.

Exempt organizations that are not sure of their area office may call the IRS at the Phone Help line, 1-877-829-5500. Exempt organizations that stop filing Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, without notifying their area office may receive service center correspondence inquiring about their returns. When responding to these inquiries, these organizations should give the specific reason for not filing.

Failure to file and its effect on contributions

Organizations that are eligible to receive tax deductible contributions are listed in Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations described in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. An organization may be removed from this listing if our records show that it is required to file Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, but it does not file a return or advise us that it is no longer required to file. However, contributions to such an organization may continue to be deductible by the general public until the IRS publishes a notice to the contrary in the Internal Revenue Bulletin.

B. Organizations Not Required To File

Note: Organizations not required to file this form with the IRS may wish to use it to satisfy state reporting requirements. For details, see General Instruction E.

The following types of organizations exempt from tax under section 501(a) do not have to file Form 990, or Form 990-EZ, with the IRS. However, if the organization chooses to file a Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, it must also attach the schedules and statements described in the instructions for these forms.

1. A church, an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches, an integrated auxiliary of a church (such as a men's or women's organization, religious school, mission society, or youth group).
2. Church-affiliated organizations that are exclusively engaged in managing funds or maintaining retirement programs and are described in Rev. Proc. 96-10, 1996-1 C.B. 577.
3. A school below college level affiliated with a church or operated by a religious order.
4. A mission society sponsored by, or affiliated with, one or more churches or church denominations, if more than half of the society's activities are conducted in, or directed at, persons in foreign countries.
5. An exclusively religious activity of any religious order.
6. A state institution whose income is excluded from gross income under section 115.
7. An organization described in section 501(c)(1). Section 501(c)(1) organizations are corporations organized under an Act of Congress that are:
   • Instrumentalities of the United States, and
   • Exempt from Federal income taxes.
8. A private foundation exempt under section 501(c)(3) and described in section 509(a). Use Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation.
9. A black lung benefit trust described in section 501(c)(21). Use Form 990-BL, Information and Initial Excise Tax Return for Black Lung Benefit Trusts and Certain Related Persons.
10. A stock bonus, pension, or profit-sharing trust that qualifies under section 401. Use Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan.
11. A religious or apostolic organization described in section 501(d). Use Form 1065, U.S. Partnership Return of Income.
12. A foreign organization whose annual gross receipts from sources within the U.S. are normally $25,000 or less (Rev. Proc. 94-17, 1994-1 C.B. 579). See the $25,000 gross receipts test in 14c. See also General Instruction A, if the organization received a Form 990 Package.
13. A governmental unit or affiliate of a governmental unit described in Rev. Proc. 95-48, 1995-2 C.B. 418.
14. An organization whose annual gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less (but see General Instruction A, if the organization received a Form 990 Package).
    1. Calculating gross receipts. The organization's gross receipts are the total amount it received from all sources during its annual accounting period, without subtracting any costs or expenses.
       1. Form 990. Gross receipts are the sum of lines 1d, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a, 7, 8a (both columns), 9a, 10a, and 11 of Part I. Gross receipts can also be calculated by adding back the amounts on lines 6b, 8b, 9b, and 10b to the total revenue reported on line 12.
       2. Form 990-EZ. Gross receipts are the sum of lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5a, 6a, 7a, and 8 of Part I. Gross receipts can also be calculated by adding back the amounts on lines 5b, 6b, and 7b to the total revenue reported on line 9.

          Example. On line 9 of its Form 990-EZ for the year 2001, Organization M reported $50,000 as total revenue. M added back the costs and expenses it had deducted on lines 5b ($2,000); 6b ($1,500); and 7b ($500) to its total revenue of $50,000 and determined that its gross receipts for the tax year were $54,000.

    2. Gross receipts when acting as agent. If a local chapter of a section 501(c)(8) fraternal organization collects insurance premiums for its parent lodge and merely sends those premiums to the parent without asserting any right to use the funds or otherwise deriving any benefit from collecting them, the local chapter should not include the premiums in its gross receipts. The parent lodge should report them instead. The same treatment applies in other situations in which one organization collects funds merely as an agent for another.
    3. $25,000 gross receipts test. An organization's gross receipts are considered normally to be $25,000 or less if the organization is:
       1. Up to a year old and has received, or donors have pledged to give, $37,500 or less during its first tax year;
       2. Between 1 and 3 years old and averaged $30,000 or less in gross receipts during each of its first 2 tax years; or
       3. Three (3) years old or more and averaged $25,000 or less in gross receipts for the immediately preceding 3 tax years (including the year for which the return would be filed).

C. Exempt Organization Reference Chart

Note: To determine how the instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ apply to you, you must know the Code section under which you are exempt.

Type of Organization	I.R.C. Section
Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress 501(c)(1)
Title Holding Corporations	501(c)(2)
Charitable, Religious, Educational, Scientific, etc., Organizations 501(c)(3)
Civic Leagues and Social Welfare Organizations 501(c)(4)
Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations 501(c)(5)
Business Leagues, etc.	501(c)(6)
Social and Recreation Clubs	501(c)(7)
Fraternal Beneficiary and Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations	501(c)(8) & (10)
Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Associations 501(c)(9)
Teachers' Retirement Fund Associations	501(c)(11)
Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc. 501(c)(12)
Cemetery Companies	501(c)(13)
State Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds 501(c)(14)
Mutual Insurance Companies or Associations 501(c)(15)
Cooperative Organizations To Finance Crop Operations 501(c)(16)
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts 501(c)(17)
Employee Funded Pension Trusts (created before 6/25/59) 501(c)(18)
Organizations of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces	501(c)(19) & (23)
Black Lung Benefit Trusts	501(c)(21)
Withdrawal Liability Payment Funds	501(c)(22)
Title Holding Corporations or Trusts	501(c)(25)
State-Sponsored Organizations Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals 501(c)(26)
State-Sponsored Workmen's Compensation and Insurance and Reinsurance Organizations 501(c)(27)
Religious and Apostolic Associations	501(d)
Cooperative Hospital Service Organizations 501(e)
Cooperative Service Organizations of Operating Educational Organizations 501(f)
Child Care Organizations	501(k)
Charitable Risk Pools	501(n)
Political Organizations	527

2001 Instructions Index | 2001 Tax Forms Main | IRS-Forms Main | Home