Specific Instructions for Form 990
Note: See also the General Instructions that apply to both the Form 990 and Form 990-EZ.
Contents |
Page |
Completing the Heading of Form 990 |
16 |
Part I - Revenue, Expenses, and Changes
in Net Assets |
17 |
Part II - Statement of Functional Expenses
|
21 |
Part III - Statement of Program Service
Accomplishments |
24 |
Part IV - Balance Sheets |
24 |
Parts IV-A and IV-B - Reconciliation Statements
|
26 |
Part V - List of Officers, Directors,
Trustees, and Key Employees |
26 |
Part VI - Other Information |
27 |
Part VII - Analysis of Income-Producing
Activities |
31 |
Part VIII - Relationship of Activities
to the Accomplishment of Exempt Purposes |
32 |
Part IX - Information Regarding Taxable
Subsidiaries and Disregarded Entities |
32 |
Part X - Information Regarding Transfers
Associated With Personal Benefit Contracts |
33 |
Exclusion Codes |
34 |
Completing the Heading of Form 990
The instructions that follow are keyed to items in the heading for Form 990.
Item A - Accounting period
Use the 2002 Form 990 to report on a calendar year accounting period beginning January 1, 2002, and ending December 31, 2002.
Use the 2002 Form 990 also to report on an accounting period other than a calendar year (either a fiscal year that began in 2002 or a short period (less than 12 months) that began in 2002). You must show the month and day in 2002 that your fiscal year began, or the short period began. You must also show the day, month, and year your fiscal year, or short period, ended. See General Instruction G.
Item B - Checkboxes
Address change, name change, and initial return. Check the appropriate box if the organization changed its address since it filed its previous return, or if this is the first time the organization is filing either a Form 990 or a Form 990-EZ.
If the tax-exempt organization has changed its name, attach the following documents:
IF the tax-exempt organization is . . .
|
THEN attach these documents. . .
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A corporation
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An amendment to the articles of incorporation with proof of filing with the state of incorporation.
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A trust
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An amendment to the trust agreement signed by the trustee.
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An association
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An amendment to the articles of association, constitution, bylaws, or other organizing document, along with signatures of at least two officers/members.
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Final return and amended return. Organizations should file final returns when they cease to be section 501(a) organizations or section 527 organizations; for example, when they cease operations and dissolve. See the instructions for line 79 that discuss liquidations, dissolutions, terminations, or substantial contractions.
If the return is an amended return, check the box. There are amended return requirements when filing with a state. See General Instructions E and J.
Application pending. If the organization's application for exemption is pending, check this box and complete the return.
Item C - Name and address
If we mailed the organization a Form 990 Package with a preaddressed mailing label, please attach the label in the name and address space on the return. Using the label helps us avoid errors in processing the return. If any information on the label is wrong, draw a line through that part and correct it.
If the organization operates under a name different from its legal name, give the legal name of the organization but identify its alternate name, after the legal name, by writing "aka" (also known as) and the alternate name of the organization. However, if the organization has changed its name, follow the instructions for Name change in Item B - Checkboxes.
Include the suite, room, or other unit number after the street address. If the Post Office does not deliver mail to the street address and the organization has a P.O. box, show the box number instead of the street address.
For foreign addresses, enter information in the following order: City, province or state, and the name of the country. Follow the foreign country's practice in placing the postal code in the address. Please do not abbreviate the country name.
If a change in address occurs after the return is filed, use Form 8822 to notify the IRS of the new address.
Item D - Employer identification number
The organization should have only one Federal employer identification number (EIN). If it has more than one and has not been advised which to use, notify the Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, UT 84201-0027. State what numbers the organization has, the name and address to which each number was assigned, and the address of its principal office. The IRS will advise the organization which number to use.
- A section 501(c)(9) voluntary employees' beneficiary association must use its own EIN and not the EIN of its sponsor.
- A disregarded entity, as described in Regulations sections 301.7701-1 through 301.7701-3, however, may use the EIN of the organization in Part IX if the disregarded entity does not have its own EIN. See General Instruction A and the instructions for Part IX.
Item E - Telephone number
Enter a telephone number of the organization that members of the public and government regulators may use during normal business hours to obtain information about the organization's finances and activities. If the organization does not have a telephone number, enter the telephone number of an organization official who can provide such information.
Item F - Accounting method
An organization must indicate the method of accounting used in preparing this return. See General Instruction G.
Item G - Web site
Show the organization's Web site address if a Web site is available. Otherwise, write "N/A" (not applicable). Consider adding your e-mail address to your Web site.
Item H - Group return, etc.
See General Instruction R. Attach the required list, if applicable, or you will be contacted later for the missing information.
Item I - Group exemption number
Enter the four-digit group exemption number (GEN) if you checked a Yes box in item H(a) and H(d). Contact the central/parent organization if you are unsure of the GEN assigned.
Item J - Type of organization
If the organization is exempt under section 501(c), check the applicable box and insert, within the parentheses, the number that identifies the type of section 501(c) organization the filer is. See the chart in General Instruction C. The term section 501(c)(3) includes organizations exempt under sections 501(e), (f), (k), and (n). Check the applicable box if the organization is a section 527 political organization. See General Instruction U.
If the organization is a section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trust, check the applicable box. Note also the discussion regarding Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ) and Form 1041 in General Instruction D and the instructions to line 92 of Form 990.
Item K - Gross receipts of $25,000 or less
Check this box if the organization's gross receipts are normally not more than $25,000. However, see General Instruction A, if you received a Form 990 Package, and note the discussion on gross receipts in General Instruction B.
Item L - 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. See the gross receipts discussion in General Instruction B.
Item M - Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF)
Whether or not the organization enters any amount on line 1d of Form 990, the organization must either check the box in item M or attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). Failure to either check the box in item M or file Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF) will result in a determination that the return is incomplete. See the instructions for Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), Schedule of Contributors, for more information.
Note: Contributor includes individuals, fiduciaries, partnerships, corporations, associations, trusts, and exempt organizations.
Guidelines for meeting the schedule of contributor requirements
of Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF)
Section 501(c)(3) org.,
meeting the 1/3 support test of 170(b)(1)(A) |
If . . . A section 501(c)(3) organization
that met the 1/3 support test of the regulations under
509(a)(1)/170(b)(1)(A) did not receive a contribution
of the greater of $5,000 or 2% of the amount on line 1d
of Form 990, from any one contributor,* |
Then . . . The organization should
check the box in item M to certify that it is not required
to attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). |
Otherwise
. . . Complete and attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ,
or 990-PF). |
Section 501(c)(7), (8),
or (10) organization |
If . . . A section 501(c)(7), (8),
or (10) organization did not receive any contribution
or bequest for use exclusively for religious, charitable,
scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or the
prevention of cruelty to children or animals (and did
not receive any noncharitable contributions of $5,000
or more as described below under general rule),
|
Then . . . The organization should
check the box in item M to certify that it is not required
to attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). |
Otherwise
. . . Complete and attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ,
or 990-PF). |
All other Form 990 or Form
990-EZ organizations (general rule) |
If . . . The organization did not
show as part of line 1d of the Form 990, a contribution
of $5,000 or more from any one contributor,* |
Then . . . The organization should
check the box in item M to certify that it is not required
to attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). |
Otherwise . . . Complete and attach
Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). |
* Total a contributor's
gifts of $1,000 or more to determine if a contributor
gave $5,000 or more. Do not include smaller gifts. |
Part I - Revenue, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets or Fund Balances
All organizations filing Form 990 with the IRS or any state must complete Part I. Some states that accept Form 990 in place of their own forms require additional information.
Line 1 - In General
Contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts received
- On lines 1a through 1c, report amounts received as voluntary contributions; that is, payments, or the part of any payment, for which the payer (donor) does not receive full retail value (fair market value) from the recipient (donee) organization.
- Report gross amounts of contributions collected in the charity's name by fundraisers.
- Report all expenses of raising contributions in Fundraising, column (D), Part II, and on line 15 of Part I. You must show on line 30 professional fundraising fees relating to the gross amounts of contributions collected in the charity's name by fundraisers.
- Report the value of noncash contributions at the time of the donation. For example, report the gross value of a donated car at the time the car was received as a donation.
- For grants, see Grants that are equivalent to contributions, on the following page.
Reporting for line 1, in accordance with SFAS 116, is acceptable for Form 990 purposes, but not required by IRS. However, see General Instruction E.
An organization that receives a grant to be paid in future years should, according to SFAS 116, report the grant's present value on line 1. Accruals of present value increments to the unpaid grant should also be reported on line 1 in future years.
Contributions can arise from special events when an excess payment is received for items offered
Fundraising activities relate to soliciting and receiving contributions. However, special fundraising activities such as dinners, door-to-door sales of merchandise, carnivals, and bingo games can produce both contributions and revenue.
If a buyer, at such a special event, pays more for goods or services than their retail value, report, as a contribution, both on line 1a and on line 9a (within the parentheses), any amount paid in excess of the retail value. This situation usually occurs when organizations seek public support through solicitation programs that are in part special events or activities and are in part solicitations for contributions. The primary purpose of such solicitations is to receive contributions and not to sell the merchandise at its retail value even though this might produce a profit.
Example. An organization announces that anyone who contributes at least $40 to the organization can choose to receive a book worth $16 retail value. A person who gives $40, and who chooses the book, is really purchasing the book for $16 and also making a contribution of $24. The contribution of $24, which is the difference between the buyer's payment and the $16 retail value of the book, would be reported on line 1a and again on line 9a (within the parentheses). The revenue received ($16 retail value of the book) would be reported in the right-hand column on line 9a.
If a contributor gives more than $40, that person would be making a larger contribution, the difference between the book's retail value of $16 and the amount actually given. Rev. Rul. 67-246, 1967-2 C.B. 104, explains this principle in detail. See also the line 9 instructions and Pub. 526.
Report the expenses that relate directly to the sale of the book on line 9b. Report the expenses of raising contributions (shown within the parentheses on line 9a and again on line 1a) in Fundraising, column (D), Part II, and on line 15 of Part I.
Note: At the time of any solicitation or payment, organizations that are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions should advise patrons of the amount deductible for Federal tax purposes. See General Instruction L.
Contributions can arise from special events when items of only nominal value are given or offered
If an organization offers goods or services of only nominal value through a special event or distributes free, unordered, low-cost items to patrons, report the entire amount received for such benefits as a contribution on line 1a (direct public support). Report all related expenses in Fundraising, column (D), Part II. See General Instruction L for a definition of benefits that have a nominal or insubstantial value.
Section 501(c)(3) organizations
Correctly dividing gross receipts from special events into revenue and contributions is especially important for a section 501(c)(3) organization that claims public support as described in section 509(a)(1)/170(b)(1)(A)(vi) or section 509(a)(2). In the public support computations of these Code sections, the revenue portion of gross receipts may be (a) excluded entirely, (b) treated as public support, or (c) if the revenue represents unrelated trade or business income, treated as nonpublic support.
Section 501(c)(3) organizations must separate gross receipts from special events into revenue and contributions when preparing the Support Schedule in Part IV-A of Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ).
Section 501(c)(9), (17), and (18) organizations
These organizations provide participants with life, sickness, accident, welfare, and unemployment insurance, pensions, or similar benefits, or a combination of these benefits. When such an organization receives payments from participants or their employers to provide these benefits, report the payments on line 2 as program service revenue, rather than on line 1 as contributions.
Donations of services are not contributions
In Part I, do not include the value of services donated to the organization, or items such as the free use of materials, equipment, or facilities as contributions on line 1. See the instructions for Part III and for Part VI, line 82, for the optional reporting of such amounts in Parts III and VI.
Any unreimbursed expenses of officers, employees, or volunteers do not belong on the Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. See the instructions for charitable contributions and employee business expenses in Pub. 526 and Pub. 463, respectively.
Grants that are equivalent to contributions
Grants that encourage an organization receiving the grant to carry on programs or activities that further its exempt purposes are grants that are equivalent to contributions. Report them on line 1. The grantor may require that the programs of the grant recipient (grantee) conform to the grantor's own policies and may specify the use of the grant, such as use for the restoration of a historic building or a voter registration drive.
A grant is still equivalent to a contribution if the grant recipient provides a service or makes a product that benefits the grantor incidentally. See examples in the line 1c instructions. However, a grant is a payment for services, and not a contribution, if the grant requires the grant recipient to provide that grantor with a specific service, facility, or product rather than to give a direct benefit primarily to the general public or to that part of the public served by the organization. In general, do not report as contributions any payments for a service, facility, or product that primarily give some economic or physical benefit to the payer (grantor).
Example. A public interest organization described in section 501(c)(4) makes a grant to another organization to conduct a nationwide survey to determine voter attitudes on issues of interest to the grantor. The grantor plans to use the results of the survey to plan its own program for the next 3 years. Under these circumstances, since the survey serves the grantor's direct needs and benefits the grantor more than incidentally, the grant to the organization making the survey is not a contribution. The grant recipient should not report the grant as a contribution but should report it on line 2 as program service revenue.
Treat research to develop products for the payer's use or benefit as directly serving the payer. However, generally, basic research or studies in the physical or social sciences should not be treated as serving the payer's needs.
See Regulations section 1.509(a)-3(g) to determine if a grant is a contribution reportable on line 1, or a revenue item reportable elsewhere on Form 990.
Line 1a - Direct public support
Contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts received. Enter the gross amounts of contributions, gifts, grants, and bequests that the organization received directly from the public. Include:
- All donated items. For example, a car is donated to an organization. Immediately after the organization receives the donated car, the organization sells the car. The organization includes the value of the car as of the time of its receipt as a contribution on line 1a and includes it in the total on line 1d as a noncash contribution.
- All funds or the entire value of noncash items raised by an outside fundraiser in a charity's name and not just the amount actually received by the charity. For example, a corporation solicits and sells cars in a charity's name. When a car is received, its entire value is reported as a contribution.
- Amounts received from individuals, trusts, corporations, estates, and foundations, or raised by an outside professional fundraiser.
- Include contributions and grants from public charities and other exempt organizations that are neither fundraising organizations nor affiliates of the filing organization.
- See the instructions for line 1b.
Membership dues. Report on line 1a membership dues and assessments that represent contributions from the public rather than payments for benefits received or payments from affiliated organizations. See the instructions for line 3.
Government contributions (grants). Report government grants on line 1c if they represent contributions, or on line 2 (and on line 93(g) of Part VII), if they represent fees for services. See the instructions under the heading, Grants that are equivalent to contributions, above and the instructions for line 1c below.
Commercial co-venture. Report amounts contributed by a commercial co-venture on line 1a as a contribution received directly from the public. These are amounts received by an organization (donee) for allowing an outside organization (donor) to use the donee's name in a sales promotion campaign. In such a campaign, the donor advertises that it will contribute a certain dollar amount to the donee organization for each unit of a particular product or service sold or for each occurrence of a specific type.
Contributions received through special events. Report contributions received through special events on line 1a. See the preceding line 1 instructions and the instructions for line 9.
Line 1b - Indirect public support
Enter the total contributions received indirectly from the public through solicitation campaigns conducted by federated fundraising agencies and similar fundraising organizations (such as a United Way organization and certain sectarian federations). These organizations normally conduct fundraising campaigns within a single metropolitan area or some part of a particular state and allocate part of the net proceeds to each participating organization on the basis of the donors' individual designations and other factors.
Include on line 1b amounts contributed by other organizations closely associated with the reporting organization. This includes contributions received from a parent organization, subordinate, or another organization with the same parent. National organizations that share in fundraising campaigns conducted by their local affiliates should report the amount they receive on line 1b.
Line 1c - Government contributions (grants)
The general line 1 instructions, under the heading, Grants that are equivalent to contributions, above apply to this item in particular. A grant or other payment from a governmental unit is treated as a contribution if its primary purpose is to enable the donee to provide a service to, or maintain a facility for, the direct benefit of the public rather than to serve the direct and immediate needs of the grantor even if the public pays part of the expense of providing the service or facility.
The following are examples of governmental grants and other payments that are treated as contributions:
- Payments by a governmental unit for the construction or maintenance of library or hospital facilities open to the public.
- Payments under government programs to nursing homes or homes for the aged in order to provide health care or other services to their residents.
- Payments to child placement or child guidance organizations under government programs serving children in the community. The general public gets the primary and direct benefit from these payments and any benefit to the governmental unit itself would be indirect and insubstantial as compared to the public benefit.
Line 1d - Total contributions, etc.
Enter the total of amounts reported on lines 1a through 1c. In the entry spaces in the description column for line 1d, enter the separate totals for cash and noncash contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts received. The total of the two amounts must equal the total on line 1d.
Report as cash contributions, etc., only contributions, etc., received in the form of cash, checks, money orders, credit card charges, wire transfers, and other transfers and deposits to a cash account of the organization. If your organization records pledges as contributions, etc., at the time the pledges are made (rather than when the pledges are collected), include as cash contributions, etc., only those pledges actually collected in cash during the year and pledges uncollected at the end of the year that are reasonably expected to be paid in cash in a later year. Report all other contributions, etc., as noncash contributions, etc., in the space provided. Be sure to include as a noncash contribution donated items like cars and clothing valued as of the time of their receipt even if these items were made available for sale immediately after they were received. See General Instruction L and Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), and lines 1 and 1a for a discussion of noncash contributions. Noncash contributions do not include donated services, which may be reported on line 82 and in the narrative section of Part III.
Schedule of contributors. Attach Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF). See General Instruction L and the Specific Instructions for Completing the Heading of Form 990, Item M.
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