Charities and other tax-exempt organizations are required to file certain informational returns with the IRS. Earlier in 2007, the IRS released a proposed draft of modifications to the Form 990 and asked for public comments relating to the draft. In late December the IRS issued an updated version of Form 990, and provided transition relief so that small exempt organizations will have time to adjust to the new form.
These organizations will be allowed to file the Form 990-EZ instead of the Form 990. For the 2008 tax year (returns filed in 2009), organizations with gross receipts over $1.0 million or total assets over $2.5 million will be required to file the Form 990. For the 2009 tax year (returns filed in 2010), organizations with gross receipts over $500,000 or total assets over $1.25 million will be required to file the Form 990. The filing thresholds will be set permanently at $200,000 gross receipts and $500,000 total assets beginning with the 2010 tax year. Also, starting with the 2010 tax year, the IRS will increase the filing threshold for organizations required to file Form 990-N (the e-postcard) from $25,000 to $50,000.
The final Form 990 and background material explaining the changes from the current form and the June draft are available on the Exempt Organizations portion of the IRS Web site, IRS.gov/eo.
For an overview of the significant changes, see overview.
