IRS Issues Reminder, Safety Warning for Tax-Exempt Organizations

Many tax-exempt organizations need to file annual reports with the IRS by Monday or risk losing their status.

Form 990-series information returns are due on the 15th day of the fifth month after an organization’s tax year ends. That means organizations that use the calendar year as their tax year need to file for 2016.

IRS officials remind filers not to include Social Security numbers or other unnecessary information on the forms and urge them to take advantage of electronic filing. The IRS and most tax-exempt organizations are required to disclose most parts of the Form 990. Public release of Social Security number and other personally identifiable information about donors, clients or benefactors could lead to identity theft.

Additionally, organizations that fail to file annual reports for three consecutive years will see their federal tax exemptions automatically revoked as of the due date of the third year they are required to file.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 mandates that most tax-exempt organizations file annual Form 990-series information returns or notices with the IRS. The law, which went into effect at the beginning of 2007, also imposed a new annual filing requirement for small organizations. Churches and church-related organizations are not required to file annual reports.

Find more information online by visiting the IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check. Users can more easily find key information about federal tax status and filings of certain tax-exempt organizations, including whether they have had their federal tax exemptions automatically revoked.