The IRS tool once known as Exempt Organizations Select Check is now called Tax Exempt Organization Search, or TEOS, and it lives at apps.irs.gov/app/eos. You use it to confirm, in about two minutes, whether a nonprofit is currently recognized as tax-exempt and eligible to receive deductible contributions. Running that check before you donate or issue a grant is the single best way to keep a charitable deduction from being disallowed on audit.
What the Tool Actually Searches
TEOS is not one list. It queries five IRS databases at once, and most people never need to think about which one answered:
- Publication 78 Data, the master list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, with a code showing the AGI deduction limit.
- The Auto-Revocation List, which flags organizations that lost exempt status for failing to file required annual returns for three consecutive years.
- Determination Letters, with copies available for letters issued January 2014 or later.
- Form 990-N (e-Postcard) filings from small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less.
- Copies of electronically filed Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, and 990-T returns from January 2018 forward.
The default “Search All” option covers all five, which is the right starting point.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
How to Run the Search
The search box takes three inputs: the organization’s Employer Identification Number (EIN), its legal name, or a city and state. The EIN is the most reliable because it is a unique nine-digit number assigned to each entity, and you can usually find it on the organization’s website, annual report, solicitation materials, or any correspondence it has sent you.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
Name searches work but can be fussy. Many nonprofits share similar names, and the tool wants close-to-exact spelling, so add a state filter to narrow the field. You can also pick a single database from the dropdown if you only need, for example, to check the Auto-Revocation List.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
One point of confusion trips up a lot of donors: subordinate organizations covered under a group exemption letter may not appear individually. A group exemption is a single IRS determination covering many affiliated chapters or units. The central organization will show up, and its subordinates are generally eligible to receive deductible contributions even without their own listing. If you are checking on a local chapter of a national nonprofit and it is missing, look up the parent.
Reading the Status: Active or Revoked
The piece of information you came for is the current status. An organization appearing in the Publication 78 data with an active deductibility code is recognized as exempt and eligible to receive deductible contributions. That is the green light.
An organization on the Auto-Revocation List has lost its exemption. The usual reason is automatic revocation under Section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code: the organization failed to file a required Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, or 990-N for three consecutive years.3Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption The revocation date shown is the filing due date of the third missed return. Contributions you made before that date remain deductible. Anything after it is not. There is no good-faith exception for donors who skipped the check.
Revocation can also follow substantive problems, such as operating outside the stated charitable purpose or engaging in prohibited political campaign activity. Organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) are categorically barred from participating in political campaigns for or against candidates.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 501 – Exemption From Tax on Corporations, Certain Trusts, Etc. In those cases revocation follows an IRS examination rather than happening automatically.
What the Deductibility Codes Mean
Alongside the status, Publication 78 results include a deductibility code showing how much of your contribution you can deduct as a percentage of adjusted gross income. The most common codes:
- PC, Public Charity: deductible up to 60% of AGI for cash contributions, 50% for other property.
- PF, Private Foundation: deductible up to 30% of AGI.
- POF, Private Operating Foundation: same limits as public charities.
- SO, Supporting Organization: Type I, Type II, and functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations follow the public-charity limits.
- LODGE, Fraternal Society: deductible up to 30% of AGI, but only if the contribution is earmarked for charitable purposes.
- GROUP: a central organization with a group exemption letter; subordinate units are generally eligible to receive deductible contributions.
- FORGN, Foreign-Addressed Organization: usually a U.S.-formed entity operating abroad, or a foreign organization eligible under a tax treaty, with varying limits.
Most individual donors will see PC. The 60% AGI cap for cash contributions and the 50% cap for non-cash property donations to public charities apply here.5Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contribution Deductions Charitable contributions are only deductible if you itemize on Schedule A of Form 1040 and the recipient qualifies under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.6Internal Revenue Service. Deducting Charitable Contributions at a Glance Excess contributions that exceed the AGI limit in a given year can typically be carried forward for up to five years.
When a Legitimate Charity Does Not Appear
Some tax-exempt organizations are not required to file annual returns under 26 U.S.C. ยง 6033 and may be absent from TEOS without anything being wrong:
- Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches are automatically considered tax-exempt, are not required to file Form 990, and are not subject to automatic revocation for failure to file.7Internal Revenue Service. Churches, Integrated Auxiliaries and Conventions or Associations of Churches
- The exclusively religious activities of religious orders are separately exempted from annual filing requirements by statute.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6033 – Returns by Exempt Organizations
- Small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less may file the Form 990-N e-Postcard instead of a full return. These do appear in TEOS under the 990-N database, but the filing contains only the organization’s name, EIN, and confirmation it is still operating.9Internal Revenue Service. Filing Requirements for Churches and Religious Organizations
- Federal, state, and local government units are inherently tax-exempt and generally do not appear in TEOS.
There is also a timing issue. The IRS updates TEOS data monthly, not in real time, so a newly recognized organization may not yet show up in Publication 78.10Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search Bulk Data Downloads For established nonprofits the data is usually current within a few weeks.
If an organization is missing and does not fit any of these categories, ask it directly for a copy of its IRS determination letter. You can also request copies of letters issued in 2014 or later through TEOS itself, or submit Form 4506-B for older letters.11Internal Revenue Service. EO Operational Requirements – Obtaining Copies of Exemption Determination Letter From IRS
Looking Beyond Status: The Form 990
Confirming exempt status is the floor. If you want to know how the charity actually spends its money, TEOS gives you free access to electronically filed Form 990-series returns going back to January 2018.12Internal Revenue Service. Copies of EO Returns Available These are public documents.
A few parts of Form 990 reward the time. Schedule A shows the public support test calculations that determine whether the organization qualifies as a public charity rather than a private foundation. Part III describes what the organization does, program by program. The compensation section reveals executive pay. The functional expense breakdown shows how much spending goes to program activities versus fundraising and administration, which is where “how much of my dollar actually helps?” gets answered.
Foreign Charities
TEOS covers organizations recognized under U.S. federal law, so most foreign charities will not appear and contributions to them are generally not deductible. There are treaty-based exceptions for certain charities in Canada, Mexico, and Israel. For a qualifying Canadian or Mexican charity, the deduction is limited to the extent you have income from that country’s sources, and the contribution must meet the same standards as if it were made to a U.S. public charity.13Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 – Charitable Contributions
Private foundations making grants abroad can rely on an equivalency determination, a written analysis from a qualified tax practitioner (attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent) concluding that the foreign organization would qualify as a public charity under U.S. law. That determination is valid for two consecutive tax periods.14Internal Revenue Service. Grants to Foreign Organizations by Private Foundations
For grantors the stakes on verification are higher than for individual donors. A private foundation that sends funds to an organization that turns out not to be a qualified public charity triggers expenditure responsibility requirements, and if the foundation does not meet them, the grant can be treated as a taxable expenditure subject to excise taxes.15Internal Revenue Service. Violations of Expenditure Responsibility Requirements – Private Foundations A TEOS check is the baseline due diligence step.