Form 990-EZ instructions come down to this: if your tax-exempt organization had gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 for the year, you can use this shorter annual return instead of the full Form 990, filing it electronically by the 15th day of the 5th month after your accounting period ends.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ Miss the deadline and daily penalties start running. Miss it three years in a row and the IRS revokes your exempt status automatically.
Who Can Use Form 990-EZ
Both size tests have to be met for the tax year:
- Gross receipts under $200,000, counting all income from every source before subtracting expenses.
- Total assets under $500,000, measured at year-end without reducing for liabilities.
Cross either threshold and you file the full Form 990 instead.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File Organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less can drop down to Form 990-N (the e-Postcard), though they’re free to file the 990-EZ or full 990 if they want more detail on the public record.3Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations
Some organizations can’t use Form 990-EZ regardless of size. Private foundations file Form 990-PF. Hospital operators, sponsors of donor-advised funds, Section 501(c)(29) nonprofit health insurance issuers, and certain Section 512(b)(13) controlling organizations all file the full Form 990.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ Group returns filed by a central organization for subordinates also can’t go on the 990-EZ.
Completing Parts I Through V
Part I: Revenue and Expenses
Part I pulls the year’s financial activity together and calculates the change in net assets. On the revenue side, Line 1 captures contributions, gifts, and grants (cash and property). Line 2 is program service revenue: income from activities that further your exempt purpose, such as event fees, service charges, or government contracts. Line 4 records investment income from interest, dividends, and capital gains. How you split revenue between these lines matters, because the IRS and donors read it as a signal of how the organization funds itself.
Expenses break into categories including grants paid, salaries, employee benefits, professional fees, and other operating costs. Subtract total expenses from total revenue at the bottom of Part I and the result carries into the balance sheet reconciliation.
Separate obligation to watch for: if the organization earned $1,000 or more in gross income from an unrelated business activity, it also files Form 990-T and pays tax on that income.4Internal Revenue Service. Unrelated Business Income Tax The 990-EZ does not cover it. Common triggers include newsletter advertising, rental income from debt-financed property, and activities that serve the public rather than your mission.
Part II: Balance Sheet
Report beginning-of-year and end-of-year figures for total assets, liabilities, and net assets. These should reconcile with the change in net assets from Part I. Mismatches are one of the first things an IRS reviewer checks.
Part III: Program Service Accomplishments
State your primary exempt purpose, then describe the three largest program service accomplishments by total expenses. Be specific: what you did, how many people benefited, how much each program cost. General phrases like “supported the community” don’t satisfy the IRS and won’t help a donor reading the return.
Part IV: Officers, Directors, and Key Employees
List every officer, director, trustee, and key employee who served at any point during the tax year, with average weekly hours and compensation. Include unpaid people too; enter zero rather than leaving anyone off.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ If a management company or professional employer organization pays an officer or key employee for services provided to your organization, report the compensation as if the organization paid the individual directly.
Part V: Compliance Questions
Part V is a set of yes/no questions about changes in activities, related organizations, and foreign financial accounts. Several answers trigger schedule requirements, so work through them before you finalize which attachments to file.
Schedules You May Need to Attach
Most 990-EZ returns include at least one schedule.
Schedule A: Public Charity Status
Every Section 501(c)(3) public charity attaches Schedule A. It classifies the organization and works through the public support test, showing the share of support that comes from the general public versus a small number of large donors.5Internal Revenue Service. Schedule A (Form 990) – Public Charity Status and Public Support Failing the public support test can reclassify the organization as a private foundation, which carries a different set of rules.
Schedule B: Contributors
If any single contributor gave $5,000 or more in money or property during the year, file Schedule B with that contributor’s information.6Internal Revenue Service. Schedule B (Form 990) A different threshold applies to 501(c)(3) organizations that passed the 33⅓% public support test: the greater of $5,000 or 2% of total contributions. Contributor names and addresses on Schedule B go to the IRS but are not publicly disclosed.
Schedule C: Political and Lobbying Activities
Attach Schedule C if the organization participated in any political campaign activity or engaged in lobbying. Every 501(c)(3) with a Section 501(h) election in effect completes Schedule C whether or not it actually lobbied during the year.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ Organizations subject to the Section 6033(e) proxy tax on lobbying expenditures complete a portion of the schedule as well.
Schedule O: Supplemental Information
Schedule O is the catch-all. Use it to explain unusual changes in net assets, expand on program descriptions, or elaborate on Part V answers. Any overflow from the main form goes here.
Electronic Filing Is Mandatory
Paper is no longer accepted. The Taxpayer First Act requires all tax-exempt organizations to file electronically, and the mandate has applied to Form 990-EZ for tax years ending July 31, 2021, or later.7Internal Revenue Service. E-file for Charities and Nonprofits No waiver is available for Forms 990 or 990-EZ. Use an IRS-authorized e-file provider; the IRS publishes the list of approved vendors that have passed its Assurance Testing System. Options run from professional tax software to lower-cost services aimed at small nonprofits. A paper return mailed in today isn’t a valid filing.
Deadline and Extension
Form 990-EZ is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your accounting period.8Internal Revenue Service. Annual Exempt Organization Return: Due Date For calendar-year filers, that’s May 15. When the due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Need more time? File Form 8868 before the original due date for an automatic six-month extension.9Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return or Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans The extension buys time to file, not time to pay any tax owed (unrelated business income tax, for example). Calendar-year filers get an extended due date of November 15.
Late-Filing Penalties
The IRS charges a daily penalty when a 990-EZ is late or incomplete. For returns required to be filed in 2026:10Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2024-40
- Gross receipts of $1,309,500 or less: $25 per day, capped at $13,000 or 5% of gross receipts, whichever is less.
- Gross receipts over $1,309,500: $130 per day, capped at $65,000.
The penalty runs against the organization, not its officers.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6652 – Failure To File Certain Information Returns, Registration Statements, Etc. The clock starts the day after the deadline (including any extension) and runs until you file. A few months of delay can consume the entire $13,000 cap for a small organization.
Automatic Revocation After Three Missed Years
Fail to file the required annual return or notice for three consecutive years and the IRS automatically revokes tax-exempt status. There’s no warning letter; it happens by operation of law.12Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption Revocation takes effect on the filing due date of the third missed return.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6033 – Returns by Exempt Organizations
After revocation, the organization can’t receive tax-deductible contributions, is removed from the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search database, and may owe corporate income tax on revenue going forward. The IRS publishes and maintains a public list of every revoked organization.
Reinstatement requires a new application for tax-exempt status and payment of the applicable user fee, even for organizations that were never required to apply in the first place.14Internal Revenue Service. Reinstatement of Tax-Exempt Status After Automatic Revocation In most cases, the reinstated exemption takes effect on the date the new application was submitted, not retroactively. Retroactive reinstatement is possible only if the organization shows reasonable cause for the filing failures and the IRS grants it. The process can take months, and donations made during the gap are not deductible.
Public Disclosure After Filing
Your filed Form 990-EZ is a public document. The organization must make it available for public inspection for three years, starting from the due date (including extensions) or the actual filing date, whichever is later.15Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organization Returns and Applications: Public Disclosure Overview Every schedule and attachment is covered, with one exception: contributor names and addresses on Schedule B stay confidential.
Refusing to provide a copy when requested costs $20 per day per return, up to $10,000, with an additional $5,000 for willful refusal.16Internal Revenue Service. Political Organization Filing Requirements: Penalties for Failing To Make Forms 990 Publicly Available Posting the return on your website or through a service like GuideStar satisfies the copy requirement, but you must still allow in-person inspection at your principal office during regular business hours.