How to Fill Out and Submit Form 1023-EZ: 501(c)(3) Filing and Approval

To fill out Form 1023-EZ, confirm your organization qualifies using the IRS Eligibility Worksheet, gather your EIN and organizing documents, then complete the six-part streamlined application on Pay.gov and pay the $275 user fee. Most organizations finish the form in about 20 minutes, and the IRS issues 80 percent of determinations within 22 days.

Confirm You Can Use the EZ Form

Download the Eligibility Worksheet at the end of the official instructions and work through it before anything else. It is a series of yes-or-no questions, and a single “yes” means you must file the full Form 1023 instead.¹ The $275 fee is non-refundable, so filing when you are ineligible costs you the money and forces you to start over with the longer form.²

Two financial thresholds catch most applicants. Your annual gross receipts cannot have exceeded $50,000 in any of the past three years, and you cannot project them to exceed $50,000 in any of the next three. Gross receipts means everything the organization took in, with no deductions. Separately, the fair market value of all your assets — cash, investments, equipment, land, receivables — cannot exceed $250,000.³

Several categories of organizations are barred from the EZ form regardless of size: churches, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, credit counseling organizations, health insurance issuers, entities maintaining donor-advised funds, agricultural research organizations, cooperative hospital service organizations, and organizations formed under foreign laws. Limited liability companies are also excluded, even though LLCs can qualify for 501(c)(3) status through the longer application.¹ Successors to for-profit entities, organizations previously revoked for reasons other than non-filing, and organizations already recognized under a different section of 501(a) must also use the full form.

What to Have Ready Before Opening Pay.gov

Pay.gov does not let you save a partial application, and the session times out with inactivity. Gather everything below first.

Employer Identification Number

Every organization needs an EIN before applying. If you don’t have one, apply online at IRS.gov for free; the number is issued at the end of the session. Form your entity with the state before requesting the EIN, since applying before state formation is complete can create delays.⁴ You will need the responsible party’s Social Security number or ITIN.

Organizing Documents With the Right Language

You will not upload your Articles of Incorporation or trust instrument, but you will certify under penalty of perjury that they contain two specific provisions. Fix these before you apply, because the IRS can reject or later revoke your exemption if they are missing.

The purpose clause must limit your organization’s purposes to those described in Section 501(c)(3). The simplest approach is to reference the section directly, for example: “organized exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3).” If your document lists broader purposes and does not reference 501(c)(3) to limit them, amend it first.⁵

The dissolution clause must state that if the organization shuts down, remaining assets go to another 501(c)(3), to a federal, state, or local government for a public purpose, or for another exempt purpose. The IRS offers sample language: “Upon the dissolution of this organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of IRC Section 501(c)(3), or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.”⁶ If your document directs assets to officers, directors, or members, amend it before applying.¹

Other Details

Legal name exactly as it appears on your state formation documents.
Full names, titles, and mailing addresses for every officer, director, and trustee.
A three-character NTEE code that best describes your activities. The instructions list all codes starting on page 21.⁷
The two-digit month your tax year ends (01 through 12).
Your formation date and the state where the entity was legally formed.

Working Through the Six Parts of the Form

Part I: Identification of Applicant

Enter your organization’s full legal name, EIN, mailing address, contact person, phone number, and fiscal year-end month. List names, titles, and mailing addresses for all officers, directors, and trustees. Verify that the legal name and EIN match IRS records exactly. A mismatch here is one of the most common reasons applications get bounced, and it usually traces back to a state formation name that differs from what was entered on Form SS-4.

Part II: Organizational Structure

Select your entity type (corporation, unincorporated association, or trust), enter your formation date and state, and check the boxes confirming that your organizing document contains a proper purpose clause and a dissolution clause. This is a legal attestation, not an upload, but the IRS can request your documents later and revoke the exemption if the clauses are not actually there.

Part III: Your Specific Activities

Describe your mission or most significant activities in 250 characters or fewer, then enter your NTEE code. The rest of the section asks whether you engage in specific activities: compensating officers or directors, making grants to individuals, operating outside the United States, conducting transactions with insiders, generating unrelated business income, running gaming operations, or providing disaster relief. Answer honestly. A “yes” does not automatically disqualify you, but it may trigger follow-up questions.

Part IV: Foundation Classification

Choose your public charity classification. Most small organizations select Section 509(a)(1) (publicly supported through donations) or Section 509(a)(2) (publicly supported through a combination of donations, membership fees, and program revenue). The instructions explain the differences. If neither fits, the IRS will classify you as a private foundation, which carries stricter operating rules.

Part V: Reinstatement After Automatic Revocation

Skip this section unless your organization previously lost tax-exempt status for failing to file annual returns for three consecutive years. If that applies and you qualify for streamlined or post-15-month reinstatement, check the appropriate box.

Part VI: Signature

Check the perjury box, type the signer’s name, and enter the signer’s title and date. The signer must be an authorized officer, director, or trustee. This electronic signature carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one.⁸

Paying and Submitting

The user fee is $275, and it is non-refundable even if the IRS rejects your application.² Pay.gov accepts ACH bank withdrawals, debit cards, and credit cards.⁷ Save or print the confirmation page as soon as payment processes. It is your proof of submission.

File Within 27 Months of Formation

Timing changes the effective date of your exemption. Submit Form 1023-EZ within 27 months after the end of the month your organization was legally formed, and the IRS will make your tax-exempt status retroactive to the date of formation.⁹ Retroactivity means donations received between formation and approval can still be treated as tax-deductible contributions.

Miss that window and your exempt status starts on the date the IRS receives your application, not the date you formed. Donations collected before that date may not qualify as deductible, which can cause problems with early donors and grant makers.

What Happens After You File

The IRS issues 80 percent of Form 1023-EZ determinations within 22 days. If the agency needs more information or flags your application for further review, expect a phone call or letter. Those cases take longer, with 80 percent resolved within 120 days.¹⁰

When processing finishes, you generally receive a determination letter by mail confirming your 501(c)(3) status. That letter is what donors, grant foundations, and banks will ask to see. Your approval may also appear in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) database before the physical letter arrives, so check there if you are waiting.¹⁰ If you were not eligible for the EZ form, the IRS will send a rejection letter, keep the $275, and you will need to file the full Form 1023 with its own higher user fee.

Common Reasons Applications Get Rejected

Because the fee is non-refundable, review these before you submit:

Filing when you should have answered “yes” to a worksheet question — exceeding the financial thresholds, being organized as an LLC, or falling into an excluded category.
An EIN mismatch between the legal name on the application and the name the IRS has on file.
A purpose clause that permits activities broader than what Section 501(c)(3) allows and does not reference 501(c)(3) to limit them.¹
A missing dissolution clause, or one directing assets to officers, directors, or members. State law may provide a backstop in some situations, but it will not override an explicitly improper clause.¹
Attempting to apply as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or loosely affiliated group. Those entity types are not eligible for 501(c)(3) status at all.¹
Blank fields or inconsistent information across the form.

After Approval: What You Still Owe

The determination letter is a starting line. Most small 501(c)(3)s with gross receipts normally at or below $50,000 satisfy annual reporting by filing Form 990-N, the e-Postcard.¹¹ Miss three consecutive years and the IRS automatically revokes your status with no warning, effective on the third missed due date.¹² Reinstatement requires a new application and, in many cases, filing the missing returns.¹³ Your approved application and determination letter must also be available for public inspection on request.¹⁴

Federal recognition does not cover state obligations. Most states require charities to register with the attorney general or a similar office before soliciting donations from residents, and many require a separate application for state income or franchise tax exemption. Check the charity registration office in every state where you plan to fundraise before you start asking for money.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1023-EZ
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 1023 and 1023-EZ: Amount of User Fee
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Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 1023-EZ
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Organizational Test – Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)
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Internal Revenue Service. Does the Organizing Document Contain the Dissolution Provision Required Under Section 501(c)(3)
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Pay.gov. Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3)
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
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Internal Revenue Service. Information for Organizations Applying for Tax-Exempt Status
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Internal Revenue Service. Where’s My Application for Tax-Exempt Status?
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Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations — Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
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Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption
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Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation – How to Have Your Tax-Exempt Status Reinstated
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Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organizations Returns and Applications