Form 990 is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after your organization’s tax year ends. For a calendar-year nonprofit, that is May 15 of the following year.1Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Filing Requirements – Form 990 Due Date If you need more time, file Form 8868 before that date for an automatic six-month extension. Miss the original deadline without an extension and daily penalties start running the next day; miss three years in a row and the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status.2Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption
Your Deadline Depends on Your Tax Year
Most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual information return with the IRS.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6033 – Returns by Exempt Organizations The formula is the same regardless of which version of Form 990 you file: count five months from the end of your accounting period, and the return is due on the 15th of that month.1Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Filing Requirements – Form 990 Due Date
- Tax year ending December 31: due May 15.
- Tax year ending June 30: due November 15.
- Tax year ending September 30: due February 15.
When the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 301 – When, How and Where To File The same rule applies to Form 990-EZ, Form 990-PF for private foundations, and the Form 990-N electronic notice used by small organizations with gross receipts normally at or below $50,000.5Internal Revenue Service. Annual Exempt Organization Return – Due Date
The return has to be signed by a current officer authorized to do so — typically the president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, or chief accounting officer — and filed electronically. Paper filing is no longer accepted for current-year returns under the Taxpayer First Act.6Internal Revenue Service. E-File for Charities and Nonprofits
How to Get Six More Months With Form 8868
If you cannot file on time, submit Form 8868 before your original due date and the IRS grants an automatic six-month extension. No explanation is required, and the form itself does not need a signature. You provide your organization’s name, employer identification number, and the return code for the specific type of Form 990 you are extending.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8868
The extension moves your deadline to the 15th day of the 11th month after your tax year ends. A calendar-year organization that files Form 8868 by May 15 gets until November 15 to submit the return. As long as Form 8868 is filed on time and the information on it matches IRS records, the extension protects you from the late-filing penalties that would otherwise begin accruing the day after the original due date. A mismatch in the organization’s name or EIN can cause the extension request to be rejected, so check both against your IRS records before submitting.
What Happens If You File Late
Filing after the deadline without a valid extension triggers a daily penalty. The IRS also treats an incomplete return the same as a late one for penalty purposes. Penalties are assessed against the organization, not individual officers, and the amount depends on your gross receipts.8Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations Annual Reporting Requirements – Filing Procedures – Late Filing of Annual Returns
- Gross receipts under $1,208,500: $20 per day, capped at $12,000 or 5 percent of gross receipts, whichever is less.
- Gross receipts over $1,208,500: $120 per day, capped at $60,000 per return.
The IRS can also send a written demand to a specific officer or manager setting a deadline to file. If that person misses the deadline in the demand, they personally owe $10 per day, up to $5,000.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6652 – Failure To File Certain Information Returns
Form 990-N has no daily late-filing penalty. The three-year revocation rule below still applies to it.10Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations – Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
Asking the IRS to Waive the Penalty
If you had a legitimate reason for filing late, you can request abatement. Attach a written statement, signed under penalty of perjury, to the late-filed Form 990.11Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations Annual Reporting Requirements – Filing Procedures – Abatement of Late Filing Penalties The statement should explain why you did not request an extension, how the organization exercised ordinary business care despite the delay, and what you have changed to prevent the problem from recurring. Attach documentation supporting reasonable cause where you have it, such as evidence of a natural disaster, serious illness of a key officer, or loss of records. The IRS decides these requests case by case.
The Three-Year Rule That Costs You Your Exemption
The most serious consequence of missing deadlines is losing tax-exempt status altogether. If your organization fails to file any required return or notice — including the short Form 990-N — for three consecutive years, the IRS automatically revokes your exemption.2Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption Revocation takes effect on the original due date of the third missed return. After that date, the organization owes income tax on its earnings, and contributions are no longer deductible for donors. The IRS publishes a searchable list of revoked organizations.
Getting exempt status back requires filing a new exemption application (Form 1023 or 1023-EZ for 501(c)(3) organizations) and paying the user fee. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 offers four reinstatement paths, and which one is open to you depends on how quickly you act and how large the organization is.12Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 Streamlined retroactive reinstatement is available to organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-EZ or 990-N during the missed years, if this is a first revocation and the application is filed within 15 months of the revocation notice. Larger organizations, or those applying after 15 months, need a reasonable cause statement. A going-forward reinstatement is available at any time but restores exemption only from the date of the new application, leaving any income earned during the gap taxable.
Organizations That Do Not Have to File
Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, conventions or associations of churches, and the exclusively religious activities of religious orders are not required to file Form 990 at all. They keep their exempt status without submitting annual returns and are not subject to the automatic revocation rule.13Internal Revenue Service. Churches, Integrated Auxiliaries and Conventions or Associations of Churches The IRS also has discretion to relieve certain governmental entities and organizations covered under a group exemption from filing on their own.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6033 – Returns by Exempt Organizations If you are unsure whether the filing requirement applies to you, check your IRS determination letter, which states your exempt classification and any related filing obligations.