The IRS retired “Exempt Organizations Select Check” and folded its function into the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS), available at apps.irs.gov/app/eos. TEOS is the free, official tool for confirming whether a nonprofit is recognized as tax-exempt, whether contributions to it are deductible, and whether its status has been revoked. A two-minute search before you write a check is the single best way to protect a charitable deduction from being disallowed on audit.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
The tool queries five separate IRS databases at once:
- Publication 78 Data, the master list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, with codes showing the applicable AGI limit.
- The Auto-Revocation List, showing organizations that lost exempt status for failing to file required annual returns for three consecutive years.
- Determination 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 filed since January 2018.
The default “Search All” option covers all five and is the right starting point for most searches.
How to Run the Search
You can search by Employer Identification Number, legal name, or city and state. The EIN is the most reliable input because it is unique to the entity, and you can usually find it on the organization’s website, annual report, solicitation materials, or any correspondence you have received.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
Name searches work but are fussy. Many nonprofits use similar names, and the tool wants close-to-exact spelling. Adding the state filter narrows results. You can also select a single database from the dropdown when you only care about one question, such as whether an organization appears on the Auto-Revocation List.
One point of confusion catches donors regularly: a local chapter of a national organization may not appear on its own. Subordinate units covered by a group exemption letter are generally eligible to receive deductible contributions through the central organization’s exemption, even without an individual TEOS listing. If a local affiliate does not turn up, search for the parent organization and check whether it holds a group exemption.
Reading the Result
An organization listed 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.
The deductibility code tells you the AGI limit for your contribution. The most common codes:
- PC (Public Charity): deductible up to 60% of AGI for cash, 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 follow public-charity limits.
- LODGE (Fraternal Society): up to 30% of AGI, and only if the contribution is earmarked for charitable purposes.
- GROUP: central organization with a group exemption; subordinates generally qualify.
- FORGN (Foreign-Addressed Organization): usually a U.S.-formed entity operating abroad, or a foreign organization eligible under a treaty; limits vary.
Most individual donors will see PC, which covers the great majority of charities people give to.3Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contribution Deductions Charitable contributions are only deductible if you itemize on Schedule A and the recipient is a qualified exempt entity under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.4Internal Revenue Service. Deducting Charitable Contributions at a Glance Excess contributions above these ceilings can typically be carried forward for up to five years.
Auto-Revocation and Why the Date Matters
If the organization appears on the Auto-Revocation List instead, its exemption has been revoked. The most common 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.5Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption The revocation date shown in the results is the filing due date of the third missed return.
The date controls deductibility. Contributions you made before the organization appeared on the Auto-Revocation List remain deductible; anything given after that date is not. There is no grace period and no good-faith exception for donors who skip the check.
Revocation can also follow a substantive IRS examination, for example when a 501(c)(3) engages in prohibited political campaign activity. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are categorically barred from participating in campaigns for or against candidates.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 501 – Exemption From Tax on Corporations, Certain Trusts, Etc. Substantive revocation is not automatic; it follows an examination process.
When a Legitimate Charity Isn’t in TEOS
A real tax-exempt organization can be missing from the database without anything being wrong. Several categories are not required to file annual returns under 26 U.S.C. ยง 6033 and may not appear:
- 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
- Exclusively religious activities of religious orders are separately exempted from annual filing.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6033 – Returns by Exempt Organizations
- Small organizations with gross receipts normally $50,000 or less file the Form 990-N e-Postcard. Those filings do appear in TEOS, but the record contains only name, EIN, and confirmation the organization is still operating.9Internal Revenue Service. Filing Requirements for Churches and Religious Organizations
- Federal, state, and local government entities are inherently tax-exempt and generally do not appear in TEOS.
If an organization does not fit any of those categories and still cannot be found, ask for a copy of its IRS determination letter. You can also request determination letters issued in 2014 or later through TEOS, or submit Form 4506-B for older letters.10Internal Revenue Service. EO Operational Requirements – Obtaining Copies of Exemption Determination Letter From IRS
Update Lag
TEOS is refreshed monthly, not in real time. A newly recognized nonprofit that just received its determination letter may not yet appear in the Publication 78 data, and a very recent revocation may not yet show either.11Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search Bulk Data Downloads For newly formed organizations, asking for the determination letter is the right backstop. For established organizations, the data is typically current within a few weeks.
Foreign Charities
TEOS covers organizations recognized as tax-exempt under U.S. federal law, so most foreign charities will not appear. As a general rule, contributions to foreign organizations are not deductible. Treaty-based exceptions exist for certain charities in Canada, Mexico, and Israel; the Canadian and Mexican rules cap the deduction at your income from Canadian or Mexican sources, and the Mexican rule further requires the organization to meet U.S. public-charity standards.12Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526 – Charitable Contributions
For Grantmakers: Higher Stakes on the Same Search
For a private foundation, verification is not just about a donor’s deduction. A private foundation that grants funds to an organization that turns out not to be a qualified public charity can trigger expenditure responsibility requirements, and a failure to meet them can cause the grant to be treated as a taxable expenditure, exposing the foundation to excise taxes.13Internal Revenue Service. Violations of Expenditure Responsibility Requirements – Private Foundations
Grants to foreign organizations can rely instead on an equivalency determination: a written analysis by a qualified tax practitioner (attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent) concluding 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
If Your Own Organization Shows as Revoked
An organization on the Auto-Revocation List is not permanently locked out. The IRS offers four reinstatement paths under Revenue Procedure 2014-11.15Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation – How to Have Your Tax-Exempt Status Reinstated
- Streamlined retroactive reinstatement, for smaller organizations eligible to file Form 990-EZ or 990-N during the missed years that have never been auto-revoked before, applied for within 15 months of the later of the revocation letter date or listing date.
- Retroactive reinstatement within 15 months, for organizations that cannot use the streamlined path; requires filing all missed returns plus a reasonable-cause statement covering at least one of the three years.
- Retroactive reinstatement after 15 months, with a reasonable-cause statement covering all three years.
- Post-mark date reinstatement, effective going forward from the date the new application is postmarked.
Every path requires filing a new exemption application (Form 1023, 1023-EZ, 1024, or 1024-A) and paying the user fee, currently $600 for Form 1023 and $275 for Form 1023-EZ.16Internal Revenue Service. Form 1023 and 1023-EZ – Amount of User Fee The fee applies even if the organization was not originally required to apply for recognition.17Internal Revenue Service. Reinstatement of Tax-Exempt Status After Automatic Revocation