An organization can use Form 990-EZ when its gross receipts for the tax year are under $200,000 and its total assets at year-end are under $500,000; the return is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the tax year ends, must be filed electronically, and carries daily penalties for late or incomplete submission. The Form 990-EZ filing requirements also include several supplemental schedules that depend on your activities, and missing the return for three years in a row costs your tax-exempt status automatically.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File
Which Organizations Can Use Form 990-EZ
Both thresholds have to be satisfied. Gross receipts under $200,000 for the year, and total assets under $500,000 at year-end. Exceed either one and you file the full Form 990 instead.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File
If your gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, you have a lighter option: the Form 990-N electronic postcard. Smaller organizations can still choose the 990-EZ or full 990 if they want the more detailed record.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Series Which Forms Do Exempt Organizations File
Some organizations can’t use the 990-EZ regardless of size. Private foundations file Form 990-PF.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-PF Sponsors of donor-advised funds, hospital operators, and section 501(c)(29) nonprofit health insurance issuers must file the full Form 990 even if they’d otherwise fit under the thresholds.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ
What Goes on the Return
Form 990-EZ has five parts, and all of them must be completed. Gathering the numbers and personnel information before you start makes the process much shorter.
Part I: Revenue and Expenses
This is the financial core. Revenue is broken out into contributions, program service revenue, membership dues, investment income, and other income. Expenses are broken out into grants paid, salaries and benefits, professional fees, and other operating costs. The bottom line is net revenue or deficit for the year.
Part II: Balance Sheet
You report assets (cash, investments, property) and total liabilities at both the start and end of the tax year. Net assets have to reconcile with the change shown in Part I. If they don’t, you explain the difference on Schedule O.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule O (Form 990)
Part III: Program Service Accomplishments
Describe what the organization actually did. You detail your three largest program services by expense, with measurable outcomes like clients served, events held, or publications issued. Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations also report the expenses and grants allocated to each program. Additional programs beyond the top three go on Schedule O.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ
Part IV: Officers, Directors, and Key Employees
For every officer, director, trustee, and key employee who served during the year, you list name, title, average weekly hours, and compensation (reportable pay from W-2s or 1099s, health benefits, and deferred compensation). This section is required even if everyone served unpaid.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ
Part V: Other Information
Compliance questions: political campaign activity, lobbying, transactions with interested persons, and more. Section 501(c)(3) organizations answer additional questions here that determine which schedules they need to attach.
Schedules You May Need to Attach
The 990-EZ rarely stands alone. Which schedules apply depends on your tax classification and what your organization did during the year.
- Schedule A documents public charity status and public support calculations. Every 501(c)(3) filing a 990-EZ has to include it.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule A (Form 990)
- Schedule B is required if you received $5,000 or more in total contributions from any single contributor during the year.6Internal Revenue Service. Schedule B (Form 990)
- Schedule G is required if you reported significant income from fundraising events or gaming activities.
- Schedule O is used for explanations, narrative answers to specific form questions, and additional program services.
Narrower situations pick up other schedules: Schedule C for political campaign or lobbying activities, Schedule E for schools, Schedule L for loans or transactions with officers and directors, and Schedule N if the organization liquidated, dissolved, or made a significant disposition of assets.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990-EZ A return filed without a schedule it should have is treated as incomplete, which triggers the same penalties as filing late.
Deadline and Extension
The return is due the 15th day of the fifth month after your tax year ends. Calendar-year organizations file by May 15. A fiscal year ending June 30 pushes the deadline to November 15.7Internal Revenue Service. Annual Exempt Organization Return Due Date
When the deadline lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. If you need more time, file Form 8868 on or before the original due date for an automatic six-month extension. Only one extension per return.8Internal Revenue Service. Extension of Time to File Exempt Organization Returns
How to File
Paper filing is no longer an option. The Taxpayer First Act moved virtually all tax-exempt filers to mandatory e-file, and Form 990-EZ has been electronic-only for tax years ending July 31, 2021, and later.9Internal Revenue Service. E-file for Charities and Nonprofits You’ll go through an IRS-authorized e-file provider, either through filing software or a tax professional with e-file capability.
The principal officer or an authorized representative signs the return under penalties of perjury. E-filing gives you immediate confirmation of receipt; save it as proof of timely filing. Make sure every required schedule is included in the submission package.
The Return Is Public
Once filed, Form 990-EZ becomes a public document, and the organization must make it available for public inspection (with all schedules attached) for three years from the due date or the actual filing date, whichever is later. Posting the return online satisfies the copy-on-request part of the rule, though you still have to allow in-person inspection.10Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organization Returns and Applications: Public Disclosure Overview Contributor names and addresses on Schedule B are not disclosed to the public for most organizations.
Late Filing, Incomplete Filing, and Penalties
The IRS charges $20 per day for every day the return is late, running from the original due date (or the extended one if you filed Form 8868). The same daily penalty applies to a return that was filed but is missing information or contains incorrect data. For smaller organizations, the maximum penalty per return is capped at the lesser of $10,000 or 5 percent of gross receipts for the year.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6652 – Failure to File Certain Information Returns, Registration Statements, Etc.
Organizations with gross receipts above $1,000,000 pay $100 per day under the base statute, capped at $50,000 per return. These figures are indexed for inflation, so the amounts actually assessed run above the statutory base.12Internal Revenue Service. Annual Exempt Organization Return: Penalties for Failure to File
If the IRS decides your return was incomplete, it sends a letter setting a fixed correction period. Penalties for incompleteness begin only after that period expires, so treat any IRS letter as urgent.
What Happens If You Don’t File for Three Years
Skip a required return (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N) for three consecutive years and the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status. There’s no warning and no appeal. Revocation takes effect on the filing due date of the third missed return.13Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption
Once revoked, the organization must start paying federal income tax and filing Form 1120 (corporate) or Form 1041 (trust). Contributions are no longer tax-deductible, and the organization comes off the IRS list of recognized exempt organizations.13Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption
Getting reinstated means applying again; the IRS won’t reverse the revocation on its own. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 describes the pathways. An organization that applies within 15 months of revocation, was eligible to file the 990-EZ or 990-N for each of the three missed years, and hasn’t been revoked before may qualify for a streamlined retroactive reinstatement. Beyond that window, reinstatement is harder and may not be retroactive. All routes require a new exemption application and its user fee.14Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2014-11
Unrelated Business Income Is a Separate Return
Filing the 990-EZ covers your exempt activities, but it doesn’t cover unrelated business income. If your organization has $1,000 or more in gross income from a trade or business unrelated to its exempt purpose, it also has to file Form 990-T and pay tax on that income.15Internal Revenue Service. Unrelated Business Income Tax
Typical examples are advertising revenue in a newsletter, rental income from debt-financed property, and income from regularly conducted commercial activities outside the mission. Estimated tax of $500 or more triggers quarterly payments. Form 990-T has its own deadline, separate from the 990-EZ, so both dates need tracking.