To find the operating budget on a Form 990, go to Part IX (Statement of Functional Expenses) and read Line 25, Column A. That total is the closest figure the form offers to an annual operating budget, and Part VIII (Statement of Revenue) shows the income that paid for it. One caveat before you rely on the number: a 990 reports what already happened in the prior fiscal year, not what the organization plans to spend next year. It’s a rearview mirror, not a windshield. Even so, donors, grantmakers, and journalists treat it as the working budget figure because it’s the most detailed financial disclosure nonprofits are required to make public.
Getting the Filing
Every Form 990 filed by a tax-exempt organization is a public record. The IRS runs a lookup tool called the Tax Exempt Organization Search, where you can pull any nonprofit’s returns by name or Employer Identification Number.1Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search Third-party sites like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer host the same filings and make it easier to compare years side by side. Organizations must also hand over their three most recent 990s to anyone who asks in person or in writing.
Expect a lag. Form 990 is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends, and extensions are routine.2Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Filing Requirements: Form 990 Due Date For a calendar-year nonprofit, that means a May 15 deadline for the prior year, and with extensions the return may not appear until late in the following year. Data you find could easily be 12 to 18 months old, so check the fiscal year printed at the top before you draw conclusions about current finances.
Which Version of the 990 You’re Looking At
Not every nonprofit files the full form. The IRS requires it only from organizations with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more at year-end.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax Smaller groups file Form 990-EZ; the smallest (under $50,000 in annual revenue) file only the electronic postcard Form 990-N. Private foundations file Form 990-PF regardless of size.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax
The full 990 is what you want for budget work. The 990-EZ gives you total revenue and total expenses but skips the line-by-line functional expense breakdown that makes the analysis meaningful. If the organization files only a 990-EZ, you may need to ask for its audited financial statements to see the same level of detail.
The Line That Is the Budget: Part IX, Line 25, Column A
Part IX itemizes every category of spending and splits it across three functional columns. The grand total on Line 25, Column A is total spending for the fiscal year and the best single number to treat as the operating budget.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 (2025)
The four-column layout is what makes Part IX useful beyond a single total. Column A shows total expenses. Columns B, C, and D split that total into:
- Program services (Column B): direct costs of delivering the mission, such as running a food bank, teaching classes, or providing medical care.
- Management and general (Column C): administrative overhead like accounting, human resources, board meetings, and general office operations.
- Fundraising (Column D): everything spent to solicit donations, including direct mail, events, and professional fundraising fees.
Dividing Column B’s total by Column A’s gives you the program expense ratio, the most-watched efficiency number in the sector. Charity watchdogs generally look for 65 to 75 percent or more going to programs. An organization spending 82 cents of every dollar on programs looks meaningfully different from one spending 55 cents. Context matters, though. A brand-new nonprofit investing in fundraising capacity during its first few years can show a lower ratio without being poorly managed.
Scan the individual lines too. Salaries and benefits (Lines 5 through 10) are usually the largest expense for service organizations. Occupancy sits on Line 16. Professional fundraising fees appear separately on Line 11e, so you can see how much the organization pays outside firms to raise money on its behalf.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 (2025) High professional fundraising costs relative to what those firms bring in is one of the clearest warning signs in nonprofit financial analysis.
The Revenue Side: Part VIII
Part VIII builds the income side of the picture. It groups revenue into four broad categories, and the mix tells you how stable the funding actually is.
Contributions, gifts, grants, and similar amounts come first. This is donated income: individual gifts, foundation grants, government grants, and in-kind donations. Line 1h shows the total.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 (2025) Watch Line 1g, which reports noncash contributions. In-kind gifts like donated equipment, food, or supplies count as revenue here but do not represent cash the organization can spend on operations.6Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations Annual Reporting Requirements – Form 990, Part VIII-IX and Schedule D (Financial Information) If noncash is a large share of the total, actual spendable revenue is lower than the headline number suggests. Volunteer time is not reported as revenue at all.
Program service revenue on Line 2g covers fees, tuition, ticket sales, and similar income the organization earns through its mission.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 (2025) Investment income sits on Line 3. Rental income, royalties, and special event proceeds round out the section.
Pay attention to the concentration. A nonprofit earning half its revenue from program fees and half from a broad base of individual donors looks very different from one that depends on a single government grant for 80 percent of its funding. The second is more exposed to a sudden cut, which is exactly the kind of risk this exercise is meant to surface.
Adjustments for a More Accurate Cash Budget
Line 25, Column A is a reasonable starting point, but a few adjustments give you a cleaner picture of recurring, cash-based operating costs.
Subtract depreciation. Line 22 of Part IX reports depreciation and depletion. Depreciation is an accounting allocation, not a check written each month, and including it overstates the cash cost of operations.
Strip out large one-time items. If Part VIII shows a major capital gain from selling an investment property, or Part IX shows a one-time legal settlement, those are not representative of normal spending. Removing them produces a figure that better predicts next year’s operations.
Net out big noncash contributions. Donated goods appear in both revenue and, when used, in expenses. If a food bank receives $2 million in donated food, that shows up on both sides but doesn’t reflect cash moving through the organization. For a true cash budget, take large noncash items out of both totals.
Whether the Budget Is Sustainable
The expense line tells you the size of the budget. Parts X and XI tell you whether the organization can keep spending at that level.
Part X is the Balance Sheet, showing assets, liabilities, and net assets on the last day of the fiscal year. Net assets are split between those without donor restrictions (Line 27) and those with donor restrictions (Line 28).3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax Unrestricted net assets are reserves the board can deploy however it sees fit, including covering operating deficits. Restricted net assets are locked to specific purposes and cannot fill a budget gap. An organization might show $10 million in net assets with only $500,000 unrestricted, which is a very different picture of flexibility than the headline number suggests.
Part XI reconciles the change in net assets from the start to the end of the year. Revenue above expenses grows reserves; expenses above revenue shrinks them. One deficit year is not alarming, but a pattern across several filings signals an organization spending beyond its means. That trend says more about budget sustainability than any single year’s totals.
If the organization reports endowment funds, check Schedule D, Part V, which details the endowment balance and activity.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule D (Form 990) A group that routinely spends more than its endowment earns is on an unsustainable path no matter what the annual budget looks like.
When There’s No Recent Filing
No recent 990 on file is a serious warning sign. The IRS charges daily penalties for late filings: $20 per day for organizations with gross receipts under $1,208,500, capped at $12,000 or 5 percent of gross receipts, whichever is less. Larger organizations face $120 per day with a $60,000 cap.8Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organizations Annual Reporting Requirements – Filing Procedures: Late Filing of Annual Returns
The heavier consequence hits after three consecutive years of non-filing. Tax-exempt status is automatically revoked. The organization can no longer receive tax-deductible contributions, is removed from the IRS cumulative list of exempt organizations, and may owe federal income tax on revenue going forward.9Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption The IRS cannot undo a proper automatic revocation; the group has to reapply from scratch. If you can’t find recent filings, search the IRS’s auto-revocation list before assuming the data just hasn’t been posted yet.