To confirm that a nonprofit is recognized by the IRS and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool at apps.irs.gov/app/eos. The free database lets you look up any organization by name or Employer Identification Number and returns its current exempt status, its classification, and links to the tax returns it has filed. Running that search before you write a check is the only reliable way to catch a problem the organization’s own website will never mention.
Why the Check Matters Before You Donate
A contribution is only deductible when it goes to an organization the IRS recognizes as qualified under Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts If the recipient doesn’t qualify, the IRS will disallow the deduction and you’ll owe back taxes plus interest. Accuracy-related penalties of 20% or 40% of the underpayment can apply where a donor overstates the value of donated property.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
Status can also disappear quietly. Any exempt organization that fails to file its required annual return or notice for three consecutive years automatically loses its exemption under Section 6033(j).3Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption There is no public announcement. The IRS database is where you find out.
How to Run the Search
The cleanest way to search is by the organization’s nine-digit Employer Identification Number. An EIN is unique, so it returns exactly one match. You’ll usually find it on the nonprofit’s website, its fundraising materials, or any receipt it has sent you. Solicitation letters often print it near the return address.
Name searches are messier. TEOS lists organizations under either their legal name or a “doing business as” name on file with the IRS, but the Pub 78 dataset (the list of organizations eligible for deductible contributions) uses only the official legal name.4Internal Revenue Service. Search for Tax Exempt Organizations A charity you know by its public-facing brand may be registered under something different.
A few habits help. Put a distinctive portion of the name in quotation marks. Drop generic words like “the” or “foundation.” Use the state filter when a common name returns too many hits. If you still can’t find the organization, ask them for the EIN and search again.
Reading Your Results
A successful search returns the organization’s status, which will read one of three ways:
- Active: currently exempt and in compliance with filing requirements.
- Revoked: exemption lost, most commonly for failing to file for three consecutive years. Contributions made after the effective revocation date are not deductible.5Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption for Nonfiling – Deductibility of Contributions to Organizations on Nonfiler Revocation List
- Terminated: the organization voluntarily dissolved or merged.
The database covers organizations recognized as exempt under all of Section 501(c), not only 501(c)(3) charities.6Internal Revenue Service. Exemption Requirements – 501(c)(3) Organizations Only organizations that appear in the Pub 78 data are eligible to receive deductible contributions, so the presence of a listing alone is not the whole answer. Look for the deductibility indicator.
Deductibility Status Codes
For organizations in the Pub 78 data, a deductibility code tells you how much of your gift you can deduct based on the type of organization:7Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search – Deductibility Status Codes
- PC (Public Charity): deductible up to 60% of your adjusted gross income for cash gifts, 50% for non-cash contributions.
- POF (Private Operating Foundation): same limits as a public charity.
- PF (Private Foundation): deductible up to 30% of your adjusted gross income.
These ceilings matter for larger gifts. Knowing the classification in advance lets you time a contribution, or split it across tax years, to keep the full amount within the deductible limit.
Legitimate Organizations That Won’t Appear
Some qualifying organizations will not show up in TEOS, and the absence doesn’t mean anything is wrong.
Churches and similar religious organizations are automatically treated as exempt under Section 501(c)(3) without applying. They are not required to file Form 990, and because they have no filing obligation, they cannot be automatically revoked for non-filing. Contributions to churches that meet 501(c)(3) requirements are deductible even without an IRS determination letter on file.8Internal Revenue Service. Churches, Integrated Auxiliaries and Conventions or Associations of Churches
Small organizations with annual gross receipts normally at or below $50,000 satisfy their filing requirement with the electronic Form 990-N (e-Postcard), which carries only basic identification data.9Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Notice (Form 990-N) for Small Organizations FAQs – Who Must File They may show up in the 990-N portion of TEOS but won’t have detailed financials attached.
Group exemptions are another gap. A national or regional parent organization can obtain a single group exemption ruling that covers its local chapters or affiliates, and those subordinates often do not appear individually in TEOS. To verify one, contact the central organization that holds the group ruling and request written confirmation that the local affiliate is included.10Internal Revenue Service. EO Operational Requirements – Obtaining Copies of Exemption Determination Letter From IRS
Fiscal sponsorship arrangements deserve special caution. New projects sometimes accept donations through an established 501(c)(3) that acts as their fiscal sponsor. The sponsor holds the exempt status; the project does not. Verify the sponsor in TEOS, and confirm that the sponsor (not the project) issues the receipt. If the project issues its own receipt, treat that as a warning sign. The deductibility of your gift rides entirely on the sponsor.
Verifying When TEOS Returns Nothing
When a search comes up empty and you have reason to believe the organization is legitimate, ask for a copy of its IRS determination letter. That letter is the formal document recognizing exempt status. Determination letters issued from January 2014 onward can be downloaded directly through TEOS. Older letters require the organization to submit Form 4506-B to the IRS. The same form is used to request an “affirmation letter,” which serves the same verification purpose for donors and grantmakers.10Internal Revenue Service. EO Operational Requirements – Obtaining Copies of Exemption Determination Letter From IRS
For a small organization that relies on the $50,000 gross-receipts threshold, a written statement from the organization confirming its exempt status and annual revenue level is reasonable documentation to keep with your records. It is not ironclad, but it shows good-faith effort if the IRS ever questions the contribution.
What Revocation Means for Your Deduction
Automatic revocation takes effect on the original due date of the third consecutive missed return.3Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption Once revoked, the organization is removed from the Pub 78 data and can no longer receive deductible contributions.5Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption for Nonfiling – Deductibility of Contributions to Organizations on Nonfiler Revocation List Gifts made before the organization’s name appeared on the Auto-Revocation List remain deductible. Gifts made after are not.
A revoked organization can regain exempt status by reapplying on Form 1023 or 1023-EZ (for 501(c)(3) organizations) or Form 1024 or 1024-A (for other code sections) and paying the user fee, currently $600 for Form 1023 and $275 for Form 1023-EZ.11Internal Revenue Service. Form 1023 and 1023-EZ – Amount of User Fee The IRS offers several reinstatement paths, including a streamlined retroactive route for eligible organizations that apply within 15 months of the revocation notice.12Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation – How to Have Your Tax-Exempt Status Reinstated If reinstatement is granted back to the revocation date, contributions made during the gap can become deductible retroactively.
What Verification Alone Doesn’t Cover
Confirming exempt status is necessary but not enough. For any single contribution of $250 or more, the IRS requires a written acknowledgment from the receiving organization before you can claim the deduction. That acknowledgment must include the organization’s name, the cash amount or a description of non-cash property donated, and a statement about whether the organization provided any goods or services in return.13Internal Revenue Service. Charitable Contributions – Written Acknowledgments The burden of obtaining and keeping this document sits with you, not the charity. Ask for it when you give, not at tax time.
State fundraising authorization is a separate matter from federal exempt status. Roughly 40 states require charitable organizations to register before soliciting donations from their residents, and a nonprofit can hold valid IRS 501(c)(3) status while being unregistered or noncompliant in a state where it is actively fundraising. State charity registrations are usually maintained by the attorney general’s office or the secretary of state, and many are searchable online. A state search won’t tell you anything about federal status, but it can confirm whether an organization is legally allowed to solicit in your state, which is worth checking when you receive an unsolicited call or mailer.