IRS Forms Assistant
One place to prepare the three most common IRS filings for a nonprofit: applying for 501(c)(3) recognition, applying for another exempt status, and filing your annual return. Pick the form you need below. You can switch between them any time from the left.
- Setting up a charity, church, or school and want tax-deductible donations? That is Form 1023. There is a much shorter 1023-EZ, and the tool checks whether you qualify for it before you start the long one.
- Setting up a social welfare group, business league, trade association, or social club? That is Form 1024. Worth knowing before you choose: gifts to a 501(c)(4), (c)(6) or (c)(7) are generally not tax deductible to the donor, which surprises people after the fact rather than before.
- Already recognized by the IRS? Then you want Form 990, and you want it every year. It is an annual return rather than an application, and which version you file depends on your revenue.
- A church? Churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions of churches file no annual return at all, so the 990 is not yours. You may still want Form 1023 if you want a determination letter that grantmakers and banks will ask for.
What comes after the form
Filing is one step. Here is what usually comes next, whichever of the three is yours.
Recognition is the start, not the finish. You will still need bylaws, a conflict of interest policy, minutes from your first board meeting, and in most states a charity registration before you can legally ask the public for money.
The same governance paperwork applies. One thing tends to catch people out after they file rather than before: gifts to a 501(c)(4), (c)(6) or (c)(7) are generally not tax deductible, so dues and sponsorships have to do the work donations would.
Next year's return is far easier when the books already agree with it. Your state charity renewal is usually due on a different date than the 990, and missing that one is the more common way an organization slips out of good standing.
These IRS tools are part of All In One Nonprofit, 25 apps covering formation, governance, fundraising, compliance and the books. The tools on this page stay free to use.