After 18 months of changes, the IRS has released the final Form 990. Charities must be aware of these new requirements. The form will require more information about organizations governance, how they pay their key employees, and how they earn unrelated business income.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, “The new forms include a schedule of 16 accompanying forms that probe details of lobbying, business transactions with insiders, and international activities. There is also a special form just for tax-exempt hospitals that asks about the amounts of charity care, Medicare reimbursements, debt collections, and any joint business ventures that hospitals engage in.”
Although there are many changes, the IRS only estimates that 30 percent of nonprofit organizations will have to file the new long forms.
What you need to know:
- For the 2008 tax year, only groups with $1 million+ in gross receipts OR $2.5 million+ in assets will need to file the new form
- For the 2009 tax year, these limits are cut in half and all organization with $500,00+ in gross receipts OR $1.25 million+ in assets will need to also file the new form.
- For the 2010 tax year, groups with $200,000 in gross receipts, and $500,000 in assets will also need to file the new form.
- For the 2008 tax year, groups with under $1 million in total gross receipts OR under $2.5 million in assets can still file the Form 990-EZ
- For the 2009 tax year, groups with under $500,000 in total gross receipts OR less than $1.25 million in assets can still file the Form 990-EZ
- For the 2010 tax year, the filing thresholds will be permanently set at $200,000 in total gross receipts or $500,000 total assets.
o the filing threshold for organizations required to file Form 990-N (the e-postcard) will increase from $25,000 to $50,000
This new form is lengthy but charities can use it to highlight the good their fundraising is accomplishing.
More than anything, it is important to stay informed as these changes approach.
Additional information taken from Chronicle of Philanthropy and Plante Morgan articles.
-- Jessica High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online.