What is the difference between a 990 and a 990-N?
5 views | Last modified 4/12/2024 3:14:42 AM EST |

Requirements

Form 990

Small nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations with yearly gross receipts of $50,000 or less are required to file Nonprofit tax Form 990-N, the Electronic Notice (e-Postcard), for annual reporting.

IRS Form 990 must be filed by tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charity trusts, and section 527 political organizations with gross receipts above  $200,000 or total assets exceeding $500,000, respectively.

Schedules

There are no Schedules available to be included for organizations that file Form 990-N.

There are a total of 16 Schedules available for Form 990, some of which may need to be attached by the organizations with their main form depending on their exempt purpose and activities.

Visit here to learn more about Form 990 schedules.
 

If you file Form 990-N late, the IRS will send a reminder letter to your most recent address on file. 

While there is no penalty for filing Form 990-N late, the IRS will revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations that fail to file the form for three consecutive years.

The late filing penalty for Nonprofit Form 990 would be $20 per day, up to the lesser of $10,500 or 5% of the organization's annual gross receipts.

Organizations with gross receipts in excess of $1,094,500 are liable to a daily penalty of $105 (up to a maximum of $54,500 per return).

The 990-N filing deadline cannot be extended for organizations.

The organizations can request an automatic 6-month extension by submitting Form 8868, which extends the 990 filing date.

Amended return

The organizations will not be able to submit an amended Form 990-N to the IRS. 

If you need to make any changes to your organization or fix an error on the form, you must do so when you file your Form 990-N (e-Postcard) for the next year.

The organization can file an amended 990 Form to modify the information reported on a previously filed return for the same period.

The amended return must be made available for public inspection either three years from the filing date or three years from the original deadline of the return, whichever is later.