Treasurer Trainings
Filing the 990-N with the IRS Training
In general, exempt organizations have an annual reporting requirement although there are exceptions.
Most small tax-exempt organizations that have an annual reporting requirement can satisfy the requirements by submitting Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) for Tax-Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. Form 990-N is submitted electronically, there are no paper forms.
An organization eligible to submit Form 990-N can instead choose to file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ to satisfy its annual reporting requirement.
Small tax-exempt organizations generally are eligible to file Form 990-N to satisfy their annual reporting requirement if their annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less.
Gross receipts are the total amounts the organization received from all sources during its annual accounting period, without subtracting any costs or expenses.
Gross receipts are considered to be normally $50,000 or less if the organization:
Has been in existence for 1 year or less and received, or donors have pledged to give, $75,000 or less during its first tax year;
Has been in existence between 1 and 3 years and averaged $60,000 or less in gross receipts during each of its first two tax years; and
Is at least 3 years old and averaged $50,000 or less in gross receipts for the immediately preceding 3 tax years (including the year for which calculations are being made).
However, some organizations aren’t eligible to use Form 990-N (e-Postcard) even if their gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. These organizations must file different forms instead to satisfy their annual reporting requirement.
Note: a subordinate organization in a group exemption that is included in a group return filed by its central organization does not file Form 990-N because the group return satisfies its annual reporting requirement.