Tax exempt organizations that earned less than $25,000 of annual income where not previously required to file a tax return with the IRS.  The tax law changed and all tax exempt organizations, including those with incomes less than $25,000 were required to file an IRS form 990 by May 17, 2010, or risk losing their tax exempt status.  Now, the IRS Commissioner posted a notice on the IRS website that says the IRS will provide guidance to organizations that missed the deadline.  Here’s the Statement of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman on the Filing Deadline for Small Charities:

Now that the May 17 filing deadline has passed, it appears that many small tax-exempt organizations have not filed the required information return in time. These organizations are vital to communities across the United States, and I understand their concerns about possibly losing their tax-exempt status.

The IRS has conducted an unprecedented outreach effort in the tax-exempt sector on the 2006 law’s new filing requirements, but many of these smaller organizations are just now learning of the May 17 deadline. I want to reassure these small organizations that the IRS will do what it can to help them avoid losing their tax-exempt status.

The IRS will be providing additional guidance in the near future on how it will help these organizations maintain their important tax-exempt status — even if they missed the May 17 deadline. The guidance will offer relief to these small organizations and provide them with the opportunity to keep their critical tax-exempt status intact.

So I urge these organizations to go ahead and file — even though the May 17 deadline has passed.

Filing a tax return for the small organizations is easier than you’d think. It just takes a few minutes to fill out the electronic notice Form 990-N (e-Postcard). This is available for small tax-exempt organizations with annual receipts of $25,000 or less.

Related Information:

For access to the e-Postcard and further details, see Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations, Form 990-N (e-Postcard).

Related posts:

  1. IRS Announces One-Time Filing Relief for Small Tax Exempt Organizations That Failed to File for Three Consecutive Years
  2. ABC’s for Tax Exempt Organizations
  3. One-Fourth of Nonprofits Are to Lose Tax Breaks
  4. Top 5 Compliance Problems for 501(c)(3) Organizations
  5. Hundreds of Thousands of Nonprofits May Lose Tax Exemptions for Failing to File Tax Returns
  6. Prepare Your Own 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization Application
  7. Is Your Nonprofit at Risk of Losing Its Tax-Exempt Status?
  8. Exemption Organization User Fees Increase in 2010
  9. New Nonprofit Corporations: Beware of Legal Document Preparers
  10. Compensation Strategies and Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations