IRS Reminds Small Charities of Paperwork Deadline By Grant Williams
Ok small nonprofits. I know it's difficult trying to keep up with everything, but this has been out since 2006. You can't be effective if you are closed or receive donations that are not tax deductible for your donors. It can be a pain to keep up with the laws, but it is your obligation. Put pertinent dates and deadlines on your calendar. Your work is too important to die because of neglect.
Read the article below from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
August 27, 2010, 12:52 PM ET
IRS Reminds Small Charities of Paperwork Deadline
The Internal Revenue Service today reminded thousands of small charities that they can keep their tax-exempt status even if they missed their May deadlines to file a new online form."If you are a volunteer, member, or just a friend of an organization at risk of losing its exemption, please alert the organization and encourage it to go to IRS.gov and find out how the organization can come back into compliance today," the IRS said.The IRS also released additional advice for some organizations, including those that believe they are exempt from filing because they are religious organizations.As the tax agency announced last month, small groups at risk of losing their exemptions because they failed to file required informational tax returns for 2007, 2008, and 2009 on May 17 or later can preserve their status by filing returns by October 15, 2010, under a "one-time relief program."The IRS posted on its Web site the names and last-known addresses of nonprofit groups with jeopardized exemptions, along with details of how small organizations can keep their tax exemption and a list of "frequently asked questions."Congress passed a law in 2006 to help the IRS keep better track of active organizations of all sizes and figure out which charities no longer exist.As part of the law, small organizations that never had to regularly file returns in the past—those with annual revenue of $25,000 or less—must now each year file a new online return, called a Form 990-N or "e-postcard," which requires basic information, such as the name of a principal officer and a mailing address.Many thousands of small nonprofit groups had risked losing their exemptions on May 17, which marked the first three-year filing deadline for groups whose fiscal years end in December.The IRS announced today it has now added some new questions and answers to its Web site "to address questions involving terminated organizations, filing requirements of organizations in group rulings, and organizations that believe they are exempt from filing as churches or church-related organizations."