Also known as the 990 postcard, this form type is the lightest of all the IRS 990 Forms and is meant for smaller nonprofits. In this guide, we will go over the highlights of the 990-N Form.
The 990 Form is an annual filing requirement for US-based tax-exempt nonprofits. It’s a form that reports to the IRS on the nonprofit’s activities from the past year. It is due once a year, on the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the nonprofit’s tax year-end.
Keep reading for a step-by-step overview of how to file Form 990 with Crowded – which will be your org’s easiest filing yet! The first step in the filing process is determining if you are eligible to file…
Filing Form 990-N with Crowded
1. Ensure Your Nonprofit has Tax-exempt Status
Our system will auto-check your nonprofit’s tax-exempt status using publicly available data or data you have shared with us. If it cannot find your org’s tax-exempt status, take a look at the IRS database to see if your nonprofit has had its status revoked. This could have happened if your organization did not file a 990 Form for three consecutive years. If you do determine that your nonprofit has lost its tax-exempt status, take a look at our informative blog to help get your organization’s reinstatement application going!
If your organization’s tax-exempt status is intact, you’re ready to file the annual Form 990!
2. Choose Filing Year
Through Crowded’s platform, you can file the Form 990 from any year in the past 3 years. If your nonprofit has any missing filings from the past 3 years, ensure to file ASAP to maintain your org’s tax-exempt status!
If you’re unsure which year to file for, keep reading.
Your org should file for the year in which your org’s tax period started. (Don’t know what a tax year is? See here).
For example:
Use the 2024 Form 990 to report on the organization’s fiscal year that began in 2024 and ended 12 months later.
An org whose fiscal year is June 1- May 31 can file the 2024 Form 990 starting on May 31st, 2025 until November 15th, 2025 (the 990 Form is due 5 months and 15 days after the fiscal year end).
3. Is Form 990-N right for my organization?
The answer is yes if one or more of the following statements are true for your org:
- Your organization has been in existence for 1 year or less and received or has been pledged, $75,000 or less during the 1st tax year.
- Your organization has been in existence for 1 to 3 years and averaged $60,000 or less in gross receipts during each of the first two tax years.
- Your organization has been in existence for at least 3 years and averaged $50,000 or less in gross receipts for the preceding 3 tax years (including this year)
If your organization falls into one of the below categories, your org may be required to file Form 990-EZ or full Form 990, even if it meets the gross receipt criteria of Form 990-N.
- Private foundations (File form 990-PF)
- Section 509(a)(3) – Supporting organizations
- Section 527 (political) organizations
- Section 501(d) – Religious and apostolic organizations
- Section 501(c)(1) – U.S. government instrumentalities
- Section 501(c)(20) – Group legal services plans
- Section 501(c)(23) – Pre-1880 Armed Forces organizations
- Section 501(c)(24) –ERISA sec. 4049 trusts
- Section 529 – Qualified tuition programs
- Section 4947(a)(2) – Split-interest trusts
- Section 4947(a)(1) – Charitable trusts treated as private foundations
If your organization falls into one of the below categories, your org may be exempt from filing the Form 990!
- A church, an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches
- An integrated auxiliary of a church
- A church-affiliated organization that is exclusively engaged in managing funds or maintaining retirement programs
- A school below college level affiliated with a church or operated by a religious order
- Church-affiliated mission societies if more than half of their activities are conducted in, or are directed at persons in, foreign countries
- An exclusively religious activity of any religious order
- A state institution, the income of which is excluded from gross income under section 115,
- A corporation described in Section 501(c)(1) that is organized under an Act of Congress, an instrumentality of the United States and is exempt from federal income taxes
- A stock bonus, pension or profit-sharing trust that qualifies under Section 401(required to file Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan)
- A religious or apostolic organization described in Section 501(d) (required to file Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income)
- A governmental unit or an affiliate of a governmental unit that meets the requirements of Revenue Procedure 95-48 PDF, 1995-2 C.B. 418
- A private foundation described in Section 501(c)(3) and exempt under Section 501(a) (required to file Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation)
- A political organization that is a state or local committee of a political party, a political committee of a state or local candidate, a caucus or association of state or local officials, or required to report under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 as a political committee
- An exempt organization (other than a private foundation) that normally has annual gross receipts of $50,000 or less and therefore is eligible to file an annual electronic notice Form 990-N instead of an annual information return)*
- A foreign organization, or an organization located in a U.S. possession, that normally has annual gross receipts from sources within the United States of $50,000 or less and therefore is eligible to file an annual electronic notice (Form 990-N instead of an annual information return)
4. Organization Basic Information
Here the magic of Crowded comes into play! Most (if not all) of the information on this screen should be pre-filled with data from publicly available IRS data or your Crowded account if you are a customer of Crowded. In any case, if the information is not already filled, keep reading for guidance on how to find it.
EIN
Every tax-exempt organization has an EIN (a form of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). It is a unique 9-digit identifying number issued to you organization by the IRS. You may be able to find your org’s EIN in some of the following places:
- The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool – access it here
- The automated notice issued by the IRS when you applied for your EIN (CP 575 EIN Confirmation Letter).
- Contact your bank or agency for your EIN, if it was used to open a bank account or apply for any type of license.
- Find your org’s previously filed informational tax form (Form 990).
- Ask the IRS to search for your EIN by calling the Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933.
- If you are a chapter within a larger national organization, check with your national office to see if they have an existing EIN for your chapter.
Please note:
- That the EIN is not your tax-exempt number.
- DO NOT use the EIN of a parent or other organization.
Legal Organization Name
Use the organization name written as recorded in the IRS database (access it here) or on your EIN letter, CP 575, or Form 990 from previous years. If you have changed your organization’s legal name, you must inform the IRS of the new name and provide certain supporting documentation, and receive confirmation before filing your 990-N. If you haven’t received an affirmation letter reflecting your name change by the time your return is due, you will have to file a paper return (Form 990 or 990-EZ) for the year in which you changed your name and report the change of name on the paper return.
Doing-Business-As (DBA) Name
List any other names your organization is known by or that refer to the org as a whole (and not to its programs and activities). If this is not applicable, leave this section blank.
Principal Officer Name & Address
This is the point person who is on file with the IRS and is typically the president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer. Provide their full name and mailing address here. If you would like to change this person, consider filing form 8822-B to officially change the officer with the IRS (Crowded can file this for you!).
Website
If you don’t have a dedicated website for your nonprofit, leave this field blank.
Tax Year
Enter the consecutive 12-month period your organization uses in reports and to keep books to signify their annual accounting period. This is often specified in the organization’s bylaws, form CP 575, previous Form 990 filings, or in the IRS records (call IRS at (877) 829-5500 for assistance).
Calendar Year vs. Fiscal Year
A calendar year is the 12-month period from January 1 and ends on December 31. This is the most common way for organizations to track their financial activity. For example, if your organization uses a calendar year, your 2024 Form 990-N would cover all activity from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
A fiscal year is any 12-month period that ends on the last day of any month except December. Organizations choose fiscal years that better align with their operational cycles. For example, a school might use July 1 – June 30 to match the academic year
Organization Mailing Address
Input the current mailing address used by the organization. If it has changed since your last filing, no worries, enter the new address.
Organization Terminated?
Check the box if your organization has undergone a liquidation, dissolution, termination, gone out of business, or substantial contraction, here is where you would notify the IRS, and they will close the organization’s account in IRS records.
Submission
And thats it! Review all of the information to ensure that it’s correct, and click submit. The data will be transmitted to the IRS and your organization should hear back if the submission was accepted or rejected very shortly.
Crowded is not a law firm, accounting firm, or financial advisory service, and does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. Customers must consult an attorney or certified accountant for professional tax or legal advice. Customers are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
