New Form 990 released by IRS

Posted by on January 12, 2009

IRS releases final Form 990

The Internal Revenue Service has released the final Form 990 and related schedules, more than 18 months after the first draft of the revised federal financial-disclosures forms were submitted for public comment.

The new forms are the first overhaul of the 990 in nearly 30 years and will require tax-exempt groups to reveal much more information about how organizations govern and pay their key employees and directors and earn unrelated business income.

The new forms include a schedule of 16 accompanying forms that probe details of lobbying, business transactions with insiders, and international activities. There is also a special form just for tax-exempt hospitals that asks about the amounts of charity care, Medicare reimbursements, debt collections, and any joint business ventures that hospitals engage in.

Although the changes to the form are broad, the federal tax agency estimates that only 30 percent of nonprofit organizations will have to file the lengthy new forms — for the 2008 tax year, only groups with $1-million or more in gross receipts or more than $2.5-million in assets must complete the new 990. Those thresholds are cut in half for the 2009 tax year and fall to $200,000 in gross receipts and $500,000 in assets for the 2010 tax year.

Many nonprofit managers are concerned that the new format will require more time and expense to complete. But many have praised the IRS for its efforts to get out information about the new forms.

While the IRS intends to use the new disclosures to more closely monitor tax-exempt organizations for abuses, it says the forms ultimately provide a better way for groups to publicize the good that they accomplish.  To download the new forms, click here.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=201398,00.html