New Schedule A Features Just in Time For The May 15 Deadline

Organizations that operate on a calendar tax year (January - December) have a major tax filing deadline coming up on May 15th. If you have filed a Form 990 or Form 990-EZ before, you know that there are “Schedules” that are attached to your return which provides necessary additional information regarding your organization.

There are a total of 24 Schedules between Form 990 & 990-EZ; today we will focus on the most commonly filed Schedule (Schedule A) and its newly developed features with our sister product TaxBandits. Here’s what you need to know about new Schedule A features just in time for the May 15 deadline.

New Schedule A Features Just In Time For The May 15 Deadline

TaxBandits makes the e-filing process easier for all of our clients by automatically generating Schedule A once you provide answers to prompted questions when preparing your Form with our software.  

Well, we have talked about it enough, so let’s dive into the world of Schedule A. 

What is Schedule A?

Schedule A is used by tax-exempt organizations or any organization that files Form 990/990-EZ to provide information about its public charity status and public support. This Schedule allows your organization to explain its program services and give its mission statement or other descriptions of its charitable goals. 

Essentially, any non-profit that is supported by the public must file this Schedule along with their Form 990. 

Filing Schedule with TaxBandits

Filing Schedule A can be rather time-consuming and intimidating; but not when you easily file with TaxBandits! TaxBandits’ comprehensive software offers a simplified filing process that can be completed quickly, efficiently, and correctly the first time. 

When filing Schedule A with TaxBandits you can eliminate the guessing game of whether or not you passed or failed the public support test. Our built-in audit feature lets you know before you transmit. 

Other newly developed features now allow filers to simply enter contribution totals instead of individual contributions and determines the exact figures for Public Support based on answers provided to our prompted questions during the filing process. 

Best of all, current ExpressTaxExempt and TaxBandits users now have the ability to copy standard information from their previous year return to the current year; saving a great deal of time from the standard filing process.

As the big nonprofit Form 990 filing deadline quickly approaches on May 15th, take advantage of the convenient e-filing process that TaxBandits offers. Our newly developed features for filing Schedule A are sure to make your filing experience pleasant and stress-free.

Get a Head Start on Schedule A Today!

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Form 990 for PTAs & PTOs

Wondering how PTAs and PTOs can make use of Form 990?

Here’s the considerations for Form 990 and Parent Teacher Associations and Parent Teacher Organizations.

Difference between PTA & PTO

The National PTA is a formal membership organization headquartered in Chicago with a 105-year history of working for children. Local groups that choose to belong to the PTA must pay dues to state and national organizations and abide by the rules set by those.

PTO is a more generic term. It usually represents the thousands of groups that remain independent of the PTA.

Responsibilities of PTA

PTA is committed to advocacy on behalf of all the children in the nation. The official PTA’s motto is “Every child. One voice.” PTA aims to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

Exempt status & filing requirements

The official PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association. A PTA starts local units through state-level associations. Each local unit is an independent nonprofit and is set up in accordance with state and federal laws.

PTOs can be started by anyone, but will need to go through their own process to become tax exempt.

If you have any questions about filing Form 990 for your PTA or PTO, reach out to the e-filing experts at ExpressTaxExempt by phone at 704.839.2321 or by email at Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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Can Form 990 Be a Marketing Tool?

If you’re running a nonprofit organization, you might be dreading the next few weeks. Why?

Well, because it’s that time of year when you have to file your Form 990 return!

Instead of letting your heart fill with dread, instead ask yourself if you can use Form 990 to your advantage. Instead of seeing it as just another tax form, look at it like an opportunity where you can tell your story and draw in more donors.

That’s right, with a little planning, you can use Form 990 as a marketing tool.

Post Form 990 Online

By sharing your tax return with your donors and the general public, you show that you are transparent.

You also present the facts about how your organization has helped. Nothing is better than cold hard data!

Your Form Tells a Story

Instead of using a generic summary, your organization can impress audiences with their story!

With thoughtfully written descriptions of your organization, their goals, and their accomplishments, you’ll be able to cast your own light on your organization.

Just make sure you’re truthful and accurate! Schedule O also allows for additional details, and you can always list the organization’s website.

Make It Look Good

It’s not only important for your story to shine, you also need to make sure your answers and numbers are good.

For an accurately completed Form 990, you need to avoid unrelated revenues, lobbying, loans and business transactions with insiders, and untruthful answers (for example, the questions in Part V).

As far as errors go, ExpressTaxExempt checks your return for filing errors before transmitting to the IRS.

Pass the Test

Every tax exempt organization must demonstrate that it continues to meet the requirements set under section 501(c)(3). In Schedule A, organizations have to classify as a Public Charity or a Private Foundation.

If they’re a public charity, they need to pass one of 2 tests.

The first test states that your organization receives substantial support in contributions from publicly supported organizations, governmental units, or from the general public.

The second test states that your organization receives no more than one-third of its support from gross investment income, and more than one-third from contributions, membership fees, and gross receipts from exempt-related activities.

So when you’re ready to file Form 990, you’re going to want to save time on the difficulties of paperwork so you can get your story across.

Start by e-filing Form 990 with ExpressTaxExempt, the premier filing solution for tax exempt organizations. With bulk uploading, multi-user access, and help available by email and phone, we’ll help you get through the tough stuff.

Can your organization’s Form 990 become a marketing tool?

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Record-Keeping & Form 990 Schedules

It should be no question that your tax-exempt organization must comply with the IRS tax rules and, to do so, you must keep books and records documenting sources of receipts and expenditures that are reported on your annual return and any other tax returns that are filed. Even if you file a return or not, these records must be managed and validate

• Activities conducted
• Income received
• Expenses incurred 

The IRS inspects returns from organizations and there must be records that back up the items reported. With a complete set of records, the process can be done more smoothly.

When filing a Form 990, these records are described as a variety of disclosure and compliance requirements called Schedules; in a nutshell, Schedules

• Vary depending on your type of organization.
• Have specific titles and require assorted sets of information.
• Provide the IRS with specific information about your organization’s activities.

The facts needed to complete these forms are the same records that support income, expenses, and credits reported on your tax-exempt organization’s annual tax returns. So, they should be carefully recorded and filed within your organization’s archives throughout the tax year.

Express990 makes it as simple as possible to fill out Form 990 schedules. For a complete list of Schedules that you may need to complete, check out http://www.expresstaxexempt.com/form-990-schedules/

You can also contact the Express990 Support Team via phone: 704-839-2321 or email: support@expresstaxexempt.com for any questions or assistance about e-filing a Form 990 and Schedules with Express990.

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Form 990-EZ: Schedules A, B, and C

When it comes to the 990-EZ, there is a lot going on. At first glance, learning about this form might seem like an impossible task, but it doesn't have to be. Why don't we break it down a bit so we can take a closer look at every section. Let's begin our journey into the wonderful world of the 990-EZ by taking a look at Schedules A, B and C.

Schedule A

Every 501(c)(3) organization will fill out a Schedule A. It tells more about what type of organization you are; if your organization is classified as a government, education, community organization, or grassroots.  In addition, this form identifies your public support, where you get your support, and in what form your support comes in (grants and/or gifts).

For more information on Public Support Tests, checkout our blog - What Does It Mean: Failure To Meet A Public Support Test

Schedule B

Schedule B is based off your contributors.  The general rule for nonprofits, is that when your organization receives more than $5,000 from any one contribution, it will be reported on this form. For exclusively religious contributions, it is a bit different. If your organization recieves a contribution from an exclusively religious contributor of $1,000 or more, it will be reported on this form. With this schedule there is a Special Rule that could have an effect on how you will file this particular schedule.

The Special Rule:
For an organization described in section 501(c)(3) organizations that meets the 33 and 1/3% support test of the regulations under sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and not just the 10% support test (whether or not the organization is otherwise described in section 170(b)(1)(A)), list in Part I only those contributors whose contribution of $5,000 or more during the tax year is geater than 2% of the amount reported on Form 990-EZ, Line 1.


Schedule C

Finally, the Schedule C is for organizations that are politically active.  This schedule requires you to provide information on your political and lobbying activities. Lobbying activities, as defined by the IRS, would be classified as..

An attempt to influence legislation by propaganda or otherwise, presentation of testimony at public hearings held by legislative committees, correspondence and conferences with legislators and their staffs, communications by electronic means, and publication of documents advocationg specific legislative action.

These are only the first 3 990-EZ Schedules. Next time we will go over Scedules E, G, L, and O. If you want more information right this second, head on over to the Express990.com website where we go into great detail about the 990-EZ form and every schedule we provide. 

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