What To Do When You Miss The IRS Form 990 Deadline

We’ve talked about everything 990 related for the last week or so and just like that, the May 15th deadline has come and gone. If you filed your organization’s IRS Form 990 by the Form 990 due date 2017, I am sure you have gladly removed anything 990 related from your ever-growing to-do list. Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality for every organization.

We have received several concerned calls from organizations that failed to file their 990 tax form by the IRS Form 990 deadline. They are all asking what they should do since they missed the Form 990 due date 2017 for tax returns.

We will be honest with you, there aren’t many options for you at this point, but we do have some advice on what to do when you miss the IRS Form 990 deadline.

*Take immediate action before your tax-exempt status is revoked*

What To Do When You Miss The IRS Form 990 Deadline

Long story short, the longer you wait to file the worse off your organization will be. The best advice that we can give you is to file IRS Form 990 ASAP!  Your penalties will only grow the longer you wait to file your 990 tax form...seriously. 

Even though you have [technically] missed the deadline, you can avoid the following IRS penalties if you take action soon. 

Late Filing Penalties

Organizations with gross receipts less than $1,020,000 for its tax year will have a penalty of $20/day for each day that the return is late. The maximum penalty for these organizations is $10,000 or 5 percent of the organization's gross receipts, whichever is less.

Organizations with gross receipts more than $1,020,000 for its tax year will have a penalty of $100/day for up to a maximum of $51,000.

Penalties Against Responsible Person(s):

Were you aware that individuals can be fined on behalf of an organization if the organization does not file during the fixed amount of time it has been given to fulfill its filing requirements? 

Yep! 😳 Organizations that fail to file a completed return or provide proper information will be given a short grace period before penalties apply. Your organization will receive a letter from the IRS stating how long this period will be.

If no action is taken after this time expires, the person responsible for complying will be charged a penalty of $10/day, with a per capita of $5,000 for anyone return.

Filing Form 990 After the Deadline

Filing Form 990 is essential for your organization and should be completed in detail. TaxBandits offers a simplified process and provides all of our clients with informative resources to help you file your 990 nonprofit tax return correctly by following Form 990 instructions. 

Information You Must Have To File

General information needed to e-file IRS Form 990 include:

• EIN (Employer Identification Number)
• Tax Period
• GEN (Group Exemption Number)
• You will also need information to fill out any required schedules for your organization

File The Correct 990

If you spend precious time filing the wrong Form 990 for your organization, I will cry for you.

These are the 990 tax forms included in the Form 990 Series; select the Form 990 that meets the financial status of your organization:

Form 990-N
Organizations with gross receipts that are less than or equal to $50,000 file this form electronically.

Form 990
Filed by organizations with gross receipts more than or equal to $200,000 or total assets equal to or greater than $500,000.

Form 990-EZ
The Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax filed by organizations with gross receipts less than $200,000 and $500,000 in total assets.

Form 990-PF
Filed by Exempt & Taxable Private Foundations as well as Non-Exempt Charitable Trusts which the IRS treat as private foundations. 

Automatic Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status

If your organization does not file a Form 990 for three consecutive years, it will be automatically revoked of its tax-exempt status. If the organization does not get reinstated as per the required procedure, it will be required to file with the IRS as a taxable organization.

Avoid Expensive Late Filing Penalties

IRS penalties are quickly accumulating and the longer you wait, the more expensive they will be. So if I were you, I would create a free account with our sister product, TaxBandits, and start filing today. Their filing process consists of a simplified, step-by-step interview-style process without the complex IRS terminology. At TaxBandits we take pride in providing tax-exempt organizations a safe, secure, and efficient e-filing process that will save you time and money.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the experienced team of experts located in historic Rock Hill, SC. We are available by phone, live chat, and email in both English and Spanish for your convenience.

Avoid 990 Penalties Today!

Read More »

Time Is Running Out: File A Tax Extension Form 8868 Today

The due date for Form 990 is here! Nonprofit or charitable organizations worldwide have completed or are in the process of completing an IRS Form 990 to maintain tax-exempt status for their organization.

With only hours left to e-file Form 990 before the midnight deadline, here is how to beat the 990 extension due date 2017 by quickly filing tax extension Form 8868. Let’s be honest; you can rush through filing your 990 tax form today and possibly make major mistakes, or you can apply for a Form 990 extension. Time is running out: file a tax extension Form 8868 today!

Time Is Running Out: File A Tax Extension Form 8868 Today

If you need more time to e-file Form 990 you can file an extension for Form 990 and receive six additional months to file.

Not that we’re saying filling out a tax-exempt return is a brisk, afternoon activity (trust us, we know). But six months is a fairly long time… Until the time is up.

Unfortunately, today is the 990 extension due date for 2017 tax returns for nonprofit organizations operating on a calendar year.

Tax-exempt returns that are due today must be transmitted by midnight (local time), so head on over to our homepage where all your exempt organization e-filing needs can be easily met.

Even consider using our sister product TaxBandits, the new #1 home for everything tax exempt,
where you can transmit your Form 990 or apply for IRS Form 8868 using one account, and still enjoy the same e-filing features you’ve come to trust with ExpressTaxExempt.

Our live support team in Rock Hill, South Carolina is at the edge of their seats waiting to speak with you about any questions or concerns you may have about e-filing IRS Form 990 or an IRS Form 990 extension.

Give us a call at (704) 684-4751, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., EST. Since it’s “deadline day” we are even going to stick around a few extra hours to be of assistance.

We can also be reached 24/7 through support@taxbandits.com, or chat with us live.

File Your IRS Form 990 Extension Now!

Read More »

Miss the 990 Deadline? Here's What to Do

In case you missed it, the 990 Form deadline for calendar tax year filers was May 15!

And if you did miss it, you may be wondering, “What now?” Because, while we all know the IRS isn’t really a fan of people missing their deadlines, they are pretty adamant about making sure tax forms are filed anyway. Well we’re here to tell ya:




First, Make Sure This Was Your Deadline
Remember: the Form 990 deadline works a little differently than other IRS information returns. Rather than one set deadline for all tax-exempt organizations each year, your deadline is determined by your organization’s tax year end date. The May 15th deadline is the 990 Form due date for organizations that operate on a calendar tax year, which starts on January 1 and ends December 31 each year.

If your organization does operate on a calendar year tax year, move on to the next section for what to do next. If your organization has a tax year with a different start and end date, your deadline is the fifteenth day of the fifth month following your tax year end date.

If It Was, Complete and File Your Return ASAP
Don’t even think about potential penalties: your mission is to accurately complete your return and file it as soon as you can. Of course, if you’re e-filing the e-Postcard, you don’t need to worry about penalties; there are no immediate monetary penalties for filing Form 990-N late, but if you miss filing it for your organization for 3 years, tax-exempt status is automatically revoked.

Now, for you 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF filers, the IRS penalty for late filing illustrates why it’s important to file as soon as possible after missing the deadline. For tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts less than $1,000,000, the IRS imposes a penalty of $20 per day for each day the return is late. In other words, the penalty for filing a few days late isn’t nearly as steep as it is for filing a few months late.

And Heads Up: You May Still Be In a Perfection Period
Now we’re going to throw out a slightly different late-filing scenario that may apply to your organization. Let’s say you did file your 990 Form a few days before or on the actual deadline, but it was rejected by the IRS for containing errors.

Luckily, even if you end up filing your corrected return after the deadline, your return may still be considered filed on time if you’ve filed within the IRS’s Perfection Period. You see, when you file a return and it’s rejected for errors, you have a Perfection Period of 10 days (5 days for Form 8868) to correct and re-transmit your return. If everything is correctly filed during that Perfection Period and your return is accepted by the IRS, they’ll consider it having been filed correctly on the date you initially filed. So if your form was rejected Friday before the deadline, you’re still within the 10-day Perfection Period and can file without receiving a late-filing penalty.

Whatever the Case, We’re Here For You
Just remember in the hustle and bustle of it all that, if things get a little too hectic, ExpressTaxExempt is here for you! We’ve got tons of information all around our site for tax-exempt organizations, and our support team is always ready to answer any questions you may have about tax-exempt e-filing or your 990 Form. So if you need us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us a live chat or email!

Read More »