New Year, New IRS Rules

With everything you had going on with your nonprofit during the back-to-back holiday seasons – not to mention other personal responsibilities – you might not have kept up with changes the IRS has implemented for nonprofits filing annual 990 forms.

No worries – we got you covered with the current filing requirements for tax-exempt organizations. We all know that filing late or submitting incomplete forms lead to thousands of dollars in IRS penalty fees – no group wants that. Here’s what you need to know about filing your annual tax return in 2017.

IRS Form 8868 Tax Extension
The 8868 extension form for exempt organizations has gotten reduced to a single form that grants an automatic 6-month extension of time. You can submit an extension request for the same applicable returns as before, which also means IRS Form 990-N (e-Postcard) is not eligible for an extension.

With no Part II of the 8868 form, there’s no longer a need for you to provide a reasonable explanation to gain the full 6-month extension. However, you are still limited to one extension per tax return for the filing year.

IRS Deadlines for Exempt Organizations
The changes with the 8868 extension form also bring slight changes to filing due dates. The filing deadlines aren’t necessarily different, but you should be aware that you only have two chances per year to file instead of the regular three.

For organizations operating on a calendar tax year, your filing due date is May 15. If you choose to file an extension, your extended deadline is Nov 15. There is no August deadline as there was with prior years, and if you fail to file before the November deadline, you’ll incur substantial penalties.

The filing due date for organizations running on a fiscal tax year is always the 15th day of the 5th month after your accounting period ends. If you opt for an extension at that time, you have until the end of six months to file your return – no other opportunities without late fees are available after the extended deadline.

E-file your 8868 extension form and 990 tax return quicker and easier than paper filing with ExpressTaxExempt.com. Our cloud-based application ensures that you submit a complete form, and if the IRS rejects your return, we identify the errors so you can correct them and re-transmit at no additional cost.

Contact our U.S. – based customer support team in Rock Hill, South Carolina for any questions or assistance with transmitting your return or extension form with the IRS. You can reach us at 704.839.2321, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or email us, day or night, with [email protected].