FAQs - Form 990-N

Organizations must adhere to the following criteria:

• The organization's gross receipts must be below or equal to $50,000 annually to be eligible for Form 990-N filing.
• As the name suggests, Form 990-N is an e-Postcard, and it must be filed electronically through the IRS website or an authorized tax software provider. Paper filings are not accepted.

The IRS mentions that gross receipts are considered to be normally $50,000 or less if the organization meets the following criteria:

• If the organization has been in existence for 1 year or less, it must have received $75,000 or less (including both actual receipts and donors' pledged amounts) during its first tax year.
• If the organization has been in existence between 1 and 3 years, it must have averaged $60,000 or less in gross receipts during each of its first two tax years.
• If the organization is at least 3 years old, it must have averaged $50,000 or less in gross receipts for the immediately preceding 3 tax years, including the year for which the current calculations are being made.

Nonprofit organizations that have gross receipts of $50,000 or less can file Form 990-N (e-Postcard) with the IRS.

There is no penalty for late filing of Form 990-N (e-Postcard). However, if you don't file the form for three consecutive years, the IRS will revoke your organization's tax-exempt status.

Form 990-N needs to be filed by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of the tax year.

Yes, you can file the previous year’s IRS Form 990-N (e-Postcard) return with TaxZerone. TaxZerone supports e-filing for multiple tax years, helping you efficiently manage both past and current returns.

Yes. You can file Form 990 or 990-EZ instead of Form 990-N (e-Postcard). However, you will need to complete the form and applicable schedules manually. On the other hand, if your organization's gross receipts are less than $50,000, we recommend that you file Form 990-N (e-Postcard) to save time.

Below are the organizations that cannot file Form 990-N (the e-Postcard):

• Organizations with gross receipts over $50,000
• Private foundations
• Section 509(a)(3) supporting organizations
• Section 527 (political) 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 501(d) – Religious and apostolic organizations
• Section 529 – Qualified tuition programs
• Section 4947(a)(2) – Split-interest trusts
• Section 4947(a)(1) – Charitable trusts treated as private foundations