What you need to know:

• Tax-exempt organizations with annual receipts of $25,000 or less are required to annually file an electronic notice Form 990-N (e-Postcard).

• If a tax-exempt organization has not filed with the IRS for three consecutive years (2007, 2008 and 2009), then its federal tax exemption will automatically be revoked. Under a provision in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the IRS does not have discretion in this matter.

• You do not need a CPA to help your organization file Form 990-N.  Andrew Burke of the IRS in Washington offers some reassurance to late filers.  “The e-post card is very simple and takes less than ten minutes to fill out. It’s not a tax return, it’s an information return,” he says.

• Form 990-N is due on May 15 but since that date falls on a Saturday this year, the deadline is actually Monday, May 17.
   
• Nonprofits that lose their tax-exempt status and wish to have their exemptions reinstated will be required to re-apply to the IRS, a process that can take several months. Check out the IRS guidelines for reinstatement.

• The October 2008 issue of Arts Law Memo provides an overview of the revised IRS 990. Small organizations should read page 4.”  Download the Arts Law Memo October 2008 issue.

• Story by Arts Law Memo , News for NonProfit Arts Organizations (5/19/2010), St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts www.vlaa.org