One common problem is shared by many non-profit organizations and it has to do with continuity. When organizations are managed at the local level by members or volunteers, and those people responsible for managing the affairs of the organization turn-over from year to year, things can fall through the cracks. In fact, in recent years I’ve seen several instances where organizations lost their non-profit status due to failure to file the 990-N for three consecutive years.

One non-profit that recently came to us to get their status reinstated, turned out they had been operating since the 1960s and had never applied or been approved for non-profit status!

IRS Makes Approved Form 1023-EZ Data Available Online

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that publicly available information from approved applications for tax exemption using Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption, is now available electronically for the first time.

The data on IRS.gov is available in spreadsheet format and includes information for approved applications beginning in mid-2014, when the 1023-EZ form was introduced, through 2016. The information will be updated quarterly, starting with the first quarter of calendar year 2017. The IRS’s Tax Exempt and Government Entities division approved more than 105,000 applications for exemption submitted on the Form 1023-EZ from 2014 through 2016.

Previously, Form 1023-EZ data was only available through a lengthier process that included completing and submitting Form 4506-A to the IRS.

“The new online availability of Form 1023-EZ data is an important step forward and will allow taxpayers to more easily research information on tax-exempt organizations,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The IRS is committed to ongoing improvements in taxpayer service across the agency and we continue to look for innovative ways like this to provide taxpayers the information they need, when they need it.”

Information in the Form 1023-EZ includes basic identifying information such as the name of the organization, Employer Identification Number and the names of officers, directors and trustees. The Form also contains information regarding items such as the organizing documents, state of incorporation, purpose and activities of the organization.

Form 1023-EZ must be filed electronically. The IRS reminds filers that they should not include Social Security numbers on their submissions.

Where’s My Exemption Application?

The IRS receives more than 70,000 applications for tax-exempt status each year. Thanks to new processes and the introduction of Form 1023-EZ, our

inventory of applications is current. We’ve retired the monthly date for the average age of pending applications and provided the following guidelines for when you can expect to hear from us.

If you submitted a Form 1023-EZ application, you can expect to be contacted within 90 days from the date you submitted the application.  After 90 days, if you haven’t been contacted, you can call the toll-free Customer Account Services number, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (local time), at 877-829-5500 to check on the status.

If you submitted an application on Form 1023, 1024, 8940 or by letter request, you can expect to be contacted within 180 days from the date you submitted the application.  After 180 days, if you haven’t been contacted, you can call the toll-free Customer Account Services number, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (local time), at 877-829-5500 to check on the status.

You will need the following information when calling:

• Your name
• Your employer identification number (EIN)
• A proper power of attorney submitted with your exemption application, unless you are an officer or director and legally authorized to represent the applicant.