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Internal Revenue Service
Tax Exempt and
Government Entities
Exempt Organizations
Compliance Guide for
501(c)(3) Public Charities
Covers:
Activities that may jeopardize
a charity's exempt status
Federal information returns, tax
returns or notices that must be filed
Recordkeeping—why, what, when
Governance considerations
Changes to be reported to the IRS
Required public disclosures
Resources for public charities
501
What activities may jeopardize
a public charity’s tax-exempt status? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Private Benefit and Inurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Political Campaign Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Legislative Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What federal information returns,
tax returns and notices must be filed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Form 990, Return Of Organization Exempt From Income
Tax, Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return Of Organization
Exempt From Income Tax and Form 990-N, Electronic
Notice (e-Postcard) for Tax-Exempt Organizations not
Required To File Form 990 or 990-EZ
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Form 990 and Form 990-EZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard)
for Tax-Exempt Organizations not Required
To File Form 990 or 990-EZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business
Income Tax Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Employment Tax Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Why keep records? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .