The Center for Leadership & Involvement (CfLI) has published this guide on Taxes and Tax Exemption that will help you navigate IRS reporting requirements. 

Does your organization need to file taxes annually? 

• Has your organization taken in any funding (dues, donations, proceeds from fundraisers, etc.) during the past fiscal/calendar year? 

• Does your organization have an open account at a financial institution/bank? 

If the answer to EITHER of these questions is yes, then you should file the appropriate 990-Series Form with the IRS based on the organization’s annual revenue.

It's a good idea to have the outgoing and incoming officers submit taxes together after elections have taken place. We recommend that the treasurer(s) prepare taxes, and review them with the president(s) or whichever officer is the second signer on your bank account.

An added bonus: Waiting until after elections to file taxes means that you can use your 990-Series Form to report new contact information to the IRS instead of filing form 8822-B.  If the incoming officers will not be installed with enough time to complete the 990-Series Form with the outgoing officers, you must still complete 8822-B as part of your transition checklist. 

What if my organization is a chapter of a larger organization? 

If your student organization is a subordinate organization in an exempt group, you are not required to file Form 990-N if your organization is included on the parent's group return. The group return satisfies your reporting requirement. However, if you do not file as part of a group return and your annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, you must file Form 990-N unless you file Form 990 or 990-EZ. Contact your parent organization if you are not sure if you are included in the group return and do not need to file Form 990-N. (Source: Annual Electronic Notice for Small Organizations)  

Which 990-Series Form Should we file? 

To ensure you are filing the correct 990-Series Form based on your revenue, check the IRS Form 990 Filing Thresholds page. Most student organizations have gross receipts under $50,000 and will file the 990-N (e-postcard) online.

A common issue student organizations experience in the 990-N form is an error message stating the organization’s EIN cannot be found. Per the IRS: If you are certain that your EIN was entered correctly, the IRS may not have your organization listed as a tax-exempt organization. This may be because your application for tax exemption is pending or you did not apply for tax exemption. If this is the case, an officer of the organization should contact Customer Account Services at 877-829-5500 (a toll-free number) and ask that the organization be set up to allow filing of Form 990-N, the e-Postcard.

Your organization will need to allow six weeks for the IRS to update its records before you can file your Form 990-N. Your organization should not be concerned if this delay causes your filing to occur after your Form 990-N is due because there are no late filing or delinquency penalties associated with Form 990-N. Note, however that an organization's tax-exempt status is automatically revoked if it does not satisfy its annual filing requirement for three consecutive years. (Source: Annual Electronic Notice for Small Organizations)

When should I file?

Organizations should file the appropriate 990-Series Form annually by the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of your organization’s tax period/fiscal year. Unless you have established a specific fiscal year, your fiscal/tax year is January 1 - December 31, and the deadline for filing is May 15. 

The IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/) is the best location to find current tax information. Information specific to the 990 series forms can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/required-filing-form-990-series. You may also review CfLI’s tax guide for a condensed explanation of your tax filing requirements and a list of information needed to prepare your forms. 

Finally, if you have not already done so, the Law School strongly recommends that your organization create a filing system for your tax records. Make sure that incoming officers can access and understand the filing system so they are prepared to file taxes in future years. 

For questions or assistance with record keeping, please contact the Student Life & Engagement Manager (carlie.wiseley@wisc.edu).