Form 990 & the Taxation of Nonprofits

Overview: 

The Form 990 is a window into the intimate operations of an exempt organization. With a 12-page core form, 16 schedules and hundreds of pages of instructions, preparation of the Form is time intensive and complex. If you serve exempt organizations or work for an exempt organization, you'll want to have a solid working knowledge of the core Form and the schedules. This targeted seminar will allow you to:

  • Correctly complete the core Form 990
  • Understand the more complex elements of the Form
  • Learn the basic elements of the most often used Form 990 schedules
  • Ensure that your exempt organization is satisfying all required governance/insider compensation rules
  • Understand how to mitigate risk in preparing the Form 990 by identifying certain reporting and analytical red flags
  • Understand the process of creating a new public charity, including the tax exemption process from a federal perspective
  • Learn about all the resources available to exempt organizations

 

Objective: 

To give CPAs, attorneys, consultants and nonprofit finance representatives an in-depth look at tax-exempt filing requirements and, most specifically, the Form 990. You will learn about the annual compliance requirements via an in-depth discussion of the Form 990 and its schedules, including hands-on experience completing the Form. You will learn how to protect the organization’s exempt status from automatic revocation and other potential challenges to exemption, as well as the proper protocol if exemption is revoked.

Emphasis: 
  • Forming a public charity and filing the Tax Exemption Application (Forms 1023 or 1023-EZ)
  • Understanding exemption revocation and the reinstatement procedures
  • State forms and filing obligations
  • Annual compliance requirements of the Form 990, including accounting for special event fundraising and gaming, determining reasonable compensation, allocating functional expenses and governance best practices
  • Summary and brief description of the Form 990 Schedules and the most pertinent nuances of the Schedules
  • Lobbying and political activity reporting for various types of exempt entities, and understanding the lobbying safe harbor
  • Unrelated business income and Form 990-T
  • Miscellaneous information and tax forms
    – Excise taxes and Form 4720
    – Payroll and gaming forms
    – Use of Forms 990-EZ and 990-N
  • Disqualified persons
  • Intermediate sanctions
     
Bottom
Prerequisite: 

None.

Preparation: 

No advance preparation required.

Level of Knowledge: 

Overview.

CPE Credit: 
8.00
NASBA Field of Study: 
Taxes