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Form 990 is the annual information return that most US tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS. For a grant seeker it doubles as a public record of how a funder actually behaves: who runs it, what it spends and whom it has paid. This guide covers who must file, which form applies, what happens when a return is missing, and where to look inside a foundation’s return. Form details below are from the IRS pages and the 2025 form PDFs, checked 2026-11-07.
What is Form 990 used for?
The IRS describes Form 990 as the return that tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts and section 527 organizations file to give the IRS the information required by section 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code. The current revision is the 2025 Form 990 with the 2025 instructions (IRS, About Form 990).
The 2025 form carries an “Open to Public Inspection” legend and a warning not to enter Social Security numbers because the form may be made public. That openness is what makes it useful for funder research.
Who must file an IRS Form 990?
Organizations exempt under section 501(a) must file an annual information return unless an exception applies. The IRS lists the exceptions on its who must file page. Which return you file depends on size and type (IRS, Form 990 series):
| Form | Who files it, per the IRS |
|---|---|
| Form 990-N (e-Postcard) | Organizations whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less |
| Form 990-EZ | Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 |
| Form 990 | Gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more |
| Form 990-PF | Private foundations, regardless of financial status |
Section 509(a)(3) supporting organizations generally file Form 990 or 990-EZ, and a 501(c)(3) private foundation files Form 990-PF. Form 990-PF is the “Return of Private Foundation or Section 4947(a)(1) Trust Treated as a Private Foundation” (IRS, About Form 990-PF).
Do nonprofits have to file Form 990 every year?
Yes. Exempt organizations file an annual return, due by the due date including any extensions. Organizations that qualify for the e-Postcard file the 990-N each year instead of the full return, so a missing year is itself a signal worth noting when you assess a funder or a partner.
What happens if a nonprofit does not file Form 990?
According to the IRS page on penalties for failure to file, a return that is late, incomplete or incorrect draws a daily penalty, larger organizations pay a higher daily rate, and a cap applies. The dollar figures are indexed for inflation, so use the IRS page for current amounts. An organization that misses a deadline to correct a return can face a separate per-day penalty on responsible individuals. An organization that fails to file for three consecutive years automatically loses its federal tax exemption.
How to read a Form 990 as a grant seeker
Use the form’s own part names to jump to what matters. These pointers come from the 2025 Form 990 and Form 990-PF PDFs.
Public charities and other Form 990 filers
- Part I, Summary: mission, number of voting and independent board members, employees, volunteers, and prior-year versus current-year revenue, including contributions and grants, and “Grants and similar amounts paid.”
- Part III, Statement of Program Service Accomplishments: the organization’s own description of its mission and programs.
- Part IV, Checklist of Required Schedules: shows which schedules the filer completed. Grants over $5,000 to domestic organizations or governments route to Schedule I, Parts I and II; grants over $5,000 to domestic individuals route to Schedule I, Parts I and III. The checklist also routes to Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors).
- Part VII, Compensation of Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, Highest Compensated Employees, and Independent Contractors: who leads the organization.
- Parts VIII and IX: the Statement of Revenue and the Statement of Functional Expenses.
- Schedule O: supplemental explanations. Every Form 990 filer completes it.
Private foundations on Form 990-PF
- Part VII: lists officers, directors, trustees and foundation managers with their compensation.
- Part XIV, line 2: a box the foundation checks if it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Otherwise it gives the person to whom applications should be addressed, the form and materials for applications, any submission deadlines, and restrictions such as geography, charitable fields or kinds of institutions.
- Part XIV, line 3: grants and contributions paid during the year and approved for future payment, with each recipient’s name and address, the recipient’s foundation status and the purpose of the grant.
A practical use: read line 3 across several years to see which kinds of recipients and purposes a foundation has actually funded, then read line 2 to see whether it takes unsolicited requests at all. This is an editorial reading of the form, not an IRS rule. For the broader funder landscape see how private foundation funding differs from federal grants and foundation grants for early-career investigators.
Where to find a Form 990
Searching by organization name is the usual starting point. CASRAI’s guide to ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer explains one free way to search filings by organization name for funder research. The IRS forms and instructions themselves are on the IRS pages cited here, including About Form 990.
Strengths and limits for funder research
- It reports what happened in a past tax year, not a foundation’s current priorities. Use it alongside the funder’s own guidelines.
- Smaller filers give less detail, because the 990-N and 990-EZ ask for less than the full Form 990.
- Part XIV line 3 gives a recipient’s name and the purpose of the grant, not a full description of the funded project.
FAQ
What is a Form 990 used for?
Annual reporting to the IRS under section 6033 by tax-exempt organizations, with a public-inspection version that donors, researchers and grant seekers can read.
Who is required to file an IRS Form 990?
Section 501(a) organizations, subject to the IRS exceptions. The form you file (990-N, 990-EZ, 990 or 990-PF) depends on gross receipts, assets and whether you are a private foundation.
Do nonprofits have to file Form 990 every year?
Yes, an annual return is required, even if only the e-Postcard for the smallest organizations.
What happens if a nonprofit does not file Form 990?
Daily penalties apply, and three consecutive years without filing means automatic loss of federal tax-exempt status.
Sources
- IRS, About Form 990, checked 2026-11-07.
- IRS, About Form 990-PF, checked 2026-11-07.
- IRS, Annual exempt organization return: who must file, checked 2026-11-07.
- IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, checked 2026-11-07.
- IRS, Penalties for failure to file, checked 2026-11-07.
- IRS, 2025 Form 990 and 2025 Form 990-PF (PDFs on irs.gov), checked 2026-11-07.
