School Foundations and the IRS
Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) instituted a number of new online educational services for exempt organizations. Some of these services directly apply to concerns that school foundations may have.
First, the IRS has launched a new Web-based version of its popular Exempt Organizations Workshop covering tax compliance issues confronted by small and mid-sized tax exempt organizations. The free online workshop, Stay Exempt – Tax Basics for 501(c)(3)s, consists of five interactive modules on tax compliance topics for exempt organizations:
- Tax-Exempt Status – How can you keep your 501(c)(3) exempt?
- Unrelated Business Income – Does your organization generate taxable income?
- Employment Issues – How should you treat your workers for tax purposes?
- Form 990 – Would you like to file an error-free return?
- Required Disclosures – To whom do you have to show your records?
Users can access this new training program at stayexempt.org. Users can complete the modules in any order and repeat them as many times as they like. The online training Web site does not require registration and its visitors will remain anonymous.
Second, there are some changes to the requirements for the tax-exempt organization tax form 990 and 990-EZ. As you know if your organization received $25,000 or more from any and all sources combined, you will need to file IRS Form 990-EZ. If you receive $150,000 or more you must file IRS Form 990. To avoid penalty, these forms must be filed within 90 days of the close of your fiscal year. The changes to this year's form, instructions and helpful hints for filing can be found at 2006 Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Schedule A.