The Nonprofit FAQ

What About Posting 990s and Other IRS Forms Online?

Eric Mercer wrote in NONPROFIT on January 16, 1999: As all nonprofit organization administrators should know, federal law and regulations requires that most tax-exempt NPOs must disclose to the public on request their IRS annual informational returns (e.g. Form 990, Schedule A, and associated documents) and their application for tax-exempt status (e.g. Form 1023 or 1024). Those laws were significantly expanded by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights 2, and the IRS is expected to release the associated final regulations within the next two weeks. These new regulations will expand the current federal disclosure requirements for NPOs, additionally requiring most tax-exempt organizations to provide copies of their IRS materials to anyone who requests one either in person at the NPO's office or by mail. An exception will be made for NPOs that publish these materials online. In order to help nonprofit organizations learn more about these new regulations and otherwise provide them with support in fulfilling them, the "U.S. Nonprofit Organization's Public Disclosure Regulations Site" was established (recently renamed from the "Form 990 and 1023 Public Access Site," since not all NPOs use those forms). This site is not operated by the IRS or any government agency, but is instead a support resource for NPOs who wish to learn more about the federal law and regulations. At this site, you will find links to the federal laws and proposed regulations, articles about the regulations and what they mean to NPOs and the public, and links to IRS materials that some forward-looking organizations have already published online in fulfillment of these impending regulations. The site is a personal project and not associated with any commercial service, and all the materials there are free. U.S. Nonprofit Organization's Public Disclosure Regulations Site http://www.muridae.com/publicaccess/ Posted 1/16/99 -- PB