Knowledgebase

The Reporting of "Other Expenses" in Part II of the Form 990 (Technical Note)

The Digitized Data

The attached brief was written by Tom Pollak and Kendall Golladay in early 2003. The analysis was based on Form 990 data for all 501(c)(3) public charities filing in 2000, and on an analysis of the Part II attachments for a random sample of 106 nonprofits (excluding hospitals and higher education) filing full IRS Forms 990.

Key findings include:

- "Other expenses" accounted for approximately 25% of total reported expenses.

- More than 30% of "other expenses" could be allocated to one of the existing lines on the Form 990.

- More than 1/3 of the amount reported by the sample in "other expenses" were for consulting services.

- Other major categories included occupancy costs (already on the 990), advertising, and insurance.

The SOI Files

Other expenses in the SOI files are systematically allocated to the appropriate functional expense where possible.