Form 990 Deadline
For tax-exempt organizations whose fiscal years end on December 31, Form 990 returns will be due on Monday, May 15, 2017. For those that use other year-ends, they are due on the 15th day of the fifth month after their years end.
According to an IRS website, small tax-exempt organizations—those with annual receipts of $50,000 or less—can file an electronic notice Form 990-N (e-Postcard). Tax-exempts with annual receipts above $50,000 must file a Form 990 or 990-EZ, depending on their annual receipts. Private foundations file Form 990-PF.
Don’t Panic
If you need additional time to file a Form 990, you may obtain an extension. Exempts can generally request an extension by filing Form 8868 (Application for Extension of Time To File an Exempt Organization Return) by the original due date. Absent a request for extension, there is no grace period from filing by the original due date.
New in 2017
In January 2017, the IRS revised Form 8868 so that an automatic 6-month extension will be granted if you properly complete and file it, and pay any balance due on line 3c by the due date for the return for which the extension applies. Prior to this revision, properly filing Form 8868 would result in a 3-month extension, and filing it again three months later would result in a second 3-month extension. Now an organization filing Form 8868 will be granted one 6-month extension per return, and no further extensions will be granted.
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