IRS Issues Instructions for New Form 990

According to their newest press release, the IRS has “released the revised instructions that tax-exempt organizations will need to fill out the redesigned Form 990, which must be filed starting with tax year 2008 (filed in 2009).

As you may know, most charities must file an annual informational return with the IRS to maintain their tax-exempt status. Information reported on Form 990 is made available to the public. Form 990 had previously not seen major revisions since 1979. The revised instructions and redesigned Form 990 can be found on the IRS website.

“These instructions are the final step in a tremendous effort to bring the Form 990 up to date and to reflect the diversity and complexity of the tax-exempt community,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “The revised form will give the IRS and the public a much better view of how exempt organizations operate. The improved transparency provided by these changes will also benefit the tax-exempt community.”

Apparently, input from the tax-exempt community played a major role in how the new instructions were designed.

“We were gratified by the amount of help the IRS received from the tax-exempt community through public comments to redesign the Form 990 and revise its instructions,” said Steven T. Miller, Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division. “This input helped us achieve our goal of improving compliance while minimizing burden. We will now begin working with the tax-exempt sector to help organizations complete the form and prepare for the 2009 filing season.”