Those tax-exempt organizations which file their 990 series forms on paper will soon receive letters from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informing them that they must now file their forms electronically.
Last month, the IRS stated in a news release that the Taxpayer First Act, enacted on July 1, 2019, requires tax exempt organizations to electronically file information returns and related forms. The following forms are included in those that must be filed electronically: Form 990, Form 990-PF, Form 8872, and Form 1065. Forms 8872 reporting information for periods starting on or after Jan. 2020 must be filed electronically. For Forms 990 and 990-PF, those reporting information for tax years ending July 31, 2020 and later must be filed electronically. For calendar year taxpayers 2020 will be the first year of e-file year.
The law provides relief for small organizations by permitting a postponement for Form 990-EZ. For tax years ending on and before July 31, 2020, the IRS will accept either paper or electronic filing of Form 990-EZ. For tax years ending August 31, 2020 and later, Forms 990-EZ must be filed electronically. In addition, the IRS has not yet finished converting Form 990-T relating to UBIT and, until the conversion is complete, tax-exempt organizations filing Forms 990-T can continue to do so via paper.