What automatic revocation of tax-exempt status means, and reinstatement

Federal law ends the tax exemption of an organization that does not file its required annual return or notice for three years in a row. The loss happens by operation of law. The IRS sends a letter informing the organization, but the law does not provide for an appeal. Section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code sets the rule. Churches and certain church-related organizations are not required to file, so the rule does not reach them.

When revocation happens

An organization that is required to file Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N or 990-PF and does not file for three consecutive years loses its exempt status. The revocation is effective on the original due date of the third missed return or notice. For a calendar-year organization that due date is May 15 of the year after the third missing year, because the return is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the tax year ends.

The 2020 filing deadlines were extended because of the COVID-19 emergency. For organizations that could use the relief, revocation dates between April 1 and July 14, 2020 in the IRS list are system artifacts; the IRS states that the correct revocation date for them is July 15, 2020. Pages here show July 15, 2020 for those entries.

Where the IRS lists revoked organizations

The IRS publishes the Automatic Revocation of Exemption List as a monthly data file. Each entry carries the EIN, the organization name, its type, the last known address, the revocation date, the date the organization was added to the list and, if applicable, the reinstatement date. An organization whose status is reinstated stays on the list, because the list is the official record of the lapse. The Tax Exempt Organization Search shows the same status on an organization's record. This site downloads the list monthly, most recently on 2026-11-04, and uses only the EIN, the revocation date and the reinstatement date, matched to the name and location in the Business Master File.

On an organization page, a revocation is shown in the IRS status block with its date. If the IRS lists a reinstatement date, that appears next to it. The current status in the page header comes from the most recent Business Master File and is the better indicator of today's situation. The revocation list keeps historical entries, so an organization can appear on it long after regaining its status.

What a revocation does

• The organization is no longer exempt from federal income tax. It may have to file a corporate income tax return (Form 1120) or, for a trust, Form 1041, and pay tax.
• It is not eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions and is removed from Publication 78, the list of organizations eligible to receive them.
• Donors can deduct contributions made before the organization's name appears on the revocation list.
• State and local law may also affect an organization that loses its federal exemption, for example property or sales tax exemptions.

A revocation is separate from a state-level administrative dissolution, and neither implies the other. A revoked organization can continue to operate, and a good number of them do.

How reinstatement works

The law prohibits the IRS from undoing a proper automatic revocation, so an organization must apply to be reinstated, even if it was not originally required to apply for exemption. Revenue Procedure 2014-11 describes four procedures, and the IRS explains them on its reinstatement page:

1. Streamlined retroactive reinstatement – for organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-EZ or 990-N for the three years that caused the revocation and that have not been revoked before. The application (Form 1023, 1023-EZ, 1024 or 1024-A, with the user fee) is due no later than 15 months after the later of the date of the revocation letter or the date the organization appeared on the list. Reinstatement is retroactive to the revocation date.
2. Retroactive reinstatement within 15 months – for organizations that cannot use the streamlined process, for example because they had to file Form 990 or 990-PF. The application includes a reasonable-cause statement for at least one of the three missed years and a statement that all required returns have since been filed. The organization files the three missed returns on paper.
3. Retroactive reinstatement after 15 months – the same requirements, except that the reasonable-cause statement must cover all three missed years.
4. Post-mark date reinstatement – an ordinary application with the user fee. The exemption is effective from the post-mark date of the application.

If the IRS accepts the application, it issues a new determination letter, and the organization returns to the next update of the Publication 78 data. The organization stays on the revocation list, now with a reinstatement date. A reinstated organization can be revoked again if it misses three consecutive years starting with the year of reinstatement, and it cannot then use the streamlined process.

What to check before a gift or grant

1. Confirm current status in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search on the day you give.
2. Look at the revocation and reinstatement dates on the organization page here. Several entries with reinstatements mean the organization has filed late in the past.
3. Check the filing history in the revenue table: gaps in years or a very late last filing signal a lapse.
4. Ask the organization for its determination letter, and for the reinstatement letter if there was a revocation.

A revocation in the past does not say anything about the organization's programs. It says that a filing did not arrive in three consecutive years, which small volunteer-run organizations sometimes miss. See how to check if an organization is a 501(c)(3) for the verification steps and the methodology page for how the revocation data are handled here.

This guide is general information and is not tax or legal advice. A revocation date shown on a page reflects the IRS list on the download date; the IRS record is authoritative.