How to look up a nonprofit's Form 990

Form 990 is the annual information return that most U.S. tax-exempt organizations file with the Internal Revenue Service. It reports revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities, and describes what the organization did during its fiscal year. The return is public. This guide shows where to find it, which version of the form to expect, and how to locate the numbers you are after.

Step 1: Find the organization's EIN

Every exempt organization has a nine-digit Employer Identification Number, written 12-3456789. The EIN is the reliable key: names change, and several organizations can share a similar name. You can find the EIN on the organization's own website, on its donation receipts, or by searching by name on this site. The search page matches names and EINs, with or without the hyphen. Currently 2,964 organizations across 45states have a page here.

Step 2: Know which form variant to expect

The filing requirement depends on size and type:

• Form 990 – the full return, for organizations with gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more.
• Form 990-EZ – a shorter return for organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000.
• Form 990-N (e-Postcard) – a short electronic notice for organizations whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. It contains no financial statements.
• Form 990-PF – the return for private foundations, regardless of size.
• Form 990-T – reports unrelated business income and is filed in addition to the main return.

Churches and certain other religious organizations, and some government-affiliated entities, are not required to file. An organization that does not appear in the filings is not necessarily delinquent; it may be outside the requirement.

Step 3: Search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search

The IRS runs the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) at apps.irs.gov/app/eos. Enter the EIN or name. The results list each return the IRS has on file, with the tax period end date and a link to the PDF image. For returns filed electronically, the IRS also publishes the underlying data as XML, and it posts monthly bulk files on its Form 990 series downloads page. Those bulk files are one of the sources behind this site (see the methodology page).

Step 4: Read the right parts of the return

A full Form 990 runs to a dozen pages plus schedules. These parts carry most of the financial content:

• Part I, Summary – prior-year and current-year revenue, expenses, and net assets side by side.
• Part III – the organization's own description of its mission and largest programs.
• Part VIII, Revenue – contributions and grants, program service revenue, investment income and other revenue.
• Part IX, Functional expenses – expenses split into program services, management and general, and fundraising.
• Part X, Balance sheet – assets, liabilities and net assets at the start and end of the year.
• Schedule A – explains why the organization is a public charity rather than a private foundation.

The Form 990-EZ has a smaller set of the same items. The Form 990-PF reports investment income, the fair market value of assets, and grants paid.

Tax year, fiscal year and filing year

Returns are identified by the tax period, not by the year they were filed. An organization with a fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 has a tax period of 2023-06, and the return is normally due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the year ends, in this case November 15, 2023, with a six-month extension available. Electronic filings then take weeks to months to appear in the IRS data. That is why the most recent year on a page can be a year or more behind the calendar. Each page on this site labels its figures with the fiscal year, for example FY2023, and shows the date the IRS files were downloaded (2026-09-20).

Common problems

• The name changed. Search by EIN. The IRS record keeps the EIN across name changes.
• Several returns for one year. An amended return replaces the original. The IRS bulk data may contain both; this site keeps the latest.
• A parent files for its chapters. Group returns cover affiliated chapters, so a local chapter may have no separate return.
• Numbers that do not add up. Organizations report as they understand the form. The IRS may process the return without changing the figures. Treat the numbers as reported.

What this site adds

A single return shows one year and its immediate predecessor. The organization pages here line up the returns year by year from 2012 where the IRS data allow, calculate ratios such as the program expense ratio and months of reserves, and compare an organization with others in the same NTEE program area and state. The comparisons are percentile positions, not judgments; theguide to reading nonprofit financials explains what each number does and does not tell you.

Nonprofit Figures is not a charity rating and not tax advice. To confirm current tax-exempt status before a gift or a grant, check the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search directly.