NTEE codes explained

The National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities, or NTEE, is a classification system for tax-exempt organizations. The IRS Business Master File carries an NTEE code for many organizations, and the IRS describes it as a code used to classify an exempt organization in terms of its primary exempt activity. A code answers a narrow question: what kind of work does the organization mainly do? It does not say how well the organization does it.

How a code is built

An NTEE code in the IRS file starts with one letter and continues with characters that narrow the field:

• The first letter is the major group. There are 26 of them, A through Z, such as A for arts, culture and humanities, B for education, E for health care and P for human services.
• The first three characters are the core code listed in the IRS record layout. In P20, the group is human services and 20 is "Human Service Organizations". In B25, the group is education and 25 is "Secondary, High School". In E22, the group is health care and 22 is "Hospital, General".
• A fourth character can further define the classification. The IRS record layout says that it is not defined in the table, so this site does not interpret it.

The same organization can do work in several areas. The IRS lists one code, based on the organization's application and its later filings, so the code is a best single summary and not a complete description.

The 26 major groups

The groups follow the fields of activity, with the names the IRS uses. A: Arts, Culture and Humanities. B: Education. C: Environment. D: Animal-Related. E: Health Care. F: Mental Health and Crisis Intervention. G: Voluntary Health Associations and Medical Disciplines. H: Medical Research. I: Crime and Legal-Related. J: Employment. K: Food, Agriculture and Nutrition. L: Housing and Shelter. M: Public Safety, Disaster Preparedness and Relief. N: Recreation and Sports. O: Youth Development. P: Human Services. Q: International, Foreign Affairs and National Security. R: Civil Rights, Social Action and Advocacy. S: Community Improvement and Capacity Building. T: Philanthropy, Voluntarism and Grantmaking Foundations. U: Science and Technology. V: Social Science. W: Public and Societal Benefit. X: Religion-Related. Y: Mutual and Membership Benefit. Z: Unknown.

The NTEE code page lists every group with links to the organizations published here. The largest groups on this site at the moment areHealth Care (2,799), Education (1,844), Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations (1,357), Human Services (838), and Arts, Culture & Humanities (267).

Why the code matters for comparisons

Financial ratios mean little across different kinds of organizations. A hospital carries large program service revenue and large fixed assets. A small advocacy group depends on contributions and holds little property. A food bank reports donated goods. Comparing a hospital with a food bank on revenue or reserves says more about the difference in activity than about either organization.

For that reason the organization pages here compare an organization only with others in the same NTEE major group and the same state. Where the state has fewer than 20 comparable organizations, the comparison uses the same group nationwide, and the page states that it does. Among the12,000 organizations published so far, the code is the first field used to pick the "similar organizations" list at the bottom of each page.

Limits of the code

• Missing codes. Many organizations have no NTEE code in the IRS file, especially older or smaller ones. Those organizations show no comparison block.
• Broad groups. Group P covers everything from a homeless shelter to a youth mentoring program to a large multi-service agency. Size still matters even inside one group.
• Changing classifications. The IRS can update a code when it reviews a filing. The code on this site is the one in the most recent Business Master File we downloaded.
• Religious organizations. Group X covers religion-related organizations, but many congregations are not required to file returns and are absent from the financial data.

Using codes in a search

To find organizations of one kind, start with a major group page, then narrow by state. The URL pattern is /ntee/ followed by the group, and the state comes next. From an organization page, the program area row in the IRS status block links to both the national group and the state list. For grantmaking, group T is the natural starting point, although private foundations of every kind appear under other codes too. The largest grantmakers list ranks private foundations by grants paid regardless of their code.

This site reproduces the NTEE codes as listed in the IRS Business Master File and does not assign or change them.