Nonprofits get a reprieve

More than 6,500 nonprofit organizations in the Midlands identified by the Internal Revenue Service as not having filed tax returns got a reprieve Monday, but many may no longer exist.

A 2006 law required nonprofit organizations with receipts of less than $25,000, excluding churches, to file tax forms in 2007 for the first time. Organizations that don't file the forms for three years could lose their tax-exempt status.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman extended the deadline from May to Oct. 15 for more than 325,000 organizations, including approximately 2,500 in Nebraska and 4,000 in Iowa. They include charities, labor unions, veterans groups and bowling, gun and other sports clubs.

While many may no longer be operating, Shulman said, they represent the latest information known to the IRS. Organized both alphabetically and by state, the lists can be viewed on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html.

The deadline extension doesn't apply to large charities that file Form 990 or to private foundations that file Form 990-PF.

The extension does apply to nonprofits with $500,000 or less in annual gross receipts and less than $1.25 million in assets that file Form 990-EZ, as well as the smallest nonprofits, with annual receipts of $25,000 or less, that can file an electronic form on the IRS website called a Form 990-N.

“These groups do great work in communities across the United States and are vital to the vibrancy of our nation,” Shulman said in the conference call. “The last thing we want to do here at the IRS is have these groups lose their tax-exempt status because they failed to file a short, simple form.”

Contact the writer:

444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com