Annual electronic notice for small exempt organizations

File Form 990-N online through the IRS e-Postcard system. It takes ten minutes, there is no extension and no penalty; three consecutive missed years revoke the exemption automatically.

When: By the 15th day of the 5th month after the fiscal year ends (May 15 for a calendar year).
Agency: IRS
Form: Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
Applies to: Nonprofits in the United States, with gross receipts under $50,000, other than private foundations.
If missed: No monetary penalty, but an organization that misses three years in a row loses its exemption automatically
Source: www.irs.gov, read October 22, 2026

Jay explains

An exempt organization whose gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less files the e-Postcard instead of a full return, by the 15th day of the fifth month after its fiscal year ends, May 15 for a calendar year. It asks for eight pieces of information and nothing financial. The danger is not the penalty, there is none, but automatic revocation: three consecutive missed filings and the exemption is gone, with reinstatement costing a new application and a fee.

Next dates

For a calendar year company. Weekend and holiday dates are moved to the next business day, as the IRS does.

May 17, 2027
May 15, 2028

Also in the federal calendar

Federal corporate income tax return Federal S corporation return Federal partnership return Business income on the owner's personal return Nonresident owner's US return, if one is owed Short annual return of an exempt organization Annual return of an exempt organization Annual return of a private foundation Exempt organization business income tax return Written acknowledgments to donors Corporate estimated tax payment Owners' estimated tax payments

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State of formation

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Fiscal year ends in

Date of formation

Needed for states that key filings to the anniversary of formation.

Annual revenue

Some taxes start at a revenue threshold.

We pay independent contractors We offer a retirement plan (401(k), SIMPLE, SEP)

Outside the United States We hold a bank or financial account outside the US A person or company outside the US owns 25% or more of it We own 10% or more of a company outside the US We pay people or companies outside the US

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