Within the last couple of years, the IRS has made it much simpler for organizations to apply for Federal tax-exempt status by filing a Form 1023-EZ.  To qualify for this short-form application, the organization must not have annual gross receipts in excess of $50,000 in any of the past three years or projected in any of the next three years, and has total fair market value of their assets under $250,000.  There is a complete Form 1023-EZ eligibility worksheet that the organization must fill out to make sure that they can file the short form (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023ez.pdf, pages 11-16). The application must be done on-line at https://pay.gov/public/registration.   Also, effective July 1, 2016, the user fee for filing Form 1023-EZ has decreased from $400 to $275.

As with the filing of the long Form 1023, if you file Form 1023-EZ within 27 months after formation, and the IRS approves you as a tax-exempt organization, the IRS will consider you to be a tax-exempt organization from the date of formation.  For more information and to speak with one of our experts, please contact us.