Form 990-PF is an annual information return that must be filed by:

See the chart showing which parts of the form must be completed, later.

These forms are used to report social security, Medicare, and income taxes withheld by an employer and social security and Medicare taxes paid by an employer.

If income, social security, and Medicare taxes that must be withheld are not withheld or are not paid to the IRS, a trust fund recovery penalty may apply. The penalty is 100% of such unpaid taxes.

This penalty may be imposed on all persons (including volunteers, see below) whom the IRS determines to be responsible for collecting, accounting for, and paying over these taxes, and who willfully did not do so.

This penalty does not apply to any volunteer, unpaid member of any board of trustees or directors of a tax-exempt organization, if this member:

However, this exception does not apply if it results in no person being liable for the penalty.

The following publications may be helpful in preparing Form 990-PF or for other tax compliance purposes:

 
 
Publications and forms are available at no charge on the IRS website at www.irs.gov/orderforms.

Some states and local government units will accept a copy of Form 990-PF and required attachments instead of all or part of their own financial report forms.

If the organization plans to use Form 990-PF to satisfy state or local filing requirements, such as those from state charitable solicitation acts, note the following.

The foundation managers must furnish a copy of Form 990-PF and Form 4720 (if applicable) to the Attorney General of:

A copy of the annual return must be sent to the Attorney General at the same time the annual return is filed with the IRS.

File the 2015 return for the calendar year 2015 or fiscal year beginning in 2015. If the return is for a fiscal year, fill in the beginning and ending dates of the tax year in the spaces at the top of the return.

The return must be filed on the basis of the established annual accounting period of the organization. If the organization has no established accounting period, the return should be on the calendar-year basis.

For an initial or final return or for a short taxable year resulting from a change in accounting period, the 2015 form may also be used as the return for a short period (less than 12 months) ending November 30, 2015, or earlier. The 2015 form may also be used for a short period beginning after November 30, 2015, and ending before December 31, 2016 (not on or after December 31, 2016). When doing so, provide the information for designated years listed on the return, other than the tax year being reported, as if they were updated on the 2016 form. For example, provide the information in Part V, line 1, for the tax years 2011-2015, rather than for the printed years, 2010-2014.

In general, to change its accounting period, the organization must file Form 990-PF by the due date for the short period resulting from the change. At the top of this short period return, write “Change of Accounting Period.”

If the organization has previously changed its accounting period within the 10-calendar-year period that includes the beginning of the short period resulting from the current change in accounting period, and it had a Form 990-PF filing requirement at any time during that 10-year period, it must also file Form 1128, Application for Change in Accounting Method, with the short-period return. See Rev. Proc. 85-58, 1985-2 C.B. 740 , 1985-18 IRB 5.

Generally, you should report the financial information requested on the basis of the accounting method the foundation regularly uses to keep its books and records.

 
This return must be filed by the 15th day of the 5th month following the close of the foundation's accounting period. If the regular due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file by the next business day. If the return is filed late, see General Instruction M.

In case of a complete liquidation, dissolution, or termination, file the return by the 15th day of the 5th month following complete liquidation, dissolution, or termination.

To file the return, mail or deliver it to:

If the organization's principal business, office or agency is located in a foreign country or U.S. possession, mail or deliver the return to: 

Generally, a private foundation may file its Form 990-PF by mail, by private delivery, or electronically. However, if the foundation files at least 250 returns during the calendar year, it must file Form 990-PF electronically. If the foundation must file a return electronically but does not, the organization is considered to have not filed its return. See Regulations section 301.6033-4 for more information. For additional information on the electronic filing requirement, visit www.irs.gov/efile.

A foundation uses Form 8868 to request an extension of time to file its return.

An automatic 3-month extension will be granted if you properly complete this form, file it, and pay any balance due by the due date for Form 990-PF.

If more time is needed, Form 8868 is also used to request an additional extension of up to 3 months. However, these extensions are not automatically granted. To obtain this additional extension of time to file, you must show reasonable cause for the additional time requested.

To change the organization's return for any year, file an amended return, including attachments, with the correct information. The amended return must provide all the information required by the form and instructions, not just the new or corrected information. Check “Amended Return” in Item G at the top of page 1. See the instructions for Part VI, line 9, later.

If the organization files an amended return to claim a refund of tax paid under section 4940 or 4948, it must file the amended return within 3 years after the date the original return was filed, or within 2 years from the date the tax was paid, whichever date is later.

To avoid filing an incomplete return or having to respond to requests for missing information, see General Instruction B, earlier.

There is a penalty for not paying tax when due (section 6651). The penalty generally is ½ of 1% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid, not to exceed 25% of the unpaid tax. If there was reasonable cause for not paying the tax on time, the penalty can be waived. However, interest is charged on any tax not paid on time, at the rate provided by section 6621.

A domestic exempt private foundation, a domestic taxable private foundation, or a nonexempt charitable trust treated as a private foundation must make estimated tax payments for the excise tax based on investment income if it can expect its estimated tax (section 4940 tax minus allowable credits) to be $500 or more. The number of installment payments it must make under the depository method is determined at the time during the year that it first meets this requirement. For calendar-year taxpayers, the first deposit of estimated taxes for a year generally should be made by May 15 of the year.

Although Form 990-W is used primarily to compute the installment payments of unrelated business income tax, it is also used to determine the timing and amounts of installment payments of the section 4940 tax based on investment income. Compute separately any required deposits of excise tax based on investment income and unrelated business income tax.

To figure the estimated tax for the excise tax based on investment income, apply the rules of Part VI to your tax year 2016 estimated amounts for that part. Enter the tax you figured on line 10a of Form 990-W.

The Form 990-W line items and instructions for large organizations also apply to private foundations. For purposes of paying the estimated tax on net investment income, a “large organization” is one that had net investment income of $1 million or more for any of the 3 tax years immediately preceding the tax year involved.

Whether the foundation uses the depository method of tax payment or the special option for small foundations, it must pay the tax due (see Part VI) in full by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of its tax year.

A private foundation must make its annual returns and exemption application available for public inspection.

A section 501(c) organization that offers to sell or solicits money for specific information or a routine service to any individual that could be obtained by the individual from a Federal Government agency free or for a nominal charge must disclose that fact conspicuously when making such offer or solicitation.

Any organization that intentionally disregards this requirement will be subject to a penalty for each day the offers or solicitations are made. The penalty is the greater of $1,000 or 50% of the total cost of the offers and solicitations made on that day.

If the organization applies any provision of any U.S. tax treaty to compute the foundation's taxable income, tax liability, or tax credits in a manner different from these instructions, attach an explanation.

Section 4948(a) imposes a 4% tax on the gross investment income (but not capital gain net income) of an exempt foreign private foundation from U.S. sources, such as dividends, interest, rents, payments received on securities loans as defined in section 512(a)(5), and royalties. Amounts taken into income on Form 990-T are excepted. The section 4948(a) tax replaces the section 4940 tax on the net investment income of a domestic private foundation. To pay any tax due, see the instructions for Part VI, line 9. A foreign foundation does not complete Form 990-PF Parts IV and V.

Under section 4948(b), sections 507 and 508 and chapter 42 (other than section 4948) do not apply to a foreign organization that from the date of its creation has received at least 85% of its support (as defined in section 509(d), excluding gross investment income) from sources outside the United States. The foreign foundation's section 501(c)(3) status can be revoked, however, if it commits a violation of chapter 42 (other than section 4942) after receiving a warning of a violation from the IRS, or if it commits a willful and flagrant violation. A foreign foundation described in section 4948(b) does not complete Form 990-PF Parts X (unless claiming status as an operating foundation), XI, XIII, and XV, is not required to send a copy of its annual return to a state official, and is not required to comply with the public inspection requirements for annual returns (see General Instructions G and Q, earlier). The foundation must attach a computation of the 85% test to the return.

Taxable foreign private foundations and foreign section 4947(a)(1) nonexempt charitable trusts are not subject to excise tax under section 4948(a) or 4940, but are subject to income tax under subtitle A of the Code.

For these purposes, U.S. territories are considered part of the United States, and thus territories' organizations are not considered foreign organizations.

If there is a liquidation, dissolution, termination, or substantial contraction (defined below) of the organization, attach the following to the return.

A private foundation or non-exempt charitable trust (other than a foundation or trust described in section 4948(b)) may terminate its private foundation status under section 507(b)(1)(B) by meeting the requirements of public charity status under section 509(a)(1), (2), or (3) over a continuous 60-month period that begins with the beginning of a tax year of the organization. The organization must give proper notice to the IRS prior to the start of the 60-month period, and establish to the satisfaction of the IRS within 90 days after the end of the 60-month period that it so qualified.

If the organization fails to qualify as a public charity over the entire 60-month period, then it will be treated as a private foundation after the end of the 60-month period, and for any tax year within the 60-month period in which it did not qualify as a public charity.

An organization may give the IRS notice of termination under section 507(b)(1)(B) by providing the information set forth in Regulations section 1.507-2(b)(3) to the following address:

Alternatively, an organization may also give the notice with a request for an advance ruling that the organization can be expected to meet the requirements of public charity status during the 60-month period. Form 8940, Request for Miscellaneous Determination, is used for this purpose. The advantage of an advance ruling is that the organization’s grantors and contributors generally can rely on it during the 60-month period, and the ruling constitutes reasonable cause for abatement of penalties for failure to pay section 4940 tax during the period. The organization itself cannot rely on the ruling to avoid private foundation status during or after the 60-month period.

Although an organization terminating its private foundation status under section 507(b)(1)(B) may be regarded as a public charity for certain purposes, it is considered a private foundation for filing requirement purposes and must file an annual return on Form 990-PF. The return must be filed for each year in the 60-month termination period, if that period has not expired before the due date of the return.

Within 90 days after the end of the termination period the organization must supply information to the IRS establishing that it has terminated its private foundation status and, as a result, qualifies as a public charity. This information is provided on Form 8940.

If information is furnished establishing a successful termination, then, for the final year of the termination period, the organization should comply with the filing requirements for the type of public charity it has become. See the Instructions for Form 990 and Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ) for details on filing requirements. This applies even if the IRS has not confirmed that the organization has terminated its private foundation status by the time the return for the final year of the termination is due (or would be due if a return were required).

The organization will be allowed a reasonable period of time to file any private foundation returns required (for the last year of the termination period) but not previously filed if it is later determined that the organization did not terminate its private foundation status. Interest on any tax due will be charged from the original due date of Form 990-PF, but penalties under sections 6651 and 6652 will not be assessed if Form 990-PF is filed within the period allowed by the IRS.

An organization terminating its private foundation status under section 507(b)(1)(B) may file Form 990-PF without paying the section 4940 tax based on investment income if it filed a consent under section 6501(c)(4) with its notice of termination prior to the start of the 60-month period. The consent provides that the period of limitation on the assessment of tax under Chapter 42, based on investment income for any tax year in the 60-month period, will not expire until at least 1 year after the period for assessing a deficiency for the last tax year in which the 60-month period would normally expire. Any foundation not paying the tax when it files Form 990-PF must attach a copy of the signed consent.

If the foundation did not file the consent, the tax must be paid in the normal manner as explained in General Instructions O and P, earlier. The organization may file a claim for refund after completing termination or during the termination period. The claim for refund must be filed on time and the organization must supply information establishing that it qualified as a public charity for the period for which it paid the tax.