Public disclosure: what you must show anyone who asks

This guide is for anyone at a 501(c)(3) charity who might get the question "Can I see your 990?" It might come by email, in a letter, or from someone who walks into your office. Often it's a volunteer who takes the call. The answer is yes: federal law requires tax-exempt organizations to share certain IRS filings with anyone who asks. After reading, you'll know which documents, how fast, what you may charge and leave out, and how posting them online saves you the trouble.

A charity's filings being public is part of the deal of tax exemption. It lets donors, journalists and neighbors check that you are what you say you are. See the glossary entry for public disclosure.

What you must make available

The IRS says an exempt organization must make these available for public inspection and provide copies on request:

• Your exemption application. For a 501(c)(3), that's your Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ, with its supporting documents and any letter or document the IRS issued about the application, including your determination letter.
• Your annual returns. Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-T if you filed one (the return for unrelated business income). The IRS says this means an exact copy of the return, any amended return, and all schedules, attachments and supporting documents filed with the IRS.

How many years: the IRS says each annual return must be available for three years, starting from the later of its due date (including any extension) or the date it was actually filed.

There's one exception for very old applications: an organization whose exemption application was filed before July 15, 1987, and which didn't have a copy on that date, doesn't have to provide it. It still has to provide its annual returns. If you filed after that date and can't find your application, the IRS says you can ask its Exempt Organizations Determinations office for a copy.

For help with the return itself, see our guide to filing your first 990.

How fast you must respond

The IRS sets different timelines depending on how the request arrives:

• In person, at your principal office: generally on the same day. If you regularly have a regional or district office with three or more employees, requests made there count too.
• In writing: generally within 30 days. The IRS says a request sent by fax, email or private courier counts as a written request.

What you may charge

The IRS says you may charge a reasonable fee for copies, generally no more than the IRS itself charges. It says the current rate is $.20 per page, and you can also charge the actual postage cost. You may ask for payment before sending copies.

If you will charge for a written request, the IRS says you must tell the person the approximate cost and the forms of payment you accept within seven days of receiving the request. For in-person requests you must accept cash and money orders. For written requests you must accept certified checks, money orders, and personal checks or credit cards.

What you may leave out

The most important thing you may withhold is donor names and addresses. The IRS says that, except for private foundations and political organizations, an exempt organization doesn't have to disclose the name and address of any contributor listed on its annual return, including Schedule B, the list of major donors filed with Form 990 or 990-EZ. Black out names and addresses before you share Schedule B.

Post it online and you're mostly done

The IRS says you don't have to respond to individual requests for copies if you make the documents widely available by posting them on a website, your own or a database of exempt organization documents run by another organization. To count:

• the posted file must be an exact image of the original document
• anyone must be able to view, download and print it without paying
• the IRS says PDF is one format that currently qualifies

If you rely on this, the IRS says you must tell people who ask how to find the documents.

Penalties

The IRS says the responsible people at an organization who fail to provide the documents as required may face a penalty of $20 per day for as long as the failure continues. The maximum is $10,000 for each failure to provide a copy of an annual return. There is no maximum for failing to provide a copy of an exemption application.

Getting ready

A request can come from a funder, a journalist or a curious neighbor. A quick, friendly answer builds trust.

• Keep a "disclosure folder" with your application, determination letter and the last three annual returns, ready to send. Our document retention policy template can help you decide what to keep and for how long.
• Make a copy of Schedule B with names and addresses removed.
• Tell anyone who answers the phone or the general email inbox what to do and who to pass requests to.
• Write down the date each request arrives, so you meet the deadline.

Public disclosure checklist

• We have our exemption application, its supporting documents and our determination letter
• We have our last three annual returns, with all schedules and attachments
• We have a copy of Schedule B with donor names and addresses removed
• We checked our application for anything we'd rather not share
• Our documents are posted online as PDFs, or ready to send
• Staff and volunteers know the same-day and 30-day rules
• We know what we'll charge, if anything, and how people can pay