What documents do nonprofits need for a 990 tax return?

• Audit report
• Trial balance
• List of the donations you received over $5,000
  • Make sure you have the name, address, and amount for each of these $5,000+ donations
  • For noncash donations, you should also note a description of the donation
• Board list
  • Include titles and the average hours each member spent per week
  • Note if any of the board members did not have voting rights
  • This should be a list of all those who spent time on the board during your fiscal year. For example, if you had a board member who served February to June, they should be on your list and on the 990 even though they were no longer on the board at the year end.
• Compensation information for officers (such as your Executive Director), key employees, and highly compensated employees
  • Key employees are those who are paid over $150,000 and also have distinct responsibilities
  • Highly compensated employees are the five highest paid individuals, other than officers and key employees, that are paid over $100,000
  • Compensation information should include wages paid per the W2, wages paid per the fiscal year (for those with a year-end other than 12/31), as well as amounts paid for benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions.
• An updated description of each of your program services
  • Provide specifics in these descriptions that show the impact of your programs. This is your opportunity to provide meaningful details to potential donors.
• The number of W2s and 1099s issued
• The number of volunteers for your organization during the year
  • The 990 allows for an estimation
  • Remember, unpaid board members count as volunteers

The information listed above will apply to most 990s. In addition, many nonprofits are required to file supplementary schedules related to such things as lobbying (Sch C), grants they provide (Sch I), and interactions with related organizations (Sch R). Each schedule you file will require specific additional information. When in doubt of what to provide, ask your CPA!

If you have a year-end other than 12/31, it can be confusing to know what time period to provide documents for. Your audit and trial balance will be prepared based on your fiscal year. However, W2s, 1099s etc. are based on the calendar year. In those cases, you should provide the information related to the calendar year that ended during your fiscal year. For example, if your year end is 6/30/21, you will provide the W2 information for the 2020 year since it ended during your fiscal year (7/1/20-6/30/21).

If the firm that prepares your tax return also performs your audit, they have some of the information they need already and you will not need to provide it twice. Larson & Company has outstanding tax and audit departments that can help you with your nonprofit audit and 990. As part of our tax return preparation process, we always send a request list, so you always know what information to gather. Please reach out if you are in search of an excellent CPA. We love to work with nonprofits and we have the experience to provide you with professional and accurate service.