How to Prepare and File a Form 990-EZ (and the Software That Helps)

Form 990-EZ is the short annual information return many small and mid-size U.S. nonprofits file with the IRS. It keeps your tax-exempt status in good standing and puts your finances and mission on the public record. The form itself is manageable, the hard part is pulling together a clean year of financial and program data.

This guide is general educational information, not tax advice. Confirm your specific requirements with a qualified accountant or the IRS.

Who can file Form 990-EZ?

Most tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 for the year can file Form 990-EZ instead of the full Form 990. Very small organizations may qualify for the 990-N e-Postcard, while larger ones must file the full 990. Always confirm the current thresholds with the IRS.

What information do you need for a 990-EZ?

• Total revenue by source (contributions, grants, program service revenue, membership dues, investment income).
• Total expenses by category, including grants paid, salaries, and operating costs.
• Net assets at the beginning and end of the year.
• A description of program service accomplishments and their outcomes.
• Officer, director, and key-employee information.
• Governance details and any required schedules.

Step-by-step: preparing and filing your 990-EZ

1. Confirm eligibility against the current IRS gross-receipts and total-asset thresholds.
2. Gather revenue and expense totals for the full tax year, categorized as the form requires.
3. Summarize your program service accomplishments with concrete outcomes.
4. Complete Form 990-EZ and any required schedules (such as Schedule A for public charities).
5. Review everything for accuracy, ideally with an accountant.
6. E-file with the IRS by the 15th day of the 5th month after your fiscal year ends.

Why most of the work happens before tax season

The organizations that file quickly are the ones that documented all year. If revenue, expenses, grants, and program outcomes are captured as they happen, the figures the 990-EZ needs already exist. If they are scattered across spreadsheets and inboxes, filing becomes weeks of reconstruction. The single biggest time-saver is keeping clean, categorized data in one place.

How Mission Control helps you prepare a 990-EZ

Mission Control by Building Connections keeps revenue, expenses, grants, and program outcomes organized in one system throughout the year, and generates the figures Form 990-EZ requires from that real-time data. It does not replace your accountant or file the return for you, but it makes your data filing-ready, so preparing the 990-EZ becomes a review step instead of a year-end scramble.