Federal 501(c)(3) Reference
Federal 501(c)(3) reference points for nonprofit formation planning: Form 1023 and 1023-EZ, IRS user fees, eligibility thresholds, processing-time references, public-inspection rules, and auto-revocation anchors.
The matrix
| State | Form 1023 Vs 1023ez Gates | Filing Fees | Payment Method | Processing Times | Organizational Operational Tests | Charitable Definition | Public Charity Vs Pf Default | Retroactivity Window | Form 990 Family Thresholds | Automatic Revocation Rule | Excess Benefit Transactions 4958 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federalchecked 2026-09-09 | Form 1023-EZ is available only if projected annual gross receipts do not exceed $50,000 in the current year or either of the next two years (and did not exceed $50,000 in any of the past three years), and total assets do not exceed $250,000 in fair market value. Certain organization types are categorically excluded from 1023-EZ regardless of size (e.g. churches, schools, hospitals and other 170(b)(1)(A)(i)-(iii)/(ix) organizations, HMOs, ACOs, successors to 501(p)-suspended or previously-revoked entities, and foreign-mailing-address organizations); excluded organizations must file the full Form 1023. | $600 IRS user fee for the full Form 1023; $275 user fee for Form 1023-EZ. | Both Form 1023 and Form 1023-EZ must be filed electronically through Pay.gov; paper filing is not accepted (e-file has been mandatory for Form 1023 since January 31, 2020). | See source. | An applicant must satisfy two tests under Treas. Reg. 1.501(c)(3)-1(a): the organizational test (the articles must limit purposes to one or more exempt purposes and not expressly empower more than insubstantial non-exempt activity) and the operational test (the organization must engage primarily in activities that accomplish an exempt purpose; it fails if net earnings inure to private persons or if it is an 'action organization'). Failing either test defeats exemption. | 'Charitable' is used in section 501(c)(3) in its generally accepted legal sense and is not limited by the section's other enumerated purposes. Examples include relief of the poor, distressed or underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erection or maintenance of public buildings, monuments or works; lessening the burdens of government; and promotion of social welfare (lessening neighborhood tensions, eliminating prejudice and discrimination, defending human and civil rights, and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency). | Every 501(c)(3) organization defaults to private foundation status unless it affirmatively qualifies as a public charity under IRC 509(a)(1) (170(b)(1)(A) organizations: churches, schools, hospitals, governmental units, and publicly supported organizations), 509(a)(2) (organizations normally receiving more than one-third of support from gifts, grants and exempt-function receipts, and not more than one-third from investment income plus UBTI), or 509(a)(3) (supporting organizations operated exclusively for the benefit of one or more 509(a)(1)/(2) organizations). Private foundation status subjects the organization to Chapter 42 excise taxes (net investment income tax, self-dealing, the 5% minimum payout regime) and Form 990-PF. | An organization formed after October 9, 1969 is not treated as described in 501(c)(3) unless it gives the IRS notice (files Form 1023 or 1023-EZ); filing within 27 months of the end of the month in which it was formed makes exemption retroactive to the formation date. Filing later makes exemption effective only from the filing date. The organization's own EIN is required before applying (the regulation itself, 26 CFR 1.508-1(a)(2), states 15 months; the IRS applies a 27-month window administratively via its forms and instructions, incorporating the regulation's 12-month automatic extension). | Form 990-N (e-Postcard): gross receipts normally $50,000 or less. Form 990-EZ: gross receipts under $200,000 AND total assets under $500,000. Form 990: gross receipts $200,000 or more, OR total assets $500,000 or more. Form 990-PF: required of all private foundations regardless of size. | An organization that fails to file its required annual return or notice (990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF) for three consecutive years has its tax-exempt status automatically revoked as of the filing due date of the third year, under IRC 6033(j)(1)(B). Reinstatement follows Rev. Proc. 2014-11, including a streamlined 15-month retroactive-reinstatement window for eligible organizations. | No part of an exempt organization's net earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. Where an excess benefit transaction occurs between the organization and a disqualified person, IRC 4958 imposes intermediate-sanctions excise tax on the disqualified person: 25% of the excess benefit initially, rising to 200% if not timely corrected. |
Field definitions
- Form 1023 Vs 1023ez Gates
- Eligibility gates for the streamlined Form 1023-EZ (<=$50K projected annual gross receipts, <=$250K total assets) versus full Form 1023.
- Filing Fees
- IRS user fees: $275 (1023-EZ) / $600 (full 1023).
- Payment Method
- Pay.gov-only payment requirement for the exemption application.
- Organizational Operational Tests
- The two federal tests an applicant must meet: organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes.
- Charitable Definition
- The federal definition of 'charitable' under IRC 501(c)(3) and its regulations.
- Public Charity Vs Pf Default
- The default classification (private foundation) absent a public-support showing, and the tests that rebut it.
- Retroactivity Window
- The 27-month window within which a timely-filed exemption application relates back to the organization's formation date.
- Form 990 Family Thresholds
- Which 990-series return (990, 990-EZ, 990-N, 990-PF) an organization must file, by gross-receipts/assets thresholds -- this is the value np-rollup's fixed federal caption and np-compliance-calendar's transcluded federal row both cite; it is authored here once and never restated.
- Automatic Revocation Rule
- The three-consecutive-year non-filing automatic revocation rule under IRC 6033(j).
- Excess Benefit Transactions 4958
- IRC 4958 excess-benefit-transaction excise tax on disqualified persons and organization managers.
Field definitions are listed below the table. Hover a cell for its source note. Typed unknowns (e.g., “Portal not observable”) are methodological limits, not data gaps.
Research scope
This matrix is federal in grain. It covers IRS recognition mechanics and federal reference facts that state nonprofit formation rows point to, while state formation and state tax-exemption rules stay on their own state-level matrices.
Sources
Per-row primary-source citations will live in the matrix companion file when the table is attached. The full source taxonomy lives at /about/source-registry/, and the research method at /about/methodology/.
Frequently asked questions
Why is this federal page under business formation?
The federal recognition step is part of the nonprofit formation decision set. State formation rows point here for IRS form choice, user fee, eligibility threshold, and processing-time references.
Does this page replace IRS instructions?
No. It is a cited reference matrix that links back to the IRS source documents. It does not decide eligibility or prepare an exemption application.
How does this relate to the state matrices?
The state formation matrix records state filing requirements. The state tax-exemption matrix records state tax treatment. This federal matrix records the IRS reference facts those pages should not restate freehand.