Guides

Each guide answers one question that comes up when reading IRS data on nonprofits, and points to the pages on this site where the numbers appear.

• How to look up a nonprofit's Form 990
  Where the IRS publishes Form 990 returns, which form variants exist and how to find the right year.
• How to check if an organization is a 501(c)(3) and if donations are deductible
  Using the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and Publication 78, and what the deductibility codes mean.
• NTEE codes explained
  How the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities classifies nonprofits, and how to read a code such as P20 or B25.
• Public charity vs private foundation
  The legal difference, the tests that decide it, and why the financial statements look different.
• Reading nonprofit financials: revenue, expenses, net assets and the program expense ratio
  What each headline number means, how the ratios on this site are calculated, and their limits.
• What automatic revocation of tax-exempt status means, and reinstatement
  The three-year filing rule, how the IRS lists revoked organizations, and how reinstatement works.