Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
Is there a charge to use the 990 Online System? Yes, we charge organization's with Gross Receipts of greater than $100,000 a sliding scale fee to use the system. The fee helps offset the costs of maintaining the system and providing tech support. The fee applies to Form 990 and Form 990-EZ returns. It does not apply to Form 8868 (extensions) or State Registration forms. (Note: while we do not charge fees for using our system for state forms, several of the states we support do have registration fees you must pay directly to the state after you file your forms). Update 3/1/2021: We have held the fee structure constant since March of 2017. Unfortunately, our costs have continued to rise and we now need to raise our fees to cover the costs of providing tech support (which we offer at no charge) and maintaining the system. The fee structure is based on the Gross Receipts you report in your Form 990/990-EZ return. Effective with all returns created on or after March 1, 2021, the new rate structure is as follows (the fees for all returns created before March 1, 2021 will be determined using the old rate structure): Gross Receipts Usage Fee $0 through $100,000 FREE $100,001 through $500,000 $41 $500,001 through $1,000,000 $47 $1,000,001 through $5,000,000 $86 $5,000,001 through $10,000,000 $118 $10,000,001 through $25,000,000 $145 $25,000,001 through $50,000,000 $172 $50,000,001 and higher $205 The fee is charged when you mark your Form 990/990-EZ return as complete. You have the option to pay using Paypal, a Credit Card, or a check. You can generate a PDF of your Form 990 prior to marking your return as complete (and paying the fee), but the PDF will contain a watermark indicating that it is a draft copy of your return. Once you mark your return as complete and pay the fee, the system will generate a FINAL pdf of your return without the draft watermark. NOTE: If you pay by credit card, the charge on your credit card statement will probably look something like this: PAYPAL *990 ONLINE 402-935-7733 CA NOTE: All Form 990/990-EZ returns with gross receipts under $100,000 and Form 8868 (extension) filings continue to be free. NOTE: We do not accept donations at this time. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the fees or the fee structure, please send an email to Tech Support. FEE HISTORY: Up until mid-2007 we provided the 990 Online system completely free to all users (although we did start accepting donations to help defray a portion of the costs of operating this website in 2005). While we greatly appreciate the donations we received, they were not sufficient to cover the cost of operating this site. On August 7, 2007 we implemented a fee structure to use this system. These fees help us maintain a system that promotes and facilitates the use of electronic filing by many smaller to mid-sized nonprofit organizations. Our Form 990 Online system helps nonprofit organizations complete accurate and timely information returns, facilitate the gathering and analyzing of data for public policy research and education purposes, and strengthens the information resources available to the nonprofit sector and the public. In addition, the fees we receive will be used to continue to provide Tech Support and to incorporate changes to the IRS Form 990, 990-EZ and 8868 forms. We do not expect these fees to cover all of our direct costs for supporting and maintaining the 990 Online system, but they will help! In November 2009 we adjusted the fee structure. In April 2012 we adjusted the fee structure. In March 2017 we adjusted the fee structure. In March 2021 we adjusted the fee structure.