Form 990


Eve loved the 990 when she started using it as a teaching tool for EO tax-compliance points back in 1990 (punny, right?)  A quarter-century later and more, the Form, with Schedule A, has grown from fewer than 10 preprinted pages to a minimum of 20, and more often 30-40, and Eve is older and wiser (along with now being known as “the Queen of the 990”, as explained on the homepage).  

Eve has dedicated thousands of hours to authorship and instruction on the Form’s nuances.  Her course-books and instructor’s scores always rate at the top of the scale, and her in-person teaching attracts comments like “she kept me awake,” and “who knew a 990 class could be fun?” In working with preparers and users of the Form (as well as in advising the IRS on Form improvements thru her efforts with the American Bar Association and the AICPA) her goal is to have folks “get the 990 right.” 

Eve loved the 990 when she started using it as a teaching tool for EO tax-compliance points back in 1990 (punny, right?)  A quarter-century later and more, the Form, with Schedule A, has grown from fewer than 10 preprinted pages to a minimum of 20, and more often 30-40, and Eve is older and wiser (along with now being known as “the Queen of the 990”, as explained on the homepage).  

Eve has dedicated thousands of hours to authorship and instruction on the Form’s nuances.  Her course-books and instructor’s scores always rate at the top of the scale, and her in-person teaching attracts comments like “she kept me awake,” and “who knew a 990 class could be fun?” In working with preparers and users of the Form (as well as in advising the IRS on Form improvements thru her efforts with the American Bar Association and the AICPA) her goal is to have folks “get the 990 right.” 

EO Help Chart

Eve Borenstein and CPA Chris Anderson have put together a resource of all the CURRENT contact modes for addressing exempt organizations’ IRS issues, same is available HERE.

Form 990 Preparation (and Associated Topics) Instruction

Eve has taught CPAs on the Form 990 since the 1989 form added a then-fifth page in 1990! By Y2K, her course materials and personal instruction on the 990 (and on other exempt organization tax mandates) had been availed of by no less than 12 state CPA societies; and by 2010, that number exceeded 20. In addition to teaching through CPA societies, Eve also teaches directly to the nonprofit community on the Form, as well as to the sector’s nonprofit technical assistance community and other professional advisors.

Eve tailors her Form 990 teaching to different audiences and has a myriad of presentation materials available on the Form, including a foundational series of 10 webinars, and four augmenting “Master Class” webinars, all initiated this year (these webinars are discussed on this website’s Events page!)

Reasonable Efforts Questionnaire

Clark Nuber PS* and Eve Borenstein have created a Reasonable Efforts Questionnaire for interested persons (managers and others) to help you meet the criteria the IRS has provided in the “reasonable efforts” examples in the Form 990 instructions. 

The Form 990 seeks specific disclosures from tax-exempt organizations. A large number of these, related to multiple areas of the Form, require information on trustees/directors, officers and key employees (a group commonly referred to as “interested persons”). Further information is also necessary pertaining to those individuals’ family members and business holdings. The Form 990 instructions specify that an annual questionnaire utilized with all interested persons may be used as evidence of an organization’s “reasonable effort” to collect this information.

The cloud-based Reasonable Efforts Questionnaire product helps you meet all the criteria used in the IRS’ “reasonable efforts” examples in the Form 990 instructions. It is an interactive tool that first helps the organization determine who should receive the questionnaire, and then creates individualized questionnaires for each recipient based on their position with the organization related to the tax year at issue. The resulting “Questionnaires” can be printed or distributed electronically. If the interested person uses the cloud technology for completion (rather than paper), there is a summary report at the end of the process that provides the list of findings for you and your Form 990 preparer. 

If you would like additional information on the Reasonable Efforts Questionnaire product, click here.

Software for Exempt Organizations “Self-preparing” Their Forms 990/990-EZ/Extension Requests . . .

efile.form990.org is the website home for the National Center for Charitable Statistics’ exemplary project that allows exempts to both “e-file” and prepare Form 990 (and the -EZ) (their website also accomplishes Form 990/990-EZ extension requests).  The very competent Desktop Form 990 preparation software does yeoman’s lifting with the Redesigned 990s.  The Form 990 application includes comprehensive error checking, provides very helpful online instructions and tips, and electronically files the return with the IRS.  Access to the software/system is FREE for organizations with less than $100,000, thereafter is sliding scale of $41 - $205 (eff. March 2021; that last price applies when gross receipts are >$50m!– this is a truly valuable and affordable resource!)