Major Changes_Form 990-EZ

Major Changes-2008 Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of
Organization Exempt From Income Tax
Description of Changes Compared to Current Form 990-EZ
In order to allow both Form 990 and Form 990-EZ filers to use the same schedules for 2008 and later
years, the Form 990-EZ is modified to allow the use of new Schedules A, C, E, G, L and N of the 2008
Form 990. These schedules are used to report information currently required by the Form 990-EZ. In
addition, certain information no longer required to be reported on the 2008 Form 990 as a result of its
redesign has also been eliminated from the Form 990-EZ. These changes include the following:
• Part I. Revenue, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets or Fund Balances
Line 6a – replaced attached schedule with applicable parts of Schedule G (footnote 1) when
amount from fundraising events or gaming activities exceeds $15,000
• Part V.
o Line 36 – replaced attached schedule with Schedule N.
o Line 38b – replaced attached schedule with Schedule L, Part II.
o Line 40b – replaced attached schedule with Schedule L, Part I.
o Lines 44 and 45– added to remind sponsoring organizations of donor advised funds and
controlling organizations that they must file a Form 990 instead of Form 990-EZ.
• Part VI has been added for 501(c)(3) organizations to report information that will be deleted from
the 2008 Form 990, Schedule A.
o Line 46 – added to prompt 501(c)(3) organizations to complete Schedule C Part I regarding
political activities.
o Line 47 – added to prompt 501(c)(3) organizations to complete Schedule C Part II regarding
lobbying activities (2006 Schedule A, Part VI-A and VI-B).
o Line 48 – added to prompt 501(c)(3) schools to complete Schedule E regarding private schools.
o Lines 49a and 49b – added to identify transactions between 501(c)(3) organizations and
tax-exempt organizations other than 501(c)(3) organizations; however, 990-EZ
filers are longer required to provide the details of such transactions.
o Line 50 – added to report compensation of the highest compensated employees other
than officers, directors, trustees and key employees (current Schedule A,
Part I); threshold raised from $50,000 to $100,000.
o Line 51 – added to report compensation of highest compensated independent contractors
for professional as well as other services.
Filing Tests for Tax Years 2008, 2009, and 2010
In order to provide organizations time to transition to the new form, the redesigned 2008 Form 990
will be phased-in over three years for smaller organizations. This will be accomplished through
increases in the filing thresholds for the Form 990-EZ. Note that the threshold amounts in the section
under the title, in item L, and in the header for Part II, have been updated to reflect the phase-in
amounts for 2008. For tax years 2008 and later, Form 990-EZ may be filed by an organization if both
its gross receipts and assets are as follows:
May file 990-EZ for:
2008 tax year (filed in 2009)
2009 tax year (filed in 2010)
2010 and later tax years

If gross receipts are:
> $25,000 and < $1 million
> $25,000 and < $500,000
> $50,000 and < $200,000

If assets are:
< $2.5 million
< $1.25 million
< $500,000

1

If a 990-EZ filer reports, on line 6a, more than $15,000 from special events or $15,000
from gaming activities, it would complete only Schedule G, Part I line 1(line 2 is not
required for EZ-filers) and Parts II or III as applicable.