Form 4506-A -- Request for Public Inspection or Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form

Instructions for Form 4506-A
(Rev. August 2014)

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Request for Public Inspection or Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form
4506-A and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after this
form and instructions were published, go to www.irs.gov/
form4506.

What's New

Beginning January 1, 2014, CDs are no longer available;
however, DVDs can still be ordered.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form

You do not have to complete Form 4506-A to get copies of
the following forms.
Form 8871, Political Organization Notice of Section 527
Status, and Form 8872, Political Organization Report of
Contributions and Expenditures, are available for inspection and
printing from the Internet. The website address for both forms is
www.irs.gov/polorgs.
Exempt or political organizations must make their returns,
reports, notices, and exempt applications available for public
inspection. You can visit the organization to inspect the material
instead of requesting it from the IRS. The organization may be
able to mail the copies to you.
You may request images of Form 990-N (e-Postcard), for
Tax-Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or
990-EZ, filings at www.irs.gov/app/ePostcard.
If you want to determine if charitable contributions are
deductible, use EO Select Check, www.irs.gov/Charities- &-NonProfits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check.
To see an organization’s current activities or financial
data, you can use www.guidestar.org.

An organization, or its officers, may request a copy of
the organization's own return on Form 4506-A.
CAUTION
However, they will only receive the copy that is “Open
for Public Inspection.” The publicly available copy will not
include, for example, information that may identify a contributor
and documents that were filed with the return, but are not open
to public inspection. An organization, or its officers, may request
a complete copy of the organization's own return by completing
Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, and paying the
applicable fee.

!

May 23, 2014

The IRS can provide copies of exempt organization returns on
DVD. Requesters can order the complete set (for example, all
Forms 990 and 990-EZ or all Forms 990-PF filed for a year) or a
partial set by state or by month. If you are ordering a partial set
on DVD, indicate the format (Alchemy or raw), state(s), and
month(s) you are ordering. Sample DVD requests are not
available for individual states. DVDs and sample DVDs are not
available for individual exempt organizations. Complete
information, including the cost, is available on the IRS website.
Search Copies of Scanned EO Returns Available at
www.irs.gov/Charities- &-Non-Profits/Copies-of-Scanned-EOReturns-Available.

Formats

Use Form 4506-A to request under section 6104:
A copy of an exempt or political organization's return, report,
notice, or exemption application, or
An inspection of a return, report, notice, or exemption
application at an IRS office.

TIP

DVD

Alchemy. DVDs contain image files associated in an Alchemy
database to simplify visual searching of the tax returns. All
required Alchemy software is provided. This format is best for
users who wish to examine returns visually. Individual state
DVDs are only available in Alchemy format.
Raw. DVDs contain image files in Tag Image File (TIF) format
for returns selected for the month or quarter requested. This
format is best for users who intend to process the image files
through their data software.

How Much Will It Cost?

You may inspect a return, report, notice, or exemption
application at an IRS office free of charge.
If you want a photocopy of a return, report, notice, or an
exemption application, see the chart below.
Note. The IRS will send you a bill for the photocopy cost. If your
cost is over $250, we will ask for payment in advance.

IF you are. . .

THEN the charge for paper copies
is . . .

A commercial user

$ .20 per page

An educational institution, media,
non-commercial scientific institution,
or all other requesters

First 100 pages free,
$ .20 per page thereafter

DVD requests and sample DVD requests must be prepaid.
Please include your payment with your request. Search Copies
of Scanned EO Returns Available at www.irs.gov/Charities- &Non-Profits/Copies-of-Scanned-EO-Returns-Available for the
cost of DVDs and sample DVDs. A check or money order for the
fee should be payable to “United States Treasury.”
Reminder. Fees for DVDs are updated in January of each
processing year. Refer to IRS.gov to determine the required fee
related to the processing year the request is submitted for. For
example – Processing year 2015 DVD fees are updated January
2015.

Cat. No. 51552X

Where To File

as indicated. If ordering a partial set on DVD or sample DVD,
indicate the format, state(s), and month(s) requested. If ordering
a sample DVD, check the sample DVD box, indicate the format,
and write in the calendar year(s). Sample DVD requests are not
available for individual states. Individual state DVDs are only
available in Alchemy format.

Use the following chart to determine where to fax or mail
(depending on the service needed) Form 4506-A.
IF you want . . .

THEN file Form 4506-A
with the . . .

To inspect a return, report, notice, or
exemption application at an IRS
office*

Internal Revenue Service
Disclosure Scanning Operation Stop 93A
P.O. Box 621506,
Atlanta, GA 30362-3006

To inspect a return, report, notice, or
exemption application at IRS National
Headquarters

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Freedom of Information
Reading Room
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20224

A copy of an exemption application,
Form 1023, Form 1024,
Determination Letter, or updated
Determination Letter (includes all
supporting documents)

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: Correspondence Unit
P.O. Box 2508, Room 4024
Cincinnati, OH 45201
Fax no. 513-263-3434

A copy of a return,
report, or notice

Internal Revenue Service
RAIVS Unit MS: 6716
Ogden, UT 84201
Fax no. 801-620-7896

!

Incomplete requests will be rejected.

CAUTION

Note. Tax returns are generally available only for 7 years from
filing before they are destroyed in accordance with applicable
provisions of law.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask
for the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. We need the information to gain
access to the return or other exempt or political organization IRS
form you requested in our files and properly respond to your
request.
The authority to ask for the information requested on this form
is section 6104 and its regulations. You are not required to
provide the information requested on this form. However, if you
do not furnish the information, we may not be able to fulfil your
request. Providing willfully false or fraudulent information may
subject you to criminal penalties. Routine uses include
disclosing the information to the Department of Justice for civil or
criminal litigation. We may also disclose this information to
federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal
laws and to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to
combat terrorism.

*The office handling your request will contact you to schedule
an appointment when the item is available for inspection.

How Long Will It Take?

Generally, it may take up to 60 days for us to process your
request.

You are not required to provide the information requested on
a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the
form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as
their contents may become material in the administration of any
Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required by section 6103. The
time needed to complete and file Form 4506-A will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
time is:

Specific Instructions
Line 1
Exempt or political organization. Enter the organization's
official name under which exempt status was approved,
address, and employer identification number. If you do not enter
the official name, we may not be able to locate the requested
form. Complete a separate Form 4506-A for each organization.

Line 2

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copying, assembling, and sending the form to the IRS

Requester. Enter the requester's name, address, phone
number, and the name of a contact person.

Line 3

. .
. .
. .
. .

6 min.
10 min.
21 min.
20 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making Form 4506-A simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. You can send us comments
by going to www.irs.gov/formspubs/, clicking on “More
Information,” and then clicking on “Give us feedback.” You can
also send your comments to:

Category of requester. Check the appropriate category of the
requester. You must check a box.

Line 4
Reason for request. To avoid being charged the commercial
rate, all requesters except commercial users must provide a
reason for requesting the records and explain how the records
will be used.

Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications Division
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224

Lines 5-9

For each applicable form, check the box(es) for the item(s) you
are requesting. You may request more than one form. For each
form requested, check either the copy, inspection, DVD, or
sample DVD box and enter the specific tax year(s) or period(s)

Do not send Form 4506-A to this address. Instead, see
Where To File.

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