---
title: "Choose the Form 990 series return from gross receipts and total assets"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/determine-the-charity-s-size-and-the-financial-reporting-review-or-audit/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A35-F20261018-2-US"
practice_area: "Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Choose the Form 990 series return from gross receipts and total assets

> Record the gross receipts and total assets in the file, the organisation's age, and whether the file says it is a private foundation or is included in a group return. Name no return as the one to file.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/determine-the-charity-s-size-and-the-financial-reporting-review-or-audit/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Not-for-Profit, Charities & Associations](https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Record the gross receipts and total assets in the file, the organisation's age, and whether the file says it is a private foundation or is included in a group return. Name no return as the one to file. |
| What the lawyer must review | You choose the return. The Internal Revenue Service chart says: gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, Form 990-N, unless the organisation is not permitted to file it; gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000, Form 990-EZ or Form 990; gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more, Form 990; a private foundation files Form 990-PF regardless of financial status. Gross receipts are the total amounts received from all sources during the annual accounting period, without subtracting costs or expenses. Gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less if the organisation has existed for one year or less and received, or donors have pledged, $75,000 or less in its first tax year; if it has existed between one and three years and averaged $60,000 or less in each of its first two tax years; or if it is at least three years old and averaged $50,000 or less for the immediately preceding three tax years, including the year for which the calculation is made. Form 990-N is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the tax year ends, and it cannot be filed before the tax year ends. There is no late-filing penalty assessment for Form 990-N itself. An organisation that fails to file a required Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N for three consecutive years automatically loses exemption on the filing due date of the third year. A subordinate included in a group return does not file Form 990-N. This choice is the federal information return. It is not a decision that a state law requires an audit or a review. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Determine the charity’s size and the financial reporting, review or audit it needs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/determine-the-charity-s-size-and-the-financial-reporting-review-or-audit.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record the gross receipts and total assets in the file, the organisation's age, and whether the file says it is a private foundation or is included in a group return. Name no return as the one to file.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Some organisations cannot file Form 990-N even if gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less. The page that lists them was not opened.
- No state audit or review statute was opened. Do not treat the Form 990 threshold as an audit threshold.

## Sources

- [IRS, Form 990 series — which forms do exempt organizations file](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/form-990-series-which-forms-do-exempt-organizations-file) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [IRS, Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations, Form 990-N](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-electronic-filing-requirement-for-small-exempt-organizations-form-990-n-e-postcard) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [26 U.S.C. § 501, exemption from tax](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/501) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Charity size and the ACNC financial report that follows from it](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/not-for-profit-charities-and-associations/charity-size-and-financial-report.md) | Checklist | Green | Table for a registered charity's size from annual revenue, using the thresholds for reporting periods from the 2022 Annual Information Statement, and the report, basis and audit the ACNC page… |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*