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Form 990 deadline 2026: when nonprofit tax returns are due
Updated November 2026
If your tax year ended December 31, 2025 and you filed Form 8868, your Form 990 is due Monday, November 16, 2026. Without an extension, a nonprofit's return is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after its tax year ends, which is May 15 for a calendar year.
Calendar-year nonprofits were due May 15, 2026. Form 8868 gives you six more months, to Monday, November 16, 2026, because the 15th is a Sunday. Form 990-N can't be extended, but it has no late penalty either. Miss three years in a row, on any version of the form, and the IRS revokes your exemption automatically.
When are nonprofit tax returns due?
Nonprofit tax returns are due on the 15th day of the fifth month after your tax year ends. The rule is the same for Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF and the 990-N e-Postcard (IRS due dates). If that day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the return is due the next business day.
The dates most nonprofits ask about:
- Tax year ended December 31, 2025: due Friday, May 15, 2026. Extended due date Monday, November 16, 2026.
- Tax year ending June 30, 2026: due Monday, November 16, 2026. Extended due date Monday, May 17, 2027 (May 15 is a Saturday).
- Tax year ending September 30, 2026: due Tuesday, February 16, 2027, because February 15 is Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday.
- Tax year ending December 31, 2026: due Monday, May 17, 2027.
What is the Form 990 due date for each tax year end?
Find the month your tax year ends. The middle column is your deadline. The right column is your deadline if you file Form 8868 on time. Move a date to the next business day when it falls on a weekend or holiday. The dates match the IRS's own table (IRS due dates).
| Your tax year ends | Form 990 is due | With a Form 8868 extension |
|---|---|---|
| December 31 | May 15 | November 15 (Monday, November 16 in 2026) |
| January 31 | June 15 | December 15 |
| February 28 or 29 | July 15 | January 15 |
| March 31 | August 15 | February 15 |
| April 30 | September 15 | March 15 |
| May 31 | October 15 | April 15 |
| June 30 | November 15 (Monday, November 16 in 2026) | May 15 |
| July 31 | December 15 | June 15 |
| August 31 | January 15 | July 15 |
| September 30 | February 15 | August 15 |
| October 31 | March 15 | September 15 |
| November 30 | April 15 | October 15 |
Which form do you file: 990-N, 990-EZ or 990?
All of them share the same due date. Which one you file depends on your size (IRS Form 990 instructions):
- 990-N: gross receipts normally $50,000 or less.
- 990-EZ: gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 at the end of the year. You can choose the full Form 990 instead.
- 990: gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more.
- 990-PF: private foundations, at any size.
Not sure which version of the form you file? The Form 990 finder answers that in three questions.
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Why is it November 16, not November 15?
Every version of the form is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after your year ends. For a June 30 year, that's November 15. If that day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. November 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so you have until Monday, November 16.
One more detail is easy to get wrong. The IRS names the form for the year your fiscal year began. So a year that ran from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 goes on the 2025 Form 990 or 990-EZ (Instructions for Form 990 (2025)).
Which form do you file?
| Form | Who files it | Can you extend it? |
|---|---|---|
| 990-N (e-Postcard) | Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less | No |
| 990-EZ | Gross receipts under $200,000 and total assets under $500,000 at year end | Yes, with Form 8868 |
| 990 | Gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more | Yes, with Form 8868 |
Watch two words in that table. "Gross receipts" means everything you took in, before any costs. A fundraiser that brought in $30,000 and cost $10,000 to run counts as $30,000.
"Normally" means an average. For a group at least three years old, it means gross receipts averaged $50,000 or less over the last three years. This year counts as one of the three. So one strong year doesn't always push you off the postcard (IRS Form 990 series, Instructions for Form 990-EZ (2025)).
How does the Form 8868 extension work?
The rules come from the IRS's instructions for the form (Instructions for Form 8868):
- It's automatic. You file the form; you don't have to explain why.
- It adds six months. You get one extension per return, and there's no second one.
- It must be filed by the original due date. Filed a day late, it does nothing.
- You can file it electronically.
- It extends the time to file, not the time to pay. If you owe tax, for example on unrelated business income, pay it by the original date or interest runs.
- It does not cover Form 990-N.
File Form 8868 by November 16 and a June-year 990 or 990-EZ gets a new date of May 15, 2027. That's a Saturday, so you have until Monday, May 17, 2027 (IRS extension of time to file).
If your books are not closed yet, or a new treasurer is still finding the bank statements, file the extension. Then do the return right, without the rush.
Already extended a calendar-year return? Monday, November 16 is your last date. There's no second extension, so file the return itself.
When is the 990-N due, and can it be extended?
If your gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, you can usually file the 990-N e-Postcard (IRS 990-N). Two kinds of organization can't, however small: a private foundation always files the 990-PF, and a 509(a)(3) supporting organization generally files the 990 or 990-EZ (IRS who must file). Churches don't have to file an annual return at all.
The 990-N has the same due date as every other 990, but it can't be extended. The IRS also charges no penalty for filing it late. So if you miss May 15, file it anyway, as soon as you can. A late 990-N still counts as filed. A missing one counts toward the three-year clock below.
As of October 30, 2026: three slips to avoid before the November 16 deadline
- Leaving the 990-N login to the last day. The e-Postcard is filed online, and you need a Login.gov or ID.me account to submit it. Set that account up this week, not on the 16th. The IRS also says not to file the 990-N from a phone or tablet (IRS 990-N).
- Mailing a paper 990 or 990-EZ. The IRS requires the 2025 Form 990 and 990-EZ to be filed electronically. If you are required to e-file and send paper instead, the IRS treats the return as not filed (Instructions for Form 990 (2025)).
- Filing the extension a day late. Form 8868 has to be in by the original due date. If there is any doubt the return will be ready, file the extension first.
What does a late Form 990 cost?
For Form 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, the IRS can charge a penalty for every day the return is late unless you show reasonable cause. These are the amounts in the 2025 Form 990 instructions, section H (IRS Form 990 instructions):
- Most nonprofits: $25 a day, capped at the lesser of $13,000 or 5% of your gross receipts for the year.
- Gross receipts over $1,309,500: $130 a day, capped at $65,000 per return.
- Responsible people: after the IRS writes to you and its deadline passes, the person who fails to comply can be charged $10 a day, up to $6,500 for one return.
These figures rise with inflation each year, so check the current instructions before you quote them. Keep the 5% cap in mind: for a $150,000-a-year organization the most it can be is $7,500, not $13,000. That's still money you didn't have to spend. If you had a real reason for filing late, attach a reasonable cause statement and ask for the penalty to be removed.
What happens if a nonprofit misses three years?
This one has real stakes. Fail to file for three years in a row, on any version of the form including the 990-N, and your exemption is revoked automatically. The revocation takes effect on the original due date of the third missed return. The law doesn't let the IRS undo a proper automatic revocation, and there's no appeal (IRS automatic revocation).
What that means in practice: once your name is on the IRS revocation list, new gifts aren't tax-deductible, most funders stop writing checks, and you may have to file a federal income tax return and pay tax until you're reinstated.
There are four ways back, and each one starts with a new exemption application and its user fee (IRS reinstatement).
The simplest is for smaller organizations. If you could have filed the 990-EZ or 990-N for all three years and you've never been revoked before, apply within 15 months of your revocation letter or the day you appear on the IRS revocation list, whichever is later. Your exemption can reach back to the revocation date, and you don't have to explain anything.
Anyone else applying in that window needs a reasonable cause statement for at least one of the three years. After 15 months, you need reasonable cause for all three. Or you can take reinstatement from the date your application is postmarked and live with the gap. Our post on automatic revocation walks through the whole thing.
If your last two returns were never filed, the one due November 16 is the third. Revocation comes once that third due date passes, or the extended date if you filed Form 8868. File on time, and the three-year run ends there.
Not sure what the IRS has on file? Search your EIN in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. It covers filed returns, e-Postcards and the revocation list. The IRS adds new filings in batches, so a return you filed recently may not show up yet.
Do state deadlines follow the Form 990?
No. Your state doesn't read your Form 990 for you. Most states want an annual or biennial report to keep your corporation in good standing, and many want a charitable registration renewal, often with the 990 attached. Those run on their own calendars. The nonprofit compliance calendar covers the pattern, and each of our state guides lists that state's dates.
California shows how it works. The Attorney General's RRF-1 renewal for a June year is due November 15, and that's a Sunday this year. To be safe, send it by Friday, November 13. With an IRS extension, it's due May 15. It goes with a copy of your 990 or 990-EZ, without Schedule B. If you file the 990-N, it goes with Form CT-TR-1 instead (California AG annual registration renewal). For your own state, the guide to charitable registration explains who registers and where.
How do you make sure you never miss it?
Put two dates on the calendar the day your fiscal year closes: the due date, and a date six weeks before it when someone confirms the return is started. If the return won't be ready, file Form 8868 that day. It costs nothing and takes minutes. The organizations that lose their status are almost never the ones that decided not to file. They're the ones where nobody was watching the date.
As of October 30, 2026: if you are filing for November 16
- Today: confirm which form you file, and name the one person who will file it: you, your treasurer or your accountant.
- This week: if you file the 990-N, set up the IRS login. If a June-year 990 or 990-EZ won't be ready, file Form 8868 now. Already on an extension? There's no second one, so file the return.
- By Friday, November 13: file, so if the login gives you trouble, you still have Monday.
- Once it is done: put next year's dates on a calendar, with a reminder a month before each one. For a June year, the 990 is due Monday, November 15, 2027. For a calendar year, it is due Monday, May 17, 2027. Put your state renewal next to it.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Penalty amounts change every year, and your own due date depends on your tax year. Check the current IRS instructions and ask a CPA before you rely on any of it.
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Sources: IRS, Return due dates for exempt organizations: annual return (updated 28 June 2026); Instructions for Form 8868 (Rev. January 2026); Instructions for Form 990 (2025), section H, failure-to-file penalties, and the web version for the filing thresholds; Form 990-N (e-Postcard) (updated 9 October 2026); Annual exempt organization return: who must file (updated 27 June 2026); Automatic revocation of exemption (updated 28 June 2026); How to have your tax-exempt status reinstated (updated 6 July 2026); Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file; Instructions for Form 990 (2025); Instructions for Form 990-EZ (2025); Extension of time to file exempt organization returns; Form 990-N: organizations not permitted to file; Tax Exempt Organization Search; Publication 509, 2026 legal holidays; OPM federal holiday calendars, 2026 and 2027. California Attorney General, Annual registration renewal. The first set of pages was read 30 October 2026; the added sources were read 24 September and 23 October 2026.