Tennessee nonprofits that lost tax-exempt status

• 33.7 per 1,000lost status each year, 2021 to 2025, the 25th-highest rate of the 50 states and DC. National rate: 34.4.
• 5,721organizations lost status from 2021 to 2025, about 1,144 a year. 16th-most of the 50 states and DC.
• 1,035lost status in 2025, or 30.5 per 1,000 required to file.
• 33,960Tennessee organizations must file an annual return, and 66.2% of them file the Form 990-N e‑Postcard.

Source: IRS Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (revocations posted through September 29, 2026) and IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (September 8, 2026); Ember analysis.

Before the numbers: many organizations on the list had already wound down and never told the IRS, and revocation is how the IRS clears them off its books. A name on the list doesn't mean anyone did something wrong.

Tennessee against the country

Organizations that lost tax-exempt status for every 1,000 required to file, each year from 2021 to 2025.

What a nonprofit in Tennessee can do

• Look yourself up. Type your organization's name or EIN into the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. It tells you if you're on the revocation list, and whether you've been reinstated since. Or use Ember's free tax-exempt status check.
• Know your form and your date. If your gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, you can usually file the Form 990-N e-Postcard online. For a year that ends December 31, it's due May 15. The Form 990 finder tells you which return is yours, and the Form 990 deadline guide has the day it's due.
• File late rather than not at all. A late return still counts if it reaches the IRS before the third missed due date.
• Already lost it? There's a way back, and every route starts with a new exemption application. Our reinstatement guide walks through each route, step by step. Our post on automatic revocation explains what losing status means day to day.

Want a reminder before every deadline? Ember Compliance tracks them for you, free if your budget is under $50K a year.

Tennessee in the South

Of the 16 Southern states and DC, Tennessee has the fifth-lowest rate. The table lists them from the highest rate down; rank 1 is the highest of the 50 states and DC and rank 51 the lowest.

Get the data

• The data for every state (CSV), with the 2025 numbers and a second rate that counts every organization.
• The full study: every state ranked, year by year, what we found and what the data can't tell you.

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How we counted

We counted every revocation on the IRS Automatic Revocation of Exemption List that took effect from 2021 through 2025 and placed each in the state on its IRS record. For the rate, we divided by the number of organizations in each state that must file an annual return, from the IRS Business Master File for September 2026. Churches and others that don't have to file can't lose status this way, so they're left out. The full study has the method and what the data can't tell you.

This page reports public IRS data. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. To check a particular organization, use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.

Sources: IRS, Automatic Revocation of Exemption List (revocations posted through September 29, 2026; downloaded October 7, 2026); IRS, Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract (posted September 8, 2026; downloaded October 7, 2026); IRS, Form 990-N (e-Postcard) and Annual exempt organization return: due date (read October 9, 2026). Counts, rates and rankings are Ember's analysis of the IRS files (the full study); the chart and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to the study.