From the Back Cover
Hands-on guidance to help nonprofits through the tax filing maze
Forms 990 provide a wealth of financial and programmatic information to enable government regulators, funders, journalists, and the savvy layman to measure a nonprofit’s performance. A copy of the forms must be provided to anyone who asks; charities’ forms are posted for public view on the Internet courtesy of Guidestar.org. These forms are the most widely used tools for evaluating tax-exempt organizations. Schools, health and welfare organizations, business leagues, civic associations, museums, parent groups, garden clubs, private foundations, and the myriad other nonprofit organizations recognized under section 501 of the federal tax code must file this form annually. With the intitiation of electronic filing and a Utah EO Compliance Unit in 2004, the IRS is poised to significantly enhance its scrutiny of forms 990. Clear, correct, and concise preparation of Forms 990-EZ, 990, 990-PF, and 990-T is important, not only as financial documents, but also as a means of communicating an organization’s mission and accomplishment to the public.
Demystifying the Forms 990 for financial professionals and nonprofessionals alike, this user-friendly handbook walks you through the federal tax compliance process to assure maintenance of tax-exempt status. Blazek is widely recognized for her ability to translate complicated concepts into understandable language and explain the why and how of Forms 990 preparation. In this book, you will find:
- Fill-in forms with line-by-line instructions, including a synopsis of applicable tax issues
- A comprehensive Web site with downloadable, key model forms and links to IRS forms (wiley.com/go/blazek_990)
- Clarification of answers that can have several consequences
- Suggestions for dealing with the IRS as an organization grows and changes
- Ways to maximize deductions in calculating tax due on unrelated business income
- Tips for successful navigation of the interactive parts of Form 990-PF and reducing excise tax
About the Author
JODY BLAZEK, CPA, is a partner in Blazek & Vetterling LLP, a Houston-based CPA firm providing tax compliance and auditing services to tax-exempt organizations and tax consulting services to other lawyers and accountants who serve nonprofits. She is past chair of the Exempt Organization Resource Panel of the AICPA and serves on the editorial board of Tax Advisor, Exempts, and Exempt Organization Tax Review. She is also a founding director of Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts and the Houston Artists Fund. She is the author of Tax Planning and Compliance for Tax-Exempt Organizations, Fourth Edition (2004), Financial Planning for Nonprofit Organizations (1996), and Private Foundations: Tax Law and Compliance, Second Edition (2003) and The Legal Answer Book for Private Foundations (2001) (both coauthored with Bruce R. Hopkins), all published by Wiley.
