Essential IRS Resources for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
Richard Keyt (Rick at 480-664-7478) and his son former CPA Richard C. Keyt (Ricky at 480-664-7472) are Arizona attorneys who form nonprofit corporations and prepare and file IRS form 1023, the 501(c)(3) tax exemption application. They want to form your new Arizona nonprofit corporation.
Find the IRS information you need to form, operate and maintain a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Our free resource library organizes official IRS articles, publications, forms and educational materials covering nonprofit tax exemption, Form 1023, Form 1023-EZ, annual Form 990 filings, charitable contributions and IRS compliance requirements. Each resource includes a plain-English explanation of what it covers.
Tax Exempt Charity Resources
If you are starting a charity, serving on a nonprofit board or deciding whether to donate to one, the best free information on federal tax exemption comes straight from the source: the Internal Revenue Service. The problem is that the IRS spreads its charity guidance across hundreds of web pages and PDF publications, and most people never find the ones that matter.
This page collects the most useful official IRS articles, publications, forms and free training on organizations that are tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3). Each link goes directly to IRS.gov, and each one comes with a short plain-English note telling you what it covers and who should read it.
Richard Keyt (the father) has practiced law in Arizona since 1979. Richard C. Keyt (the son) is a former CPA who has practiced law with his Dad since 2012. They have formed more than 550 Arizona nonprofit corporations that became 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. These are the IRS resources the Keyts refer clients to most often.
In This Article
- Start Here: IRS Hubs & Free Training
- Does Your Organization Qualify for 501(c)(3) Status?
- Applying to the IRS: Form 1023 & Form 1023-EZ
- Public Charity or Private Foundation?
- Annual Filing Requirements: Form 990 Series
- Activities That Can Cost You Your Exemption
- Donations, Donor Receipts & Deductions
- Churches & Religious Organizations
- Other Useful IRS Tools
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Get Help Forming Your Arizona Nonprofit
Start Here: IRS Hubs & Free Training
If you read nothing else, start with these. They are the IRS's own front doors to everything else on this page.
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IRS Charities and Nonprofits Home Page
The main IRS landing page for tax-exempt organizations. Every other IRS resource for charities can be reached from here, including forms, filing requirements, news and the IRS charity search tool.
The IRS's free online education site for exempt organizations, organized by topic: starting out, existing organizations, in-depth topics and a resource library.
IRS Virtual Small to Mid-Size Tax-Exempt Organization Workshop
Free, self-paced IRS video courses on applying for and keeping 501(c)(3) status. Courses cover applying for exemption, maintaining exemption, employment issues, required disclosures, the Form 990, unrelated business income, the ban on political campaign activity, charitable gaming and charitable deductions. Each course includes a written transcript. Every new board member should watch at least the first two.
Life Cycle of a Public Charity
An IRS road map that organizes its charity guidance by stage: starting out, applying to the IRS, required filings, ongoing compliance and significant events such as mergers or dissolution. It is the best single page for finding the right IRS document at the right time.
IRS Exempt Organizations Education Sessions
The IRS calendar of live webinars and workshops for exempt organizations.
Does Your Organization Qualify for 501(c)(3) Status?
Before you spend time and money applying, make sure your organization can qualify. The IRS requires a 501(c)(3) organization to be both organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes, to keep its earnings from benefiting insiders, and to stay out of political campaigns.
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Exemption Requirements: 501(c)(3) Organizations
The IRS's one-page summary of the basic rules every 501(c)(3) must follow. Read it first.
Exempt Purposes: Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)
Lists the purposes that qualify, such as charitable, religious, educational, scientific and literary purposes, and explains what the IRS means by "charitable."
Explains the language your articles of incorporation must contain, including a purpose clause and a dissolution clause that sends remaining assets to another charity. Missing language is one of the most common reasons the IRS asks for amendments.
Explains how the IRS judges whether your day-to-day activities actually serve exempt purposes.
Required Provisions for Organizing Documents
IRS guidance on the specific provisions your organizing documents need, with links to sample language.
IRS Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization
The IRS's main guide to getting and keeping tax-exempt status. It covers 501(c)(3) organizations in depth and also explains the other types of exempt organizations.
IRS Publication 4220, Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status
A short, readable IRS booklet that walks you through the basics of applying. A good first read before tackling Publication 557.
Applying to the IRS: Form 1023 & Form 1023-EZ
Most new charities apply for recognition of exemption on IRS Form 1023 or the shorter Form 1023-EZ. Both are filed electronically. Choosing the wrong form, or answering its questions carelessly, is the most common cause of delays and denials. Our article called IRS Form 1023-EZ: Eligibility, Instructions & Filing Guide explains who can use the short form.
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About Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3)
The IRS page for the full Form 1023, with links to the current instructions and filing information.
Line-by-line IRS instructions for the full application. Read these before you start, not after you get stuck.
About Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application
The IRS page for the streamlined application available to small organizations, including the eligibility worksheet that determines whether you can use it.
Application Process Step by Step
IRS questions and answers that help you decide whether to apply and how to proceed.
Exemption Application User Fee
The current IRS user fee for Form 1023 and Form 1023-EZ. Check this page before you file, because the IRS sets and changes the fee.
Tax Law Compliance Before Exempt Status Is Recognized
What your organization should do while it waits for the IRS to approve the application.
Rulings and Determination Letters
Explains the determination letter the IRS issues when it approves your exemption, which is the document donors, grantors and banks will ask to see.
Public Charity or Private Foundation?
Every 501(c)(3) organization is classified as either a public charity or a private foundation under IRC §509. Private foundations, which are typically funded by one family or company, face stricter rules, excise taxes and lower deduction limits for donors. Read the compliance guide that matches your classification.
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IRS Publication 4221-PC, Compliance Guide for 501(c)(3) Public Charities
The IRS checklist of what a public charity must do to keep its exemption, including record keeping, annual filing and disclosure, and the activities that can put its exemption at risk, such as political campaigning.
IRS Publication 4221-PF, Compliance Guide for 501(c)(3) Private Foundations
The private foundation version. It explains the stricter rules on self-dealing, minimum distributions, excess business holdings, jeopardizing investments and taxable expenditures.
Annual Filing Requirements: Form 990 Series
Approval of your exemption is not the finish line. Most 501(c)(3) organizations must file a Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N every year under IRC §6033. An organization that fails to file for three consecutive years automatically loses its exemption, and many small charities lose their status this way without realizing it.
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The IRS overview of which annual return your organization must file and when.
Annual Exempt Organization Return: Who Must File
A chart showing which Form 990-series return applies based on your organization's gross receipts and total assets.
Form 990-N (e-Postcard) for Small Exempt Organizations
How the smallest organizations satisfy the annual filing requirement with a short online notice.
Automatic Revocation of Exemption
Explains how an organization loses its exemption by not filing for three years in a row, and how to apply for reinstatement.
How to tell the IRS about a change in name, address, purpose, activities or governing documents.
Activities That Can Cost You Your Exemption
The IRS can revoke a charity's exemption or impose penalty taxes on its insiders for a handful of problems. These IRS pages explain each one.
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Why a charity's income and assets cannot be used to benefit its founders, directors, officers or their families.
Intermediate Sanctions (Excess Benefit Transactions)
Explains the excise taxes under IRC §4958 on insiders who receive excessive compensation or other excess benefits, and on managers who approve them.
Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention
A 501(c)(3) organization may not support or oppose any candidate for public office. This page explains the prohibition.
Political and Lobbying Activities
Explains the limits on lobbying, which is allowed only as an insubstantial part of a charity's activities, and the optional expenditure test some charities elect.
When a charity owes income tax under IRC §512 on a regularly carried on trade or business that is not substantially related to its mission.
IRS Publication 598, Tax on Unrelated Business Income of Exempt Organizations
The IRS's detailed guide to unrelated business income, including the exceptions for volunteer labor, donated merchandise and convenience activities.
Donations, Donor Receipts & Deductions
A 501(c)(3) organization can receive contributions that are deductible under IRC §170. The charity has paperwork duties of its own, and donors have rules to follow to claim the deduction.
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IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
What your donor receipts must say, when a written acknowledgment is required and what to disclose when a donor gets something back for a gift.
Charitable Contributions: Written Acknowledgments
The required contents of a contemporaneous written acknowledgment for gifts of $250 or more.
The disclosure a charity must give when a donor pays more than $75 and receives goods or services in return, such as a gala dinner.
IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions
The donor's guide to which gifts are deductible, how much can be deducted and the records the donor must keep.
IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property
How donors value gifts of property such as vehicles, real estate, art and securities.
Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions
The form donors attach to their return for larger noncash gifts. Charities are sometimes asked to sign it.
Form 8282, Donee Information Return
The form a charity files if it sells or disposes of certain donated property within three years after receiving it.
Churches & Religious Organizations
Churches are treated differently from other charities. They are not required to apply for recognition of exemption or to file an annual Form 990, although many apply anyway so donors and banks have an IRS determination letter.
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IRS Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations
The IRS's complete guide for churches, covering exemption, political activity, unrelated business income, employment taxes for ministers and record keeping.
Filing Requirements for Churches and Religious Organizations
Which IRS filings churches must make and which they are exempt from.
IRS Publication 4573, Group Exemptions
How a central organization, such as a denomination or national association, can obtain one exemption ruling covering its affiliated chapters.
Other Useful IRS Tools
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IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
Look up any charity to confirm it is eligible to receive deductible contributions, see whether its exemption was automatically revoked and view copies of its filed returns and determination letter.
Public Disclosure and Availability Requirements
Which documents, including the exemption application and recent Form 990s, a charity must show to anyone who asks.
Employment Taxes for Exempt Organizations
Exemption from income tax does not exempt a charity from payroll taxes. This page explains its obligations as an employer.
Employer Identification Number for Exempt Organizations
Every nonprofit corporation needs its own EIN before it applies for exemption or opens a bank account.
Charitable Solicitation: State Requirements
An IRS reminder that state law, not just federal law, may regulate how a charity raises money.
Termination of an Exempt Organization
What the IRS requires when a charity dissolves, merges or otherwise ends its existence.
How to Contact the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division
Phone numbers and contact options for IRS customer service on exempt organization questions.
A word of caution about dates. The IRS revises its publications periodically, and the IRS itself warns on its Stay Exempt training pages that some materials were prepared before recent tax legislation and may not reflect every change. Always check the revision date on a publication and confirm current rules before you rely on it for a filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 501(c)(3) organization?
A 501(c)(3) organization is a nonprofit that the IRS recognizes as exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3) because it is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary or certain other exempt purposes. Most 501(c)(3) organizations can also receive contributions that donors may deduct.
Is forming a nonprofit corporation the same as getting 501(c)(3) status?
No. Forming a nonprofit corporation is a state law step. In Arizona, you file Articles of Incorporation with the Arizona Corporation Commission. Tax-exempt status is a separate federal step. The corporation must apply to the IRS, usually on Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ, and receive a determination letter recognizing it as a 501(c)(3) organization.
Which IRS publication should I read first?
Start with IRS Publication 4220, Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status, because it is short and written for beginners. Then read IRS Publication 557 for the details, and after you are approved read Publication 4221-PC or 4221-PF, depending on whether your organization is a public charity or a private foundation.
Can a 501(c)(3) organization lose its tax-exempt status?
Yes. The IRS can revoke a charity's exemption for problems such as political campaign activity, substantial lobbying, private benefit to insiders, or operating for non-exempt purposes. A charity also loses its exemption automatically if it fails to file its required annual Form 990-series return for three consecutive years.
How can I check whether a charity is really a 501(c)(3)?
Use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool on IRS.gov. It shows whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, whether its exemption has been automatically revoked, and copies of its filed returns and determination letter.
Are the IRS training courses really free?
Yes. The IRS Stay Exempt courses, including the Virtual Small to Mid-Size Tax-Exempt Organization Workshop, are free and self-paced. Each course has a video presentation and a written transcript.
Get Help Forming Your Arizona Nonprofit
The IRS resources above are excellent, but they are written for every organization in the country and cannot tell you how the rules apply to your plans. Arizona attorney Richard Keyt has formed more than 550 Arizona nonprofit corporations that became 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.
Our flat fee to form an Arizona nonprofit corporation is $1,297. See the 28 services we provide when we form an Arizona nonprofit corporation, or read our step-by-step guide on how to form an Arizona nonprofit corporation.
Our flat fee to prepare and file the organization's IRS Form 1023 application for 501(c)(3) status is $3,500. See our article called IRS Form 1023 Preparation Services.
To hire us to form your Arizona nonprofit corporation, submit our online nonprofit incorporation questionnaire. You can also book a free office, phone or Zoom video consultation, call Richard Keyt (Rick, the father) at 480-664-7478 & email rk@keytlaw.com or Richard C. Keyt (Ricky, the son) at 480-664-7472 & rck@keytlaw.com.
The links on this page go to official IRS.gov resources that KEYTLaw does not control. This page provides general information, not legal or tax advice for your specific situation. © 2026 KEYTLaw, LLC.
Questions? Book a free meeting or call or email one of our Arizona attorneys. We don't charge to talk to people.
Created October 11, 2026