How to fill out Form 990 for nonprofits, line by line

This guide explains the 2025 core Form 990 completion flow and the decisions that most often affect what belongs in the filing package. It does not determine an organization’s filing status or replace the instructions for a schedule that Part IV requires.

• Start with the Form 990 filing route and completion order

• Complete the heading and Part I summary after the core records are organized

• Use Parts III–VI to explain activities, trigger schedules, and report governance

• Report compensation in Part VII by role, threshold, and source

• Complete Parts VIII–XII as one financial reporting flow

• Before filing Form 990: schedules, signature, e-file, and public-disclosure checks

Start with the Form 990 filing route and completion order

Form 990 generally applies to an organization exempt under section 501(a) when gross receipts are at least $200,000 or end-of-year total assets are at least $500,000, subject to exceptions. An eligible organization below both amounts may choose Form 990-EZ; an organization normally at $50,000 or less generally submits Form 990-N if it does not voluntarily file Form 990 or 990-EZ. Private foundations generally use Form 990-PF instead.

Why the order matters

Part I is a summary, not the starting point for every number. Its revenue, expense, asset, and liability figures come from later financial sections. Likewise, Part IV asks whether facts reported elsewhere trigger schedules. Working in the IRS sequence reduces the chance that a summary amount, schedule answer, or Schedule O explanation is based on unfinished information.

1. Complete heading items A–F and H(a)–M; identify related organizations and the people who may belong in Part VII.

2. Complete Parts VIII, IX, and X, then calculate heading item G gross receipts.

3. Complete Parts III, V, VII, XI, and XII; address Schedule L when required; then complete Part VI.

4. Complete Part I from the finished sections, then Part IV, Schedule O, all applicable schedules, and Part II last.

• government form instructions

Complete the heading and Part I summary after the core records are organized

The heading on page 1 establishes the reporting period and identifies the filer. Enter the legal name in item C; use the DBA line only for an alternate operating name. Items A–M also cover the EIN, principal officer, tax-exempt status, entity form, formation year, domicile, group-return information, and item G gross receipts. The IRS recommends completing most of these entries early, but item G follows Part VIII.

Item B checkboxes: use only the status that fits

The item B boxes do more than flag a change. A legal name change requires supporting documents that depend on the entity type. An amended return is a new complete return for the same year, with Schedule O identifying the amended parts and schedules. A final return requires the final-return box and, when the organization liquidated, terminated, or dissolved, Schedule N. An organization claiming exemption without IRS recognition checks Application pending if it is required to file; it still completes the form and required schedules.

Part I financial summary: where the numbers come from

Part I brings together the mission, governance counts, employees, volunteers, unrelated business income, and financial results. Complete it after the referenced parts. A reasonable volunteer estimate is allowed when the organization does not track volunteers in its records. For an initial return, or when Form 990-EZ or Form 990-PF was filed in the prior year, leave the prior-year amounts on Part I lines 8–19 blank.

Use these cross-part ties to check the main Part I financial amounts.

Use Parts III–VI to explain activities, trigger schedules, and report governance

These sections turn the organization’s operational records into narrative disclosures and schedule decisions. They are connected: program descriptions draw on financial records, Part IV uses the completed core form to route schedules, and Schedule O carries explanations required by several parts. Every Form 990 filer completes Schedule O.

Part III: distinguish program accomplishments from fundraising

Part III describes the mission and the three largest program services measured by total expenses. A program service is an activity that accomplishes the exempt purpose; fundraising is not a program accomplishment merely because it raises money. Describe what the program did and its measurable accomplishment, then connect it to the appropriate expenses, grants, and directly derived revenue. For section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, those amounts are required for lines 4a–4c. New significant services, significant changes, ceased services, and other services can require Schedule O narrative. For 2025, leave the program-service code blank.

Part IV and Schedule O: the schedule-routing system

Treat each Part IV answer as a routing decision, not a generic compliance checklist. Complete the relevant core-form sections first, answer the question for the tax year, and then complete the named schedule, schedule part, or attachment when the answer is Yes. Some lines use thresholds, so a filer is not required to answer Yes or complete a referenced schedule part when it has no information required in that part. Part IV line 38 is Yes when Schedule O is completed—which is required for every Form 990 filer.

Parts V and VI: compliance and governance disclosures

Part V asks about other federal filing and tax-compliance matters. For example, line 3a is Yes if total gross income from all unrelated trades or businesses is $1,000 or more; if it is Yes, line 3b asks whether Form 990-T had been filed when Form 990 is filed. Foreign-account reporting has a separate more-than-$10,000 combined-value condition in the instructions, and line 7 applies only to organizations that may receive deductible contributions under section 170(c). Several later lines apply only to particular organization types.

Part VI reports actual governance, management, policy, review, disclosure, and records-custody practices. It does not itself make every requested policy mandatory under federal tax law. Still, every filer answers the applicable Part VI questions, including whether it provided the return to its governing body before filing and the process, if any, used to review it. Required Schedule O explanations include Yes answers to lines 2–7b and No answers to lines 8a, 8b, or 10b. Answer a policy question Yes only when the governing body or authorized committee adopted the policy by year-end and it applied organization-wide.

Report compensation in Part VII by role, threshold, and source

Part VII is not simply a payroll list. First determine which people belong in each reporting category; then use the required calendar-year compensation sources and columns. Current officers, directors, and trustees are listed regardless of compensation amount, including zero compensation where applicable.

Who goes in the table

Classify a person before entering compensation.

Columns D–F and related organizations

For each listed person, columns D and E report applicable reportable compensation from the filing organization and related organizations, while column F reports other compensation. Report compensation for the calendar year ending with or within the organization’s tax year, even when the organization is a fiscal-year filer. Do not report the same compensation item in more than one Part VII column, and enter a specific average weekly-hours figure rather than “as needed” or “40+.”

Schedule J is triggered for specified former persons, for a listed person with more than $150,000 of reportable plus other compensation from the organization and related organizations, and when a listed person received compensation from an unrelated organization for services to the filing organization in the stated circumstances. Those situations also feed Part IV line 23, which routes to Schedule J.

Complete Parts VIII–XII as one financial reporting flow

The financial pages tell one connected story: classify revenue, classify expenses, state beginning and ending financial position, reconcile the change in net assets, and identify the accounting basis and financial-statement work performed. Part I summarizes this work; it does not replace it.

Revenue and expense classification: Parts VIII and IX

Part VIII reports total revenue in column A and, except for section 527 political organizations, divides the relevant revenue into related or exempt-function revenue, unrelated business revenue, and excluded revenue in columns B–D. The applicable columns must add to column A on each line. Lines 2a–2e and 11a–11c need a business activity code when an amount is reported. Contributions belong on line 1; payments for goods or services may belong elsewhere. Do not net fundraising expenses against contributions.

Part IX classifies expenses by both object and function. Section 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations complete all columns; other organizations complete column A and may complete the functional columns. If the accounting system does not already allocate expenses, use and document a reasonable allocation method. Keep the direct expenses reported on Part VIII lines 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b, and 10b out of Part IX.

Balance sheet and reconciliation: Parts X and XI

These are the central financial checks before completing the summary.

Part X shows financial position at the beginning and end of the year. Part XI then explains the movement from beginning to ending net assets or fund balances: revenue less expenses, plus or minus the other listed changes. Itemize Part XI line 9 other changes on Schedule O. In general, do not report negative numbers unless the instructions say otherwise, and report revenue and expenses separately rather than netting them.

Part XII: accounting method and financial-statement oversight

Part XII identifies whether the return uses the cash, accrual, or other method; explain a changed method or an Other-method selection on Schedule O. It separately asks whether an independent accountant compiled or reviewed financial statements and whether an independent accountant audited them—a compilation or review is not an audit. If either response is Yes, answer whether a qualifying committee both oversaw the work and selected the independent accountant. The Uniform Guidance question concerns whether the organization was required to undergo an audit because it spent $750,000 or more in federal awards during the year.

Before filing Form 990: schedules, signature, e-file, and public-disclosure checks

A filed Form 990 is a package, not just the 12-page core form. Before signing, make sure the core parts, Schedule O, each Part IV-triggered schedule, required explanations, and authorized attachments are complete. Make an entry—including zero when appropriate—on applicable lines unless the instructions say to skip them.

What makes a Form 990 incomplete

1. Recheck Part IV against the completed core form, then complete every schedule or schedule part the Yes answers require. Complete Schedule O and its required narrative explanations.

2. Confirm financial cross-references: Part I totals, Part VIII and IX totals, Part X balance, and Part XI ending net assets.

3. Have an authorized current officer sign Part II; an authorized trustee signs for a trust. A paid preparer generally signs, enters a PTIN rather than an SSN, completes the other preparer fields, and gives the organization a copy.

4. E-file the 2025 return and do not password-protect or encrypt a PDF attachment, because the IRS may be unable to open it.

A paid preparer can help prepare the filing, but the organization remains responsible for a complete and accurate return. State filing requirements can differ from IRS requirements, so use the relevant state authority for jurisdiction-specific obligations.

Sources and how this page was made

This guide explains the official sources listed below in plain language. Displayed amounts, limits, percentages, and timing rules come from that material.

Source revision reflected in this guide: Form: 2025; Instructions: 2025.

• Official form: 2025 Form 990 — IRS

• Official form instructions: 2025 Instructions for Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax — IRS