NAMI Wisconsin 990
The Form 990, entitled "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax," is a report that must be filed each year with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by organizations exempt from Federal income taxes under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code, and whose annual receipts are normally more than $25,000 a year. It is an information return and not an income tax return since the organizations that file it do not pay income taxes.
The Form 990 serves two essential purposes. First, it provides information that helps government agencies (the IRS and state charity regulators) enforce the laws that govern nonprofits. For example, it helps government regulators learn whether groups have been spending their funds in a way that might cause them to lose their charitable and tax-exempt status. Second, the Form 990 provides a great deal of financial information about the filing organization's financial condition, about its financial strength or weakness and about such things as the sources of its income.
If you would like to learn more about how to read and use the Form 990 you may explore the IRS's "Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ" and "Instructions for Schedule A (Form 990)." These instructions, which provide general information and explain what each line means, are clear and can be very helpful. They can be found on the Web at www.irs.gov (run a search for Form 990 under the "Search Forms & Publications" search feature).