Most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches, must file a yearly return or notice with the IRS (Form 990-PF, 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N). Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which imposed new filing requirements for small tax-exempt organizations as well as harsher penalties on non-filers, any organization that fails to file the applicable return or notice for three consecutive years will automatically lose its federal tax-exempt status. Loss of exempt status means the organization becomes subject to federal income tax, and it must reapply for exempt status if tax-exemption is desired. Generally, loss of exempt status also means that contributors to the organization will not be able to claim charitable deductions for donations made after the revocation is published by the IRS.

The IRS has announced a special one-time relief program for small tax-exempt organizations that failed to file annual information returns for three consecutive years and, as a result, could lose their federal tax-exempt status. Under the relief program, certain small tax-exempt organizations that were required to file annual information returns on May 17, 2010 (or a later filing date on or before October 15, 2010), and that are facing automatic revocation for three consecutive years of non-filing, now have until October 15, 2010 to preserve their tax-exempt status.

Check now to see if your organization is at risk:

***The list may be incomplete, as certain organizations may be at risk of automatic revocation even if their names do not appear on these lists.