TAX NEWS - DECEMber 2009

Exempt Organizations Reporting Requirements: Tax Year

How can I determine what my organization's tax year is?

A tax year is usually 12 consecutive months.  There are two kinds of tax years:

- Calendar Tax Year:  This is a period of 12 consecutive months beginning January 1 and ending December 31; or
- Fiscal Tax Year:  This is a period of 12 consecutive months ending on the last day of any month except December.

Generally, your tax year (or accounting period) can be found in the following documents:

- Your organization's by-laws.
- Your application for federal tax-exempt status (Form 1023 or Form 1024) or the determination letter you received approving your tax-exempt status.
- The application, Form SS-4, your organization filed to obtain its employer identification number (EIN).
- A copy of a prior year return, Form 990 or 990-EZ, that you filed with the IRS.