TaxNewsFlash-Exempt Organizations

April 7, 2008
No. 2008-35

IRS Releases Draft Instructions for 2008 Form 990, and Seeks Public Comment

The IRS today released draft instructions for the 2008 Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax—the annual return that most tax-exempt organizations use to report information about their operations. The instructions are intended to apply for the redesigned Form 990 that organizations will file for their 2008 tax year (i.e., returns to be filed in 2009).

The draft instructions for Form 990 are dated April 7, 2008, and are posted on the IRS Web site: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=181091,00.html

The redesigned Form 990 was released in final form in December 2007 (for a discussion of the new Form 990, see TaxNewsFlash-Exempt Organizations 2007-151).

With today’s release, the IRS announced that it is seeking comments from the public on the 2008 Form 990 instructions. Comments are due by June 1, 2008.

Overview

According to the IRS:

A special highlights list indicates certain items in the instructions on which the IRS specifically would like to receive public comments. The IRS plans to post comments on the instructions on its Web site.

The draft 2008 Form 990 instructions are organized according to a consistent format. There is a general overview of the form or schedule explaining its purpose; an explanation of who must file that particular schedule; and line-by-line instructions to aid in answering each question on the form or schedule.

The draft instructions contain a number of new tools designed to make it easier for the organization to answer the questions and to promote more uniform reporting, including:
- A comprehensive glossary of terms
- A sequencing list to help organizations determine the order in which to fill out parts of the form
- A compensation table to help organizations determine how and where to report items of compensation
- Examples

For more information, contact Rick Speizman, National Partner-In-Charge, KPMG’s Exempt Organizations Tax Practice (ExoTax), at (202) 533-3084 or rspeizma@kpmg.com

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