Annual Maintenance: Tax Reporting & Compliance

We prepare and file your organization’s IRS Form 990, Form 990-EZ, Form 990N or 990-PF, depending on your entity type and financial activity. Our team ensures that your return accurately reflects your programs, governance, and financials—while avoiding common compliance red flags that can trigger audits or jeopardize exempt status. We also advise on issues like public support calculations, unrelated business income, and required disclosures.

FPLG manages all applicable state-level tax filings and compliance documents. In California, this includes filing the Form 199N or Form 199 with the Franchise Tax Board, completing and submitting your Statement of Information with the California Secretary of State, and keeping your nonprofit in good standing across jurisdictions. For organizations operating in multiple states, we advise on how to manage foreign registration renewals and filing schedules.

We manage your nonprofit’s annual charitable registration renewals in all required states, helping you stay legally authorized to solicit donations across state lines. In California, this includes full support with filings for the Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, one of the most closely monitored charitable oversight bodies in the country. Our team tracks due dates, prepares and submits required reports, and handles updates, extensions, and correspondence—helping you avoid suspensions, delinquency notices, or loss of fundraising privileges that could impact your donor relationships or program funding.

As your Agent for Service of Process, FPLG receives and manages official legal correspondence on your organization’s behalf—ensuring no deadlines or notices are missed. We also provide annual compliance tracking to keep all required documents and registrations current, so your leadership team stays informed and your organization stays protected.

Staying compliant as a nonprofit means managing several recurring filing obligations, and those specific requirements vary depending on your organization’s size, structure, and the states where you operate or fundraise. At the federal level, most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual informational return with the IRS: Form 990, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990-N, depending on gross receipts and total assets. At the state level, most states require separate filings with their tax authority and annual renewals with the state charity regulator. Organizations that receive federal funding face additional reporting requirements under the Uniform Guidance. Missing any of these deadlines can result in late fees, loss of good standing, or — in the most serious cases — automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. Building these deadlines into your annual calendar, with the right professional support, is the most reliable way to stay ahead of them.

The Form 990 is the annual informational return that most tax-exempt organizations must file with the Internal Revenue Service, but it’s much more than just a compliance checkbox. Because Form 990 is a public document, it’s one of the primary ways that donors, foundations, journalists, watchdog organizations, and potential board members evaluate your organization’s financial health, governance practices, and operational transparency. Major funders routinely review Form 990s before making grant decisions, and platforms like Charity Navigator and GuideStar / Candid base much of their ratings on what your 990 discloses. A well-prepared Form 990 tells a compelling story about your organization’s impact and stewardship. A poorly prepared one — with inconsistencies, missing information, or red flags — can cost you funding opportunities and public trust.

Missing your annual filing is more serious than most nonprofit leaders realize, and the consequences escalate quickly. A nonprofit that fails to file its required return for three consecutive years automatically loses its federal tax-exempt status by operation of law, a process the IRS calls automatic revocation. Reinstating revoked status requires filing a new exemption application, paying a user fee, and navigating a process that doesn’t guarantee retroactive reinstatement. Further, penalties and interest will accrue for late Form 990-EZ or Form 990 filers. State-level consequences vary but can include delinquency status, late fees, suspension of corporate status, and loss of the right to legally solicit donations. If your organization has missed filings, the most important thing you can do is talk to a nonprofit attorney promptly — early action almost always leads to better outcomes than waiting.

The organizations that handle compliance most smoothly aren’t the ones scrambling at deadline time — they’re the ones that have built compliance into how they operate year-round. Practically speaking, that means maintaining accurate and up-to-date financial records throughout the year, tracking all filing deadlines (federal, state, and local) on a shared calendar, ensuring your board receives and reviews financial reports at every meeting, conducting periodic governance audits to make sure your bylaws and policies reflect current operations, and working with a nonprofit attorney and accountant who understand the specific regulatory environment nonprofits face. Annual compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties — it’s about building the kind of organizational credibility that earns the trust of donors, funders, and the communities you serve.