Look Up Any US Nonprofit'sForm 990
Instantly view revenue, expenses, assets, and multi-year financial trends directly from public IRS filings for any US tax-exempt organization.
Financial Data
View revenue, expenses, and assets from latest filing
Historical Data
Access multiple years of Form 990 filings
Due Diligence
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What Is Form 990 and Why Does It Matter?
Form 990 is the annual information return that most tax-exempt organisations in the United States must file with the IRS. It's a public document — one of the most powerful transparency tools in the nonprofit sector. Form 990 reveals a nonprofit's total revenue, expenses, executive compensation, program descriptions, and much more, all verified by the organisation itself and submitted under penalty of perjury.
Our free Form 990 lookup tool lets you access this financial data instantly using any organisation's EIN. We pull from the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer database, which aggregates IRS 990 filings for over 1.8 million tax-exempt entities. You can see total revenue, total expenses, net assets, and filing type — giving you a fast snapshot of a nonprofit's financial health without digging through raw IRS PDFs.
Form 990 data is used throughout the philanthropic sector: grant-makers review it before making funding decisions, donors use it to assess how efficiently a charity uses its resources, and researchers track sector trends through it. Understanding how to read a Form 990 is a core skill in nonprofit due diligence.
Who Looks Up Form 990 Data?
How to Interpret Nonprofit Financial Data
When reviewing Form 990 data, look at the relationship between total revenue and total expenses. A healthy nonprofit typically has revenues that meet or modestly exceed expenses, building reserves without accumulating excessive surpluses. Large deficits run over multiple years are a warning sign; very large surpluses may indicate the organisation isn't distributing funds effectively.
Net assets (or fund balance) tells you how financially resilient an organisation is. The sector standard of thumb is three to six months of operating expenses held in reserves. Organisations with very low reserves may struggle to survive a funding gap; those with very high reserves relative to their spending may be hoarding rather than deploying charitable funds.
Remember that Form 990 data is typically 18–24 months behind the present. A filing you're viewing in 2025 likely reflects fiscal year 2023 data. For rapidly growing or recently troubled organisations, supplementing 990 data with current financial statements and management accounts is good practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which nonprofits must file Form 990?
Most tax-exempt organisations with gross receipts over $200,000 or total assets over $500,000 must file Form 990. Smaller organisations (gross receipts under $50,000) can file the simplified 990-N (e-Postcard). Those in between typically file Form 990-EZ. Certain organisations are exempt from filing, including most churches and their integrated auxiliaries, as well as certain government affiliates.
How current is the Form 990 data?
There's typically an 18–24 month lag between a fiscal year ending and the Form 990 for that year appearing in public databases. This is because nonprofits have up to 6 months after their fiscal year to file (with an extension), and it then takes additional time for the IRS to process and publish the data. The data in our tool reflects what's currently available through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, which updates regularly as new filings are processed.
Can I see executive salaries on Form 990?
Yes. Part VII of Form 990 requires organisations to disclose compensation for officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and the five highest-compensated employees earning over $100,000. This is one of the most scrutinised sections of any Form 990. Our summary tool shows total revenue and expenses; for full compensation data, you can access the complete Form 990 PDF through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer or directly from the IRS.
What if an organisation has no Form 990 on file?
If no Form 990 appears for an organisation, it may be because: it's a very small organisation that only files the 990-N e-Postcard (which contains minimal data); it's a church or other filing-exempt organisation; it's newly formed and hasn't yet completed its first full fiscal year; or — most seriously — it has failed to file. Three years of missed filings leads to automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. If you're conducting due diligence, a missing Form 990 warrants further investigation.
How do I find Form 990 data for a private foundation?
Private foundations file Form 990-PF rather than regular Form 990. This return includes information on assets, investment income, grants paid, and qualifying distributions. It's particularly valuable for grant seekers wanting to understand a foundation's giving history and priorities before applying. Our tool covers both Form 990 and 990-PF data where available through ProPublica's database.
Is Form 990 data really public information?
Yes, absolutely. The IRS requires tax-exempt organisations to make their Form 990 available for public inspection upon request, and the IRS publishes them in machine-readable format online. Databases like ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer have made this data far more accessible. There is no privacy concern with viewing this data — transparency is precisely why Congress mandated public disclosure of Form 990 in the first place.