INITIAL FILING REQUIREMENTS TO BECOME CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT

  1. HOW TO INCORPORATE IN CALIFORNIA:
    • File the Articles of Incorporation.
      • Send to: Secretary of State, Business Entities, P.O. Box 944260, Sacramento, CA 94244-2600
      • Filing fee is $30
    • Note that you must submit Form SI-100 (Statement of Information) within 90 days of filing the Articles of Incorporation.
  2. HOW TO OBTAIN 501(c) (3) TAX-EXEMPT STATUS:
    • Form 1023 must be submitted to: Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 12192, Covington, KY 41012-0192
      • Filing fee is $850 ($275 for 1023-EZ Form, as of July 1st, 2016)
      • For further information,
        • Websitewww.irs.gov/charities
        • Call:
          • (800) 829–3676 (Form related questions)
          • (800) 829–1040 (general information)
  3. HOW TO OBTAIN CALIFORNIA STATE’S INCOME TAX EXEMPTION:
    • File Form FTB-3500 together with Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, detailed financial statements, funding, activities, leases and literature samples.
      • Send to: Exempt Organizations Unit MS F120, Franchise Tax Board, P.O. Box 1286, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-1286
      • There is no filing fee.
      • Note that an organization can file the simpler Form-3500A if it already has an IRS’s Letter of Determination Form.
      • For more general information,
  4. HOW TO OBTAIN CALIFORNIA STATE’S SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION:
    • Nonprofit organizations in California are usually not exempt from sales and use taxes.
  5.  HOW TO REGISTER WITH THE CALIFORNIA STATE’S ATTORNEY GENERAL:
    • File Registration Form CT-1 together with: Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, IRS Form 1023, IRS 501(c) (3) determination letter, most recent IRS Form 990, and a statement describing the primary activity of the organization (a copy of the statement of purposes from the IRS 1023 application will suffice).
      • Note that this must be filed within 30 days of receiving assets for the charitable purposes for which the organization is organized.
      • Send to: State of California, Office of the Attorney General, Registry of Charitable Trusts, P.O. Box 903447, Sacramento, CA 94203-4470
      • Filing fee is $25
      • Note that corporations organized and operated primarily as hospitals, schools or religious organizations are exempt from filing, but must furnish information substantiating such status to the above address. See California Government Code section 12583 for details.
      • Note The Unified Registration Statement form may be filed in place of form CT-1.
      • For more information,

ANNUAL FILING REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT

  1. CALIFORNIA STATE’S ATTORNEY GENERAL:
    • File Form RRF-1. Please include IRS Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF, if your organization’s gross receipts or total assets are over $25,000.
      • Note that the due date is 4 months and a half months after end of fiscal year. Charitable corporations organized and operated primarily as religious organizations, hospitals, or educational institutions are exempt from filing.
      • Send to: Registry of Charitable Trusts, P.O. Box 903447, Sacramento, CA 94203-4470
      • The filing fee is up to $300 ( it depends on the revenues)
      • For more information,
    • File Annual Financial Solicitation Report – Form CT-694
      • Note that the due date is 4 and a half months after end of fiscal year
      • Send it to the same address as provided above.
      • Filing of CT-694 is free of charge
      • Note that this filing is required only if the organization:
        • Collects more than 50% of its annual income and more than $1 million in charitable contributions from donors in California during the previous calendar year, and
        • Spent more than 25% of its annual income on non-program activities as defined in Business and Professions Code section 17510.9.
  2. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
    • File Annual Return Form 990
      • Note that the due date is 4 and a half months after the end of fiscal year
      • Send to: Internal Revenue Service, 1160 W 12th Street, Ogden, UT 84201
      • There is no filing fee.
    • For more information
      • Website: irs.gov/charities
      • Call:
        • (800) 829-3676 (Form related questions)
        • (800) 829-1040 (general information)
    • For Public Charities: Please go to the IRS website to determine which of the three forms to file: Form 990, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990-N.
    • For Private Foundations: You are required to submit the Form 990-PF.
  3. CALIFORNIA STATE’S FRANCHISE TAX BOARD
    • File California e-Postcard Form 199 or 199N
      • Note that the due date is 4 and a half months after the end of fiscal year.
      • Send to: Exempt Organization Unit, Franchise Tax Board, P.O. Box 942857, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-0501
      • The filing fee of Form 199 is up to $25.
        • There is no filing fee for Form 199N.
      • For more information,
    • File Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return Form 109
      • Note that the due date is 4 and a half months after the end of fiscal year.
      • Send to: Exempt Organization Unit MS F120, Franchise Tax Board, P.O. Box 1286, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-1286
      • There is filing fee for Form 109.
      • Note that this filing is only required if the organization derived more than $1,000 in gross unrelated business income.
      • For more information,
  4. CALIFORNIA STATE’S SECRETARY OF STATE:
    • File Statement of Information Form SI-100
      • Note that the due date is biennially before the end of the calendar month during which the original Articles of Incorporation were files. (However not sooner than the immediately preceding 3 calendar months).
      • Send to: Secretary of State, Statement of Information Unit, P.O. Box 944230, Sacramento, CA 94244-2300
      • The filing fee is $20
        • The late-filing penalty is $50
      • For more information,