Can anyone prepare IRS Form 990? Any accountant , or non-accountant, can prepare a Form 990, but will it be prepared correctly? Or will an incomplete or incorrectly prepared Form 990 lead to an IRS audit. Does your preparer (whether a CPA or in-house preparer) understand the purpose of the form? IRS Form 990 is an “informational” return. It differs from other IRS “tax” forms since its purpose is not to compute tax. Although there are circumstances when a nonprofit does pay IRS taxes, that is computed and paid on a difference for (990-T). Since the Form 990 is information in nature, it is important that an accountant that prepares Form 990 understands the IRS’s purpose for requesting this specific information. In addition to being a method to disclose information publicly, the 990 is a tool the IRS uses to ensure organizations understand the rules and regulations that they need to stay in compliance with to maintain tax exempt status.
At JV CPA we specialize in Form 990 preparation as we only serve nonprofit organizations.