Tax filing

[Mark Doliner]

Hey hey, so IM Freedom has its tax exempt status, right?  I was poking
around the IRS website (because it's just so gosh darn interesting!),
and while I don't think we need to submit a full Form 990 (because we
don't have over $25,000 in income), it DOES seem like we're supposed
to submit Form 990-N.

They sometimes refer to this form as an "e-Postcard."  This form
basically just tells the IRS "yes, we're still alive."  According to
their website, if an organization does not submit this form three
years in a row then it automatically loses its tax exempt status.
This form is new--this is the second year that organizations are
supposed to submit it.  So, I think we were probably supposed to
submit one last year, too.  Luckily it doesn't look like there's
really any penalty to not submitting it.  I get the impression that we
should submit the form twice, once for this year (2006 to 2007) and
once for last year (2007 to 2008).  The form can be submitted
electronically by answering some questions on a website that they link
to.

I was surprised, but the irs website is actually pretty decent.  Their
info is pretty easy to grok and the layout isn't horrible.

Does this all sound accurate to you guys?  If so, who should fill out
that form?  I'd be glad to.  I was thinking it might be easiest for
Ethan to do it though, since he's treasure and I never have our tax ID
handy.

Information about Form 990-N here:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=169250,00.html

And their FAQ about Form 990-N:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=177782,00.html

-Mark
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[Ethan Blanton-3]

Mark Doliner spake unto us the following wisdom:
> Hey hey, so IM Freedom has its tax exempt status, right?  I was poking
> around the IRS website (because it's just so gosh darn interesting!),
> and while I don't think we need to submit a full Form 990 (because we
> don't have over $25,000 in income), it DOES seem like we're supposed
> to submit Form 990-N.

We do.  The IRS issued our non-profit status on Oct 31, 2008,
effective Feb 28, 2006.

> They sometimes refer to this form as an "e-Postcard."  This form
> basically just tells the IRS "yes, we're still alive."  According to
> their website, if an organization does not submit this form three
> years in a row then it automatically loses its tax exempt status.
> This form is new--this is the second year that organizations are
> supposed to submit it.  So, I think we were probably supposed to
> submit one last year, too.  Luckily it doesn't look like there's
> really any penalty to not submitting it.  I get the impression that we
> should submit the form twice, once for this year (2006 to 2007) and
> once for last year (2007 to 2008).  The form can be submitted
> electronically by answering some questions on a website that they link
> to.

I will take care of submitting it for the 2008 tax year.  Our fiscal
year is Jan 1 to Dec 31.  I'll try to figure out if we need to submit
it retroactively or not.

> I was surprised, but the irs website is actually pretty decent.  Their
> info is pretty easy to grok and the layout isn't horrible.

Yeah, I've been impressed the last couple of years when I've had to
use it.  Now, grokking all the tax code is something else.  ;-)

Thank you for looking into this.  The last information I got from our
lawyers was that we didn't need to file anything as long as we stayed
under the minimum income limit (which, at that time, I believe was
less than $25k, but we've still never come close).

Ethan

--
The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws [that have no remedy
for evils].  They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor
determined to commit crimes.
                -- Cesare Beccaria, "On Crimes and Punishments", 1764


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