Tax year and fiscal year: which year am I filing?
Reviewed
The tax year is the calendar year in which your accounting year begins.
- A calendar-year organization (January 1 to December 31, 2024) files for tax year 2024.
- An organization whose year runs July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 also files for tax year 2024.
How 990.tax sets the dates
When you pick your organization, 990.tax reads the accounting period (year end month) from the IRS record for your EIN and sets the start and end dates of the return from it. You choose the tax year; the dates follow.
- You cannot change the dates to a different year end, because the IRS rejects a return whose period does not match its records. Only a first (initial) or final return may cover a shorter period.
- You cannot file before the year has ended.
If your year end is wrong on the IRS record, the fix is with the IRS (Form 1128 changes an accounting period), not in 990.tax.
Questions
Our year runs July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Which tax year is that?
Tax year 2024, because it begins in 2024. It is due November 17, 2025 (November 15 was a Saturday).
We changed our year end. Why does 990.tax still show the old one?
990.tax uses the accounting period the IRS has on file for your EIN. To change it with the IRS, file Form 1128 (or follow the Form 990-EZ instructions for a change of accounting period). If the IRS record is already changed and 990.tax still shows the old one, email [email protected].