Now that everyone is up to speed on Form 990, it’s time for it to change. The final 2011 Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, and instructions is available on the IRS website.
Significant changes include requiring organizations to complete Form 990, Part I of Schedule F, Statement of Activities Outside the United States, if it had foreign investments during the tax year valued at $100,000 or more. Previously, Part I of Schedule F needed to be completed only if the organization had aggregate revenues or expenses of more than $10,000 attributable to various foreign activities.
Another big change is the new requirement that an organization complete Part X, “Balance Sheet,” by reporting its distributive share of assets in any joint ventures and other entities treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes according to the ending capital account in the partnership reported on Schedule K-1.
Other changes/clarifications listed by the IRS include:
- Contributions of conservation easements and other qualified conservation contributions must be reported consistently with how the organization reports revenue from such contributions in its books, records and financial statements.
- The organization’s distributive share of investment income, royalties and rental income from joint ventures should be reported on specific lines of Part VIII, “Statement of Revenue.”
The Form 990 instructions also contain several changes to the
Form 990 Glossary.