Late filing and revocation
Automatic revocation: what happens when a nonprofit doesn't file for 3 years
If your organization doesn't file its 990-N, 990-EZ or 990 for three years in a row, federal law revokes its tax-exempt status automatically on the third due date. The IRS sends a letter and lists the organization publicly. Filing the missed returns afterward doesn't restore it; you apply for reinstatement instead.
What happens if a 990-N is not filed for 3 years?
The law says an organization that fails to file "for 3 consecutive years" has its exemption "considered revoked on and after the date set by the Secretary for the filing of the third annual return or notice" (26 U.S.C. §6033(j)). Nobody at the IRS decides it: it happens on the third missed due date.
Two examples:
- December year end: if tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025 were all missed, exemption ended on May 15, 2026.
- June year end: if tax years 2022, 2023 and 2024 were all missed, exemption ended on November 17, 2025.
Missed two years and the third deadline hasn't passed? It isn't too late. See what to do before the third deadline.
How do we know if we've been revoked?
- A letter. The IRS "sends a letter to each organization, at its last known address," saying its status has been revoked (IRS). If your address is out of date, the letter may never reach you.
- The public list. Revoked organizations appear on the IRS Auto-Revocation List, which you can search in Tax Exempt Organization Search.
- Never applied? An organization that never had to apply for exemption, such as a chapter included in a group ruling, still loses it on the third missed due date, "even if the organization is not on the Auto-Revocation List" (IRS).
See whether the IRS lists a revocation for your EIN
What revocation means for the organization
According to the IRS (effect of losing exemption):
- The organization "may be required to file" a federal income tax return (Form 1120, or Form 1041 for a trust) and pay any income tax that applies.
- A 501(c)(3) organization can't receive tax-deductible contributions.
- It's no longer shown as eligible in Tax Exempt Organization Search or the IRS data files.
State effects vary, and the IRS doesn't advise on state law. It says some states may stop exempting revoked organizations from property, sales or other taxes, or may require them to report the change, so check with your state agencies (IRS).
What it means for donors
Donors who didn't know about the change can still deduct their gifts until the IRS publishes the revocation. Once the organization is on the Auto-Revocation List, that listing "serves as notice" that gifts are no longer deductible (IRS).
Do we owe penalties or the missed returns?
Usually neither. The IRS "has decided not to impose any late filing penalties" on revoked organizations for the three missed years or any earlier ones. A revoked organization "does not need to file any Form 990, Form 990-EZ, or Form 990-N that was delinquent at the time of automatic revocation" (IRS).
Two cautions from the same page:
- From now on, the organization must meet its filing requirements to avoid future penalties.
- Certain larger organizations asking for retroactive reinstatement must send in the delinquent returns with their application.
Can we appeal?
No. "The law provides no appeals process for automatic revocations" (IRS).
If you did file, and have documentation such as an IRS receipt for a return in that three-year period, contact Customer Account Services or send it to the IRS Exempt Organizations Account Unit. The IRS says it will then remove your name from the Auto-Revocation List (IRS).
Getting exempt status back
You apply to have it reinstated. Filing the missed returns doesn't do it. Small organizations that could have filed a 990-N or 990-EZ have a simpler, streamlined route if they apply within 15 months (IRS). Our reinstatement guide walks through all four routes.
How often does this happen?
The IRS automatically revoked 56,043 organizations' exemptions in 2025, and 43,124 so far in 2026. Of the 1.25 million organizations ever placed on the revocation list, 14.7% were later reinstated.
Source: our count of the IRS automatic revocation list as published October 13, 2026, all organization types. Recent revocations can take months to appear, so 2026 is incomplete. Counts only; we never publish which organizations are revoked.