Automatic Revocation – How to Have Your Tax-Exempt Status Reinstated

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Organizations whose tax-exempt status was automatically revoked because they did not file required Form 990 series returns or notices for three consecutive years can apply for reinstatement of their tax-exempt status.

Revenue Procedure 2014-11 explains the four procedures an organization may use to apply for reinstatement.

Organizations that were eligible to file Form 990-EZ or 990-N (ePostcard) for the three years that caused their revocation may have their tax-exempt status retroactively reinstated to the date of revocation if they:

For organizations electronically submitting Form 1023, see Schedule E, Section 4; 1023-EZ see Part V; or 1024-A, see Part VI. For organizations submitting Form 1024, they should write on the top of the form “Revenue Procedure 2014-11, Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement,” and mail the application and user fee to:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

In addition, the IRS will not impose the Section 6652(c) penalty for failure to file annual returns for the three consecutive taxable years that caused the organization to be revoked if the organization is retroactively reinstated under this procedure and files properly completed and executed paper Forms 990-EZ for all such taxable years. (For any year for which the organization was eligible to file a Form 990-N, the organization is not required to file a prior year Form 990-N or Form 990-EZ to avoid penalties.) The organization should write “Retroactive Reinstatement” on the Forms 990-EZ and mail them to:

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Ogden, UT 84201-0027

Organizations that cannot use the Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement Process (such as those that were required to file Form 990 or Form 990-PF for any of the three years that caused revocation or those that were previously auto-revoked) may have their tax-exempt status retroactively reinstated to the date of revocation if they:

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Ogden, UT 84201-0027

These organizations should check the box on Schedule E for Section 5 when submitting Form 1023 electronically. For organizations submitting 1024-A electronically, check the box for Section 5 in Part VI. For organizations submitting Form 1024, they should write on the top of the Form 1024, “Revenue Procedure 2014-11, Retroactive Reinstatement,” and mail the application and user fee to:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

Organizations that apply for reinstatement more than 15 months after the later of the date on the organization’s revocation letter (CP-120A) or the date the organization appeared on the Revocation List on the IRS website may have their tax-exempt status retroactively reinstated to the date of revocation if they:

These organizations should check the box on Schedule E for Section 6 when submitting Form 1023 electronically. For organizations submitting 1024-A electronically, check the box for Section 6 in Part VI. For organizations submitting Form 1024, they should write on the top of the Form 1024, “Revenue Procedure 2014-11, Retroactive Reinstatement,” and mail the application and user fee to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 12192
Covington, KY 41012-0192

Organizations may apply for reinstatement effective from the post-mark date of their application if they:

These organizations should check the box ) for Section 7 on Schedule E for Form 1023 or Part V for Form 1023-EZ. For organizations submitting 1024-A electronically, check the box for Section 7 in Part VI. For organizations submitting Form 1024, they should write on the top of the Form 1024, “Revenue Procedure 2014-11, Reinstatement Post-Mark Date,” and mail the application and user fee to:

Internal Revenue Service

P.O. Box 12192

Covington, KY 41012-0192

A reasonable cause statement establishes that an organization exercised ordinary business care and prudence in determining and attempting to comply with its annual reporting requirement. The statement should have a detailed description of all the facts and circumstances about why the organization failed to file, how it discovered the failure, and the steps it has taken or will take to avoid or mitigate future failures. For a detailed explanation see Section 8 of Revenue Procedure 2014-11.

Organizations that applied for and received reinstatement of exempt status effective from the post-mark date prior to January 2, 2014 (the effective date of Revenue Procedure 2014-11), and that would have satisfied the retroactive reinstatement requirements of Section 4, will be reinstated from the revocation date. Those organizations should keep their determination letters reinstating tax exempt status and a copy of Revenue Procedure 2014-11 with their books and records. See Section 10 of Revenue Procedure 2014-11 for details.

An organization can be automatically revoked again if it fails to file required returns for three consecutive years beginning with the year in which the IRS approves the application for reinstatement. Organizations seeking reinstatement of tax-exempt status after a subsequent revocation are not eligible to use the Streamlined Retroactive Reinstatement Process.

Revenue Procedure 2014-11 modified and superseded Notice 2011-44, Application for Reinstatement and Retroactive Reinstatement for Reasonable Cause under Internal Revenue Code Section 6033(j).