Using the 990 Wizard

Overview

The 990 Wizard walks you through preparing your annual IRS filing data step by step. At the end, you get a worksheet to hand to your tax preparer or use to file yourself. The wizard has 6 steps, but most small nonprofits can complete it in 10-15 minutes.

Before You Start

• Close the accounting period for the fiscal year you're filing. See Closing an Accounting Period. The wizard uses your finalized numbers, so closing first ensures accuracy.
• Have your officer and board list ready: names, titles, and hours per week. If officers are already listed on your Organization page, they'll pre-populate.
• Review the Form 990 Overview if you're not sure which variant (990-N, 990-EZ, or Full 990) your organization files.

Steps

Step 1: Start a new filing

1. Go to "990 Tax Filing" in the sidebar.
2. Select the fiscal year from the dropdown and click Start Filing.
3. If you already filed outside NP Ledger (through a preparer or another tool), you can click Mark as Filed Externally instead. This records the filing for your history without running through the wizard.

Tip: If you have a filing in progress, click Resume in the filing history table to pick up where you left off.

Step 2: Review organization information (Wizard Step 1)

1. Review your organization's legal name, EIN, address, phone, website, and mission statement. These come from your Organization page.
2. Review the principal officer (the person who signs the return).
3. Review the officers and directors list. Click Manage in Settings to add or edit officers if the list is incomplete.
4. If anything important is missing, a "Missing information" box appears at the top of the step. It lists each item with a Fix link that jumps you straight to where you can correct it (for example, a missing EIN, no officers on file, or a missing address). Lower-priority items, like a missing mission statement, are surfaced later when you review the worksheet (Step 6). Fix what you can now, or continue and come back.
5. Click Save & Continue.

Important: Your EIN (Employer Identification Number) is the 9-digit number the IRS assigned when your organization applied for tax-exempt status. It appears as XX-XXXXXXX. If you don't have it, check your IRS determination letter.

Step 3: Confirm your form variant (Wizard Step 2)

1. NP Ledger auto-detects which 990 variant you should file based on your gross receipts (total money received) and total assets. The recommendation appears with the supporting numbers.
2. Review the detection:
   • 990-N (e-Postcard): Gross receipts normally $50,000 or less (3-year average)
   • 990-EZ: Gross receipts under $200,000 AND total assets under $500,000
   • 990 (Full): Gross receipts $200,000+ OR total assets $500,000+
3. Note your filing deadline and extension deadline shown below the variant.
4. If you need to file a different variant (rare), expand "I need to file a different variant" and select the correct one.
5. Click Continue.

Tip: If your organization has fewer than 3 years of data, NP Ledger shows a note that the 990-N threshold is based on limited history. The IRS uses a 3-year rolling average.

Step 4: Review account mapping (Wizard Step 3)

1. NP Ledger automatically maps your accounts to 990 line items. Review the mapping in two sections:
   • Part I (Revenue, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets): shows each 990 line with the dollar amount and the number of accounts mapped to it
   • Part II (Balance Sheets): shows assets, liabilities, and net assets lines
2. Click any row to open it and see which accounts are on that line. Click the row again to close it. Each account has a Remove link if it is on the wrong line.
3. If you added accounts after you started the filing, we put each one where a new filing would put it. A blue note at the top lists them and the line each is on. Open the line to check it.
4. If an account with activity this year is still on no line, a box at the bottom reads "N account(s) need a 990 line". Pick a line for each one and press Add to line. Each list offers only lines that can hold that kind of account. Accounts with no activity this year need nothing, and one grey line says how many there are.
5. Click Looks Good — Continue when the mapping is correct.

Step 5: Answer compliance questions (Wizard Step 4)

This is the most detailed step. It covers several sections that correspond to parts of the 990 form. A 990-EZ is asked less: the sections marked "full Form 990 only" below, and the matching compliance questions (personal benefit contract, significant diversion of assets, related-party transactions, professional fundraisers), do not appear.

Program Service Accomplishments:

1. Describe your organization's 3 largest programs: their names, what they accomplished this year, and their expenses. NP Ledger pre-fills expenses from your program data if available.

Officers, Directors, and Trustees:

1. Review the officer table showing name, title, hours per week, and compensation. Compensation is auto-computed from payroll data when available (marked "Auto").
2. On a full Form 990, if any officer earns over $150,000, additional Schedule J questions appear about travel, housing, and severance.

Compliance Questions:

1. Answer yes/no questions about political activities, lobbying, school operations, unrelated business income, and structural changes. Most small nonprofits answer "No" to most of these.
2. Enter the number of voting board members, independent members, employees, and volunteers.

Governance Policies (Part VI, full Form 990 only):

1. Answer whether your organization has written conflict of interest, whistleblower, and document retention policies. The IRS considers these best practices.

Compensation Process (Part VI, Line 15, full Form 990 only):

1. Answer whether officer compensation was reviewed by an independent body and based on comparability data.

Board Review (Part VI, Line 11, full Form 990 only):

1. Confirm whether the board reviews the 990 before filing.

Schedule A -- Public Support Test (for 501(c)(3) organizations):

1. Select your public charity type (most choose the first option).
2. Review the 5-year public support calculation. NP Ledger computes the percentage and shows whether your organization passes the 1/3 support test.

Click Save & Continue when all sections are complete.

Step 6: Review your completed worksheet (Wizard Step 5)

1. Review all values in the Part I (revenue and expenses) and Part II (balance sheets) tables. Click any row to see the source accounts.
2. Check the cross-check at the top: Total Revenue minus Total Expenses should equal the Excess/Deficit line. If it doesn't match, review the flagged discrepancy.
3. Review any schedule summaries that appear:
   • Schedule B: Major contributors who gave more than $5,000 or 2% of total support
   • Schedule A: Public support test result (pass, borderline, or fail)
   • Schedule M: Noncash contributions over $25,000
   • Schedule G: Fundraising event receipts over $15,000
   • Schedule J: Officer compensation over $150,000
   • Schedule O (Form 990-EZ): The accounts behind Other revenue (line 8), Other expenses (line 16), Other assets (line 24) and Total liabilities (line 26), each with its amount. The IRS asks for that list on those four lines, so it prints on the worksheet.
4. Address any items needing attention listed at the bottom (severity-coded).
5. Click Continue to Finalize and file.

Step 7: Finalize and file (Wizard Step 6)

This is one page with three states. Each state has its own address, and the page shows the one your return is in.

If you file 990-N (e-Postcard):

1. NP Ledger shows all the answers you need, with copy-to-clipboard buttons for each field.
2. Go to the IRS website (search for "990-N e-Postcard"), enter the values, and submit.
3. Come back and click I've filed this return to record the filing. The page then says your return is filed. Click Done.

If you file 990-EZ or Full 990:

1. Draft: the page asks "Ready to finalize your return?" Click Finalize to lock the numbers. Nothing is sent to the IRS, and you can undo it.
2. Finalized: the page asks "Have you filed this return with the IRS?" Click Download Worksheet PDF -- this is a line-by-line document matching the official IRS form.
3. Use the worksheet to:
   • File yourself through a free e-file service like Tax990.com ($40+), or
   • Hand to your tax preparer: they transfer the values to the official form
4. After filing, come back and click I've filed this return. This records the date for your audit trail.
5. Filed: the page shows the date. Click Done to return to the Tax Filing landing page.

Need to change something? Use the Reset to draft link on the finalized or filed page. It unlocks the return, recalculates the line amounts from your books, and takes you back to Step 6 (Review your draft) to check them. Then finalize again.

What to Check

• Line item amounts in Step 5 should match your financial reports (run the Statement of Activities and Statement of Financial Position to compare)
• All officers are listed with correct compensation
• All compliance gaps are addressed or acknowledged
• The cross-check passes (revenue minus expenses equals excess/deficit)

Common Mistakes

• Starting the wizard before closing the period. Your numbers may change if the period isn't closed. Close first, then file.
• Missing officer entries. The IRS requires at least one officer. Add them on the Organization page, in the Officers & Directors section, before starting the wizard.
• Ignoring account mapping warnings. Unmapped accounts with activity mean that money isn't showing up on the right 990 line.
• Not exporting the worksheet before marking filed. Once you mark the filing as complete, you can still download, but it's good practice to save a copy first.
• Confusing "Finalize" with "File." Finalizing locks the worksheet in NP Ledger. Filing means submitting to the IRS. They're separate steps.

Accountant Note: The 990 Wizard generates a preparation worksheet, not the official IRS form. Organizations must file using an IRS-authorized method (e-file via approved transmitter, or paper for qualifying organizations). The worksheet maps directly to Form 990-EZ or Form 990 line items to facilitate accurate transfer. Compensation data follows the reporting requirements of Part VII and Schedule J, using the calendar year ending within the organization's fiscal year.

This is guidance, not tax advice. The worksheet reflects the data you've entered — review it for completeness and accuracy before you file. NP Ledger helps you prepare, but it can't replace a qualified tax professional. The rules summarized here come from the Instructions for Form 990 and IRS Publication 557; the IRS is the final word. When your situation is complex, have a CPA or tax preparer review the return before filing.