Among other things, IRS Form 990 includes detailed information on a charity's income and expenses for a given year. Private foundations and churches are also exempt from the annual IRS Form 990. According to the disclosure regulations, if the request is made in person, nonprofits must provide copies of the forms immediately. If the request is made in writing, by fax, or e-mail, groups have thirty days to mail out copies. According to the Internal Revenue Service, reasonable is defined as one dollar for the first page and 15 cents for additional pages.
Nonprofits can require advance payment for copying and mailing fees.
In these cases, the thirty day requirement for providing copies would not start until payment is received from the person requesting the forms. In addition, organizations that do not have pre-payment policies will have to notify the person requesting the forms of any copying and mailing costs exceeding twenty dollars. Nonprofits can reduce the time spent copying as well as the costs associated with copying and mailing by pro-actively posting their IRS Form 990 on the Internet. The material may either be displayed on the organization's own website or at another site that functions as a database of information about nonprofits. Organizations using this manner of IRS Form 990 disclosure must make their website address, or the site address where their IRS Form 990 information is located, readily available to inquiring individuals.