Hey folks! A week or so back there were a couple people asking about their right to see financial info, as they were being ignored/denied by their PTO boards & wanted to know what they could do. I couldn't find the threads... but I was just doing some research on the irs site & thought the following info might be helpful.

In general, what public disclosure requirements apply to tax-exempt organizations?

In general, IRS regulations require tax-exempt organizations to provide copies of certain tax documents to requesting individuals; these tax documents are usually to be provided immediately in the case of in-person requests and within 30 days in the case of written requests. The tax-exempt organization may charge a reasonable copying fee plus actual postage, if any. These disclosure requirements are in addition to the requirement that tax-exempt organizations must make their tax-documents available for public inspection.


What are the penalties for failure to comply with the disclosure requirements, and who must pay them?

Responsible persons of a tax-exempt organization who fail to provide the documents as required may be subject to a penalty of $20 per day for as long as the failure continues. There is a maximum penalty of $10,000 for each failure to provide a copy of an annual information return. There is no maximum penalty for the failure to provide a copy of an exemption application.


If a request for copies is not fulfilled, to whom may the requester complain?

The complaint should be addressed to the TE/GE Division, Customer Service.


How can one get a copy of an organization's exemption application or annual information return from the IRS?

To request a copy of either the exemption application or the annual information return, submit Form 4506-A, Request for Public Inspection or Copy of Exempt Organization IRS Form.