Attorney General Jack Conway

Charitable organization registration requirements

KRS 367.657:

(1) Prior to any solicitation, every charitable organization required by the Internal Revenue Service to file a federal Form 990 and soliciting contributions in the Commonwealth, or for which contributions are solicited shall file with the Attorney General a copy of its most recent federal Form 990 unless exempted by KRS 367.660.

(2) If a charitable organization is newly formed and a Form 990 has not yet been filed with the Internal Revenue Service, a notice of intent to solicit, in a form prescribed pursuant to administrative regulations promulgated by the Attorney General, shall be filed prior to any solicitation. Each chapter, branch, or affiliate of a charitable organization shall file a separate notice of intent or report the necessary information to its parent charitable organization that shall then file a consolidated notice of intent to solicit. If a consolidated notice of intent is filed, information arising out of the activities of each chapter, branch, or affiliate of the charitable organization in this state shall be covered in the notice. A separate notice of intent shall be filed for each chapter, branch, or affiliate upon the request of the Attorney General. The notice shall expire on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was filed.

(3) The Form 990 shall be filed with the Attorney General each year in which contributors are solicited in the Commonwealth at the same time the form is filed with the Internal Revenue Service. If a Form 990 is not filed with the Internal Revenue Service, a new notice of intent to solicit shall be filed with the Attorney General.

Initial registration checklist for charitable organizations

  • A completed Unified Registration Statement (URS) for Charitable Organizations http://www.multistatefiling.org/ External Link - you are now leaving the .gov domain
  • A copy of the Internal Revenue Service Determination Letter

Note: There is no filing fee required for registration of charitable organizations in Kentucky.

Annual registration checklist for charitable organizations

Form 990 Redesign for Tax Year 2008 (Filed in 2009)

On December 20, 2007, the IRS released a redesigned Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, for tax year 2008 (to be filed in 2009 and later years). The new form incorporates comments and suggestions from the over 650 e-mails and letters received during the comment period, which closed on September 14, 2007. The redesign of Form 990 is based on three guiding principles: enhancing transparency, promoting tax compliance, and minimizing the burden on the filing organization.

A completed copy of the Internal Revenue Service federal

Helpful links for non profits

  1. How does an organization become exempt?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=136196,00.html
  2. What is a Charity?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=122670,00.html
  3. What is a Private Foundation?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=127912,00.html
  4. How do I obtain an EIN Number?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=136198,00.html
  5. How do I obtain an application for Recognition of Exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code?
    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1023.pdf
  6. How do I obtain an application for Unified Registration Statement (URS) for Charitable Organizations?
    http://www.multistatefiling.org/
  7. How do I obtain a copy of the Internal Revenue Service Publication 557?
    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf
  8. Where can I obtain the IRS Form 990?
    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990.pdf
  9. Where can I obtain the IRS Form 990pf?
    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f990pf.pdf
  10. Where can I obtain the IRS Form 8868 for extension to file my 990?
    http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8868.pdf
  11. Where is my exemption application?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=156733,00.html
  12. Where can I find online training for charities?
    http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=166625,00.html