Reinstatement of Tax-Exempt Status after Automatic Revocation
If an organization has had its tax-exempt status automatically revoked and wishes to have that status reinstated, it must file an application for exemption and pay the appropriate user fee even if it was not required to apply for exempt status initially.
Note: Certain small organizations applying for reinstatement before December 31, 2012 may qualify for a reduced fee of $100 and retroactive reinstatement of exempt status. See Notice 2011-43 for details. For organizations affected by Hurricane Sandy, this date has been postponed. See News Release 2012-96.
If the IRS determines that the organization meets the requirements for tax-exempt status, it will issue a new determination letter. The IRS also will include the reinstated organization in the next update of Exempt Organizations Select Check (Pub. 78 database), and indicate in the IRS Business Master File (BMF) extract that the organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. Donors and others may rely upon the new IRS determination letter as of its stated effective date and on the updated Exempt Organizations Select Check and BMF extract listings.
In most cases, the effective date of reinstated exemption will be the date that the organization’s exemption application was submitted to the IRS. However, organizations may choose to request that reinstatement be retroactive to the effective date of revocation. The IRS will grant retroactive reinstatement of exemption under certain limited circumstances. See Notice 2011-44 for details. Because the list is an official IRS record of organizations that lost their exempt status for failing to file for three consecutive years, an organization whose exempt status is reinstated remains on the list.
This IRS video describes the reinstatement process, including a program to help small organizations regain their exempt status.
