Top 10 First-Year Compliance Tasks for New Nonprofits

1. Get a Free EIN

Apply for an Employer Identification Number directly through the IRS at no cost, right after your articles of incorporation are filed. You'll need it to open a bank account and to file your federal tax-exemption application; never pay a third party for a basic EIN.

2. Hold Your Organizational Meeting

Convene your initial board (or use unanimous written consent in states that allow it) to adopt bylaws, adopt a conflict-of-interest policy, elect officers, and authorize opening a bank account. Keep the signed minutes or consent permanently; it's the first entry in your governance records and something a bank, grantmaker, or the IRS may ask to see later.

3. Confirm Your Board Meets Your State's Minimum

Many states set a minimum board size specifically for 501(c)(3) organizations, sometimes higher than the state's general nonprofit minimum. Confirm your board's size and independence from the founder before you file your IRS application, not after.

4. Open a Dedicated Bank Account

Use your EIN to open an account in the organization's name, never a personal account, and name the authorized signers by board resolution. This keeps your finances clearly separate from any individual's from day one.

5. Apply for 501(c)(3) Status Within 27 Months

File Form 1023-EZ ($275 user fee, for organizations under the IRS's size limits) or the full Form 1023 ($600 user fee) with the IRS. Filing within 27 months of your legal formation date means an approved exemption is effective retroactively to that formation date; filing later generally means your exemption starts only from the filing date, which can affect whether early donors' gifts are deductible.

6. Maintain Your Registered Agent

Every state requires a nonprofit corporation to keep a registered agent at a physical address in its state of formation, available during business hours, for as long as the organization exists. If you're serving as your own agent, make sure you can reliably meet that availability requirement, not just at formation but ongoing.

7. Set Up Your Donation Acknowledgment Process

Before your first donations come in, build a process for sending a contemporaneous written acknowledgment for any gift of $250 or more, stating the amount and whether any goods or services were provided in exchange. If you'll hold a fundraising event where donors receive something of value, prepare the quid pro quo disclosure statement required for gifts over $75 too.

8. Register Before You Solicit Donations

Most states require a separate charitable-solicitation registration before a nonprofit asks their residents for donations, on top of both your state formation filing and your IRS exemption. Check every state where you'll actively fundraise, including through a nationally accessible donation page, not just your home state.

9. File Your First Required Annual Report or Return

Track both your state's annual report, if your state requires one for nonprofit corporations, and your federal Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N, due by the 15th day of the fifth month after your tax year ends. These run on separate schedules and separate agencies; missing Form 990 for three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of your tax-exempt status.

10. Keep Your Address and Responsible Party Current With the IRS

If your organization's address or its EIN's responsible party changes during the year, file Form 8822-B with the IRS within 60 days. An outdated address on file means important IRS correspondence, including a warning before automatic revocation, may never reach you.

Putting It on a Single Calendar

Because these ten tasks span different agencies (your state's filing office, the IRS, and potentially a state charity regulator) with different timelines, build one compliance calendar covering all of them in your first year, rather than tracking each requirement only as it individually comes up.

Sequence Matters More Than Speed

Rushing to file your IRS application before your board is properly sized and independent, or before your bylaws and conflict-of-interest policy are genuinely in place, can create governance problems that slow down IRS review more than taking a few extra weeks to get the sequence right at the start.

The 27-Month Deadline Is Easy to Miss Without Tracking It

Because 27 months feels like a long runway early on, it's common for a new nonprofit to lose track of it amid other startup priorities. Calendar the deadline the day you form the entity, not when you start thinking seriously about the IRS application.

Don't Let "No State Annual Report" Create a False Sense of Security

In a state that doesn't require a nonprofit corporate annual report, it's tempting to assume there's nothing to track on a recurring basis. The federal Form 990 obligation and any charitable-solicitation renewals still apply regardless of what your state's corporate filing office requires.

This Is Not Legal or Tax Advice

Which of these tasks apply to your organization, and their exact deadlines and fees, depend on your state and your organization's specific activities. Talk to a nonprofit attorney or tax professional to confirm your full first-year compliance list before you're deep into year one.