Updated 9/1 from guidance first published 3/28/22, to reflect the final effective date for online filing

Over the past year, New York State has introduced a number of changes to its rules and processes for Form CHAR500, the annual filing required from all charities operating in the state. Read what’s new with regard to the filing process, schedules to include, and who must submit an audit report (vs. a review report).

Mandatory annual online filing

As per the New York Attorney General’s office, effective Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, filers will be required to submit Form CHAR500 on the NYS Charities online portal. The Attorney General’s office has provided a user guide for first-time online registration completion, as well as an interactive online checklist and video. A PDF fillable copy of Form CHAR500 will not be available for 2022.

NYS writes that online filing will benefit organizations registered in the state as it will:

• Provide faster processing time
• Update faster to show the organization is in compliance with annual filing
• Allow faster confirmation of payment received
• Provide document tracking and receipt confirmation

Schedule B collection suspension

The New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau has suspended the requirement to attach Schedule B (Schedule of Contributors) of IRS Form 990. This is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, Attorney General of California, which determined in a vote of 6-3 that the California attorney general’s policy to require donor disclosure violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, setting precedent for protecting private and personal data of contributors. The goal of the court case was to protect privacy and minimize donor disclosure requirements beyond what is required to be disclosed directly to the IRS. New York State has followed in-line with California, and suspended the requirement to attach Schedule B. Private foundations, however, will still be required to provide Schedule B details.

NYS audit threshold increase

Organizations that are registered with New York under Article 7A, or as a DUAL filer, are required to submit an audited financial report with the annual Form CHAR500 filing, if they meet a certain threshold. Following the final threshold increase phased in as part of the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act, signed into law back in 2013, that threshold is now as follows:

What does CohnReznick think?

We believe that these updates will provide organizations with the following benefits:

1. The online registration will ease the burden of organizations by providing a much faster confirmation that they are in good standing with NYS Charities’ compliance requirement. We recommend that organizations create an online account at the link provided above as soon as possible to familiarize themselves with this new format.
2. The suspension of Schedule B attachment to Form CHAR500 will help protect donor privacy.
3. The increase in the audit threshold provides smaller organizations with the more cost- and time-efficient option of having a review instead of an audit performed annually.

Contact

Zachary Segal, CPA, Senior Manager, Exempt Organizations Tax Services

516.417.5356

Chaim Fridman, Exempt Organizations Tax Services

646.448.5469