A foundation is permitted four and a half months after the close of its fiscal year to file its Form 990-PF with the Internal Revenue Service. Keep in mind that not all foundations end their fiscal years on December 31. Some have fiscal years that end on June 30, September 30, or a number of other dates. As with individual taxpayers, filing extensions may also be requested by and granted to foundations.
Once the IRS has received the return, it is scanned. The Foundation Center receives the latest Form 990-PF returns from the IRS every few weeks and posts them to the 990 Finder, Foundation Finder and The Foundation Directory Online.
The current time period required to complete the entire process from filing to posting in most instances is five to seven months. The total lag time between the end of a foundation's fiscal year and when the Foundation Center receives the return, therefore, can be anywhere from 12 to 18 months.
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