Guidelines on the Informational Tax Forms for Private Foundations

What You Should Know Before Signing Your Organization’s 990-PF: A Guide for Foundation Officers, by John Edie, offers advice designed to help foundation employees review their institution’s tax returns. The report suggests it is particularly important to scrutinize tax forms because of increased demands for accountability and because these forms are often viewed by the public. The guide provides a checklist of parts of the form that foundation officers should examine carefully; it also poses key questions such as whether the foundation has tried to minimize the amount of tax it owes on investment income. An accompanying guide, “10 Common Errors to Avoid in Completing a Private Foundation’s Form 990-PF: A Guide for Tax Preparers,” describes some lines in the form to which preparers should pay particular attention, such as compensation of trustees and employees, and loans to officers and directors. It also gives advice for determining what counts as administrative expenses and what counts as grants. Both reports were prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, in New York, for the Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers, in Washington, and were supported by a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, in Flint, Mich. Mr. Edie, formerly general counsel of the Council on Foundations, in Washington, and currently a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was the primary author of both.

Publisher: Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, 1111 19th Street N.W., Suite 650, Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 467-1120; fax (202) 467-0055; info@givingforum.org; http://www.givingforum.org; 13 pages; available free on the association’s Web site.