Every public charity operating in Massachusetts must file Form PC each year with the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office. The report covers your most recent fiscal year and is due four and a half months after that year closes.1Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Charitable Organizations Filing it on time keeps your charity in good standing; missing it can cost up to $50 a day and, eventually, your right to solicit donations in the Commonwealth.
Who Has to File
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 12, Section 8F requires the governing board of every public charity to file Form PC for its preceding fiscal year.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title II, Chapter 12, Section 8F A public charity is any nonprofit that holds property for charitable purposes or solicits contributions from the public. If your organization does either in Massachusetts, you file.
Out-of-state charities are covered too. Any organization incorporated elsewhere that solicits donations from Massachusetts residents or conducts charitable work in the state must register with the AGO and file Form PC annually.1Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Charitable Organizations A foreign charity’s first Form PC covers the first fiscal year in which it does business in the state. When it stops operating here, it must notify the AGO in writing and file a final Form PC through its withdrawal date.
The statute carves out one explicit exemption: property held for a religious purpose by any public charity, incorporated or not, is excluded from Section 8F’s reporting requirements.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title II, Chapter 12, Section 8F The division’s director can also exempt certain classes of organizations from parts of the annual report when doing so serves the public interest.
When Form PC Is Due
The deadline is four and a half months after the close of your fiscal year.1Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Charitable Organizations For a calendar-year charity, that means May 15.
Registered charities that are current on their annual reporting receive an automatic six-month extension. No written request is required.1Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Charitable Organizations The word “current” is doing real work there. If you have unfiled reports from earlier years, you may not qualify for the automatic extension, so catching up on delinquent filings is the urgent first move before you rely on the extra six months.
What You File With It
Form PC pulls together your organization’s core data and financial results for the fiscal year. You will need your federal Employer Identification Number, the names and residential addresses of all current officers and directors, and figures for gross support, revenue, and expenses. The form is available through the AGO’s online charity portal.3Mass.gov. Online Charity Filing Portal
Every filer must submit a copy of its IRS Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF alongside the Form PC. The federal return feeds many of the state form’s entries, so completing the 990 first makes the state filing much easier.
Audit or Review Thresholds
This is where many filers get tripped up. The thresholds for independent financial review are based on your gross support and revenue, excluding capital gains or losses:4Mass.gov. Audits and Reviews for Charitable Organizations
- Over $500,000 but not more than $1,000,000: financial statements at minimum reviewed by an independent CPA. A full audit satisfies this too, but a review is the floor.
- Over $1,000,000: financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles and fully audited by an independent CPA.
Organizations with gross support and revenue of $500,000 or less are not required to submit either an audit or a review.2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title II, Chapter 12, Section 8F The division’s director can waive these requirements case by case when the public interest supports it.
Schedules for Solicitation and Gaming
If your charity solicited contributions during the year being reported, or plans to solicit during the following fiscal year, you must complete Schedule A-1 and Schedule A-2 with your Form PC.5Mass.gov. Form PC (Rev. 01/2023) These capture your solicitation activities, including any use of professional solicitors, fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturers. Organizations that run raffles, bingo, or other gaming events report those on the applicable schedule.
Filing Fees
The fee scales with your gross support and revenue for the reporting year and is set directly by statute:2General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part I, Title II, Chapter 12, Section 8F
- $100,000 or less: $35
- $100,001 to $250,000: $70
- $250,001 to $500,000: $125
- $500,001 to $1,000,000: $250
- $1,000,001 to $10,000,000: $500
- $10,000,001 to $100,000,000: $1,000
- Over $100,000,000: $2,000
Because the amounts sit in the statute rather than in a regulation, they don’t change year to year unless the legislature amends the law. You pay through the portal at the time of filing.
How to Submit
Since September 2023, the AGO has required all charity registrations and annual filings to go through the Online Charity Portal. Paper submissions are no longer accepted.3Mass.gov. Online Charity Filing Portal Create a portal account or log in with existing credentials, complete the Form PC online, upload your IRS return along with any required audit or review, and provide an electronic signature.
After the documents upload, the portal routes you to a payment screen for credit card or ACH payment. A confirmation email from the AGO serves as your receipt and proof of timely submission. Save it. If a question later arises about whether you filed on time, that email is your best evidence.
Penalties for Late or Missing Filings
If your organization fails to file, the director will mail a notice. If a complete report does not arrive within 30 days of that notice, penalties begin accruing at up to $50 per day until the filing is submitted, with a maximum aggregate penalty of $10,000 per report.6Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 12 Section 8F The $10,000 cap is a ceiling on paper, but for a small charity it is a serious hit.
The consequences don’t stop at the fine. If your organization keeps ignoring the filing requirement after formal notice, the division can cancel or suspend your charity registration, stripping your legal ability to solicit donations in Massachusetts.7General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 68, Section 32 The Attorney General can also seek a court injunction blocking any further solicitation or collection activity. For a charity that depends on public fundraising, losing the right to solicit is an existential threat.
There is a federal layer too. If your organization fails to file IRS Form 990 for three consecutive years, the IRS automatically revokes your tax-exempt status.8Internal Revenue Service. Reinstatement of Tax-Exempt Status After Automatic Revocation Since the 990 is a required attachment to Form PC, organizations that fall behind on one filing tend to fall behind on both. Reinstatement requires a new exemption application and a user fee, and in most cases exemption resumes only from the date of the new application rather than retroactively.
Registration and Solicitation Certificate Come First
Before you can file a Form PC, your charity must be registered with the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division. Any charity organized, operating, or raising funds in Massachusetts registers by filing the appropriate documents based on whether it is a domestic or out-of-state entity and whether it has completed its first fiscal year-end.1Mass.gov. Frequently Asked Questions About Charitable Organizations After that first year of activity, annual Form PC filings begin.
Separately, any charity that intends to solicit contributions in Massachusetts must obtain a Certificate of Solicitation from the AGO before asking for a single dollar.9Mass.gov. Overview of Solicitation This applies to both in-state and out-of-state organizations, and no charity required to register may solicit funds without a valid certificate.10General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 68, Section 19 A narrow exemption exists for organizations that raise no more than $5,000 per calendar year from no more than ten people, provided all activities are carried out by unpaid volunteers and no income benefits any officer or member. An organization that crosses the $5,000 threshold has 30 days to register and apply for a certificate.
Filing When Winding Down
Shutting down doesn’t end the filing obligation. Any Massachusetts-incorporated charity required to file annual reports must submit a Form PC-F as part of its dissolution package.11Mass.gov. Dissolving a Charity The PC-F covers the stub year, from the first day of your current fiscal year through the date you submit your dissolution petition to the AGO.
A PC-F does not replace a regular Form PC. If more than a year has passed since the fiscal year covered by your last complete annual report, you must file a full Form PC (with all attachments and fees) for each completed year, plus a PC-F for the remaining stub period.11Mass.gov. Dissolving a Charity Charities that are already winding down often let filings lapse, which turns dissolution into a backlog of catch-up reports and fees.