What Is Form 199? California’s Nonprofit Annual Return

Form 199 is the California Exempt Organization Annual Information Return, filed each year with the Franchise Tax Board by most nonprofits that hold a California tax exemption. If your organization’s gross receipts normally exceed $50,000, you file the full Form 199. Smaller organizations generally file the shorter Form 199N, the California e-Postcard. The return lets the FTB confirm you’re still operating consistently with your exempt purpose, and skipping it for three years in a row costs you your exempt status automatically.

Who Has to File

Every organization exempt under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23701 must file an annual return with the FTB unless a specific exemption applies.¹ That covers 501(c)(3) charities, social welfare organizations, labor unions, business leagues, and the rest of the exempt categories. Private foundations and nonexempt charitable trusts described in IRC Section 4947(a)(1) file Form 199 no matter how little they bring in.² Out-of-state nonprofits with California-sourced income are subject to the same rules.

For everyone else, the $50,000 gross receipts line separates the full return from the e-Postcard. The threshold isn’t just last year’s number. The FTB uses a rolling average that depends on how long you’ve been around:²

One year old or less: gross receipts of $75,000 or less qualifies for the e-Postcard.
More than one but less than three years: average of $60,000 or less across the current and prior year.
Three years or more: average of $50,000 or less across the current and two preceding years.

So a newer nonprofit can bring in more than $50,000 in a single year and still qualify for the streamlined filing. The averaging smooths out spikes, which matters for young organizations whose fundraising swings from year to year. Any organization eligible for the e-Postcard can voluntarily file the full Form 199 instead if it wants a more thorough record on file with the state.

Who Doesn’t File at All

Some organizations have no Form 199 obligation regardless of income. Churches, interchurch organizations, conventions or associations of churches, and integrated auxiliaries of churches are excluded.³ This mirrors the federal exemption from Form 990 for the same entities. Certain political organizations and government entities are also outside the filing requirement. If you’re uncertain about your category, the FTB publishes a chart matching organization type to filing obligation.

When It’s Due

Form 199 is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after your accounting period ends.² Calendar-year filers are due May 15. If your fiscal year ends June 30, you’re due November 15.

You get an automatic six-month extension without filing any paperwork.² For calendar-year filers, that moves the deadline to November 15. No written request is needed. Once the extended deadline passes, though, the FTB treats the return as delinquent and penalties start running.

There’s no filing fee. California eliminated the $10 annual filing fee for Form 199 effective January 1, 2021, and the $15 late-payment surcharge went with it.²

What You Report on the Return

Before you start, pull your California corporation number (or Secretary of State entity number) and your federal employer identification number.⁴ The financial portion asks for total gross receipts, cost of goods sold, and a complete balance sheet showing assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year. Expense reporting includes compensation to officers, directors, and trustees along with other operating costs. Income sources such as membership dues, public contributions, and investment returns each get their own lines.

Organizations described under Section 23701d also provide the names and addresses of substantial contributors who gave $5,000 or more during the year, plus the names, addresses, and compensation of foundation managers and highly compensated employees.¹ Any changes to your governing documents or primary activities during the year have to be disclosed. If you issued 1099s for services rendered, reference those payments so the figures line up with your federal filing.

The e-Postcard, by contrast, requires no detailed financials. It’s a brief electronic notification confirming you’re still active and still under the threshold, filed only through the FTB website; paper is not accepted.²

If your organization is dissolving, the final Form 199 covers your last year of operations. Check the “Final Return” box on the first page and write “final” at the top.⁵ A partial-year return is still required for the portion of the year you operated before closing.

How to Submit

California law requires any business entity that prepares a return using tax preparation software to e-file.⁶ Because most organizations use software or a preparer who does, electronic filing through an approved provider is effectively the default. A return prepared entirely by hand can still be mailed to:

Franchise Tax Board
PO Box 942857
Sacramento, CA 94257-0501⁴

Keep a copy of the filed return and your e-file confirmation or proof of mailing. The FTB may ask for more information if your Form 199 doesn’t match other state records, and having the documentation on hand saves work later.

What Happens If You Don’t File

The direct penalty is small. An organization that misses the original or extended due date is charged $5 for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at $40.⁷ Private foundations that ignore a written demand from the FTB owe another $5 per month, up to $25, on top of that.¹

The real cost shows up over time. Fail to file a required return or e-Postcard for three consecutive years and California automatically revokes your tax-exempt status as of the due date of that third return.¹ The clock runs the same way whether you were supposed to file the full return or the e-Postcard. After revocation, the organization becomes subject to the regular corporate franchise tax, and getting exempt status back means reapplying from scratch.

Before revocation, the FTB can also suspend your corporate powers for noncompliance. A suspended entity cannot legally conduct business, sue or defend in court, sell or transfer real property, file under an automatic extension, receive a tax refund, or dissolve.⁸ It also loses the right to keep its business name with the Secretary of State, which can force you to pick a new one even after you fix the underlying problem. Exempt status is revoked as of the suspension date, so income received during suspension is potentially taxable.

The Other Filings People Confuse With Form 199

California nonprofits typically have three annual filings, not one, and Form 199 is just the FTB piece. Running them together is a common source of trouble.

If your exempt organization earns $1,000 or more in gross income from activities unrelated to its exempt purpose, you also owe Form 109, the California Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return.⁹ The rate on unrelated business taxable income is 8.84% for corporations and associations.¹⁰ Advertising revenue, rental income from debt-financed property, and proceeds from a regularly operated commercial enterprise that doesn’t advance your mission are common examples. If you file federal Form 990-T, you likely owe Form 109 as well.

Separately, every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, and trustee holding assets for charitable purposes has to register and renew annually with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts using Form RRF-1.¹¹ RRF-1 is due four months and 15 days after your accounting period ends (September 15 for calendar-year filers) and is filed with the federal Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF. Organizations not required to file a federal 990 submit Form CT-TR-1 instead. The renewal fee follows a sliding scale tied to total revenue. Missing RRF-1 carries its own penalties and can cost you the right to solicit in California.

Getting Back in Good Standing

If your organization has been suspended, the path back runs through every outstanding obligation. File all past-due returns, pay all past-due balances, and then submit an Application for Certificate of Revivor (Form FTB 3557 BC).⁸ You can file the application online or by mail, and your organization must also be in good standing with the Secretary of State for the revivor to process.

If the IRS has revoked your federal exempt status (which happens after three consecutive missed federal returns), and your California exemption had been obtained through Form 3500A, the simplified application that piggybacks on your federal determination, you’ll need to reapply using the full Form 3500 instead.¹² Expedited review runs $56 for a currently suspended organization or $40 if not suspended.

Reinstatement is slow and far more expensive than compliance. For most small nonprofits, the accumulated back returns, any tax liabilities from periods without exempt status, and the paperwork of a fresh application cost many times more than the annual filing would have taken.

1
California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 23772
2
Franchise Tax Board. 2025 Instructions for Form 199 California Exempt Organization Annual Information Return Booklet
3
Franchise Tax Board. Annual and Filing Requirements
4
Franchise Tax Board. 2024 Instructions for Form 199 California Exempt Organization Annual Information Return Booklet
5
Franchise Tax Board. Guide to Dissolve, Surrender, or Cancel a California Business Entity
6
Franchise Tax Board. e-file for Business
7
Franchise Tax Board. FTB Pub. 1024 Penalty Reference Chart
8
Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
9
LII. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 18, 23771 – Unrelated Business Income Returns-Exempt Organizations
10
Franchise Tax Board. 2024 Instructions for Form 109 Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Booklet
11
State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. Annual Registration Renewal
12
Franchise Tax Board. Charities and Nonprofits