About This Checklist
This checklist contains the requirements to continue operating in a charity or nonprofit in New York State.
Record-Keeping
- Do you have copies of board meeting minutes?
- New York requires organizations to have a least one meeting per year.
- Organizations in New York must maintain at least three board members; they are not required to reside in New York.
- Did the organization file all required state tax and financial documents?
- See below for a list of state requirements.
- Note that a certified public accountant is required to do some of these if revenue or support exceeds $500,000.
- Have you reviewed the federal compliance checklist?
- Federal requirements include a 990 tax form to the IRS.
Annual Filing
Note that many of these items must be done by a certified public accountant. Therefore, any organization in New York State should use a CPA knowledgeable in New York nonprofit regulations.
NYS Attorney General’s Charities Bureau
- Form CHAR500
- NYS Annual Filing for Charitable Organizations
- Financial Report
- Less than $250,000 in revenue and support
- Unaudited Financial Report
- More than $250,000 but not more than $1 million
- Financial Report with independent CPA’s review
- In excess of $1 million
- Financial report with CPA audited financial statement
- Less than $250,000 in revenue and support
NYS Department of State
- Form CHAR500 (NYS Annual Filing for Charitable Organizations)
- Required for nonprofits with at least $250,000 in annual support and revenue
- Funding Disclosure Report and Financial Disclosure Report
- Required by "Any covered entity that makes an in-kind donation of staff, staff time, personnel, or any other human resources, offices or office supplies with a value in excess of $10,000 to a recipient entity during a relevant reporting period..."
- Required to be done by a certified public accountant if funds exceed $750,000 per Subsection (9) of Section 172-b of the New York Executive Law
NYS Department of Taxation
- Form NYS-45 (Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting and Unemployment Insurance Return)
- Form NYS-1 (Return of Tax Withheld)