Section 400.60  Annual Reports for Charitable Organizations

a)         To complete a proper annual report filing, all annual reports required under the Act must be filed on the form prescribed by the Attorney General entitled "AG990-IL" (Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report) available on the Attorney General's website at https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Consumer-Protection/Charities, and with the attachments prescribed by the form and this Section, signed by both the president of the organization or other authorized officer, and the chief fiscal officer, and with all required statutory fees paid prior to the due date.

b)         Each annual financial report is due within six months after the close of the organization's fiscal year.  An organization may request a 60-day extension of the due date pursuant to Section 4(f) of the Act.

c)         Failure to file a complete annual report including all required attachments, along with payment of fees due prior to the due date, shall result in the organization being classified delinquent, and shall subject the organization to the payment of a late filing fee.

d)         On each annual report an organization must report separately all program costs associated with a joint cost fundraising appeal to the extent such was allocated to charitable program service expense and included on the annual report as charitable program service expense.  The organization must maintain written records showing how the allocation was determined and the reasoning behind it.

e)         The form and attachments required for an organization's annual report are determined by the amount of its contributions during the reporting fiscal period or whether it has used the services of a paid professional fund raiser as follows:

1)         Any organization that received contributions of more than $500,000 in any reporting fiscal year or any organization that employed professional fund raisers during any part of the fiscal year who raised contributions totaling more than $25,000 during the organization's fiscal year must file:

A)        The Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report form signed by the president or other authorized officer and the chief fiscal officer of the organization;

B)        A copy of the Federal Internal Revenue return and/or report as required by the Internal Revenue Code and incorporated attachments for the same period;

C)        Financial statements and the certification of an independent certified public accountant.  Certification must be in the form of an unqualified or unmodified opinion letter;

D)        All required statutory fees, including all late fees and re-registration fees; and

E)        If the organization employs a professional fund raiser, the Illinois Fundraising Campaign form for each professional fundraising campaign conducted during the fiscal period in the form prescribed by the Attorney General entitled "Form IFC" (Report of Individual Fundraising Campaign) available on the Attorney General's website at https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Consumer-Protection/Charities.

2)         Any organization that received contributions of more than $300,000 but less than $500,000 that did not employ professional fund raisers during any part of the fiscal year who raised contributions totaling more than $25,000 during the organization's fiscal year must file:

A)        The Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report form entitled "AG990-IL" (Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report) available on the Attorney General's website at https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Consumer-Protection/Charities, signed by the president or other authorized officer and the chief fiscal officer of the organization;

B)        A copy of the federal Internal Revenue return and/or report as required by the federal Internal Revenue Code and incorporated attachments for the same period;

C)        Reviewed financial statements that include a report signed by an independent certified public accountant stating that the independent certified public accountant is not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial statements in order to permit public evaluation of its operations; and

D)        All required statutory fees, including all late fees and re-registration fees.

3)         Any organization that received contributions of more than $25,000 but not in excess of $300,000, or any organization that employed professional fund raisers who raised contributions of $25,000 or less during the organization's fiscal year, need not file an independent certified public accountant's opinion or reviewed financial statement but must submit all of the other items required and listed in subsection (e)(1) above.

4)         Any organization that received contributions of more than $15,000 but not in excess of $25,000 during its fiscal year must file an annual report, but it may make a simplified filing by submitting:

A)        A financial statement using the Illinois Charitable Organization Annual Report form disclosing total receipts, total disbursements and assets on hand at the fiscal year end, accompanied by an attestation to the truth of the financial statement; and

B)        All required statutory fees.

5)         Certain organizations registered under the Act that are not required to file an annual report for a specific fiscal year under the Act, may be required to file under the Charitable Trust Act [760 ILCS 55].

f)         Charitable organizations that have made a consolidated registration pursuant to Section 2(g) of the Act shall include in their annual report such additional detailed financial information as will fairly represent the financial position of each of the affiliated groups.

g)         Extensions of Time

1)         The Attorney General shall, upon written request, extend for 60 days the time for filing the annual financial report. For organizations that are in compliance with the registration and annual report requirements of the Solicitation for Charity Act, written extension requests are automatically granted if received on or before the due date.  The Attorney General will accept written requests submitted by mail, email, fax, or in-person drop-off at the following office address, email address, or fax number:

Office of the Illinois Attorney General

Charitable Trust Bureau

115 South LaSalle Street

Chicago, Illinois  60603

Email:  Attorney_General@ilag.gov

Fax:  (312) 814-2596

The Attorney General may also accept written requests submitted to other Attorney General office locations, email addresses, or fax numbers.

2)         If an organization receives an extension of time from the federal Internal Revenue Service, that would extend its federal tax return or report due date to a date later than the Attorney General's due date, the organization may obtain an additional extension from the Attorney General coinciding with the same Internal Revenue Service due date.  The request for extension of time made pursuant to this section must be made in writing and include a copy of the extensions of time granted by the federal Internal Revenue Service or a copy of the Internal Revenue Service Form 8868 requesting an extension of time.

3)         An organization may make a request for extension of time pursuant to subsection (g)(1), (g)(2), or both (g)(1) and (g)(2).  An organization may make a request for extension of time pursuant to subsection (g)(1) or (g)(2) separately or at the same time.  An organization need not make an extension request pursuant to subsection (g)(1) in order to make a request for extension of time pursuant to subsection (g)(2).

4)         All requests for extension of time must be made in writing prior to the organization's original or extended Annual Report due date.

h)         Failure to file a timely and complete financial report will result in penalty fees and/or a fine and subjects the organization's registration to cancellation.

i)          Upon cancellation the organization must cease operations.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 16061, effective October 29, 2024)