Form 1023

Form 1023 is a United States IRS tax form, also known as the Application for Recognition of Exemption Under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is filed by nonprofits to get exemption status.
Eligibility.
The following organizations are eligible to file Form 1023 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code:
However, the IRS allows certain groups to be automatically exempt from filing Form 1023, yet still eligible to be classified as a 501(c)(3) organization:
Furthermore, to qualify for tax-exempt status, the organization must be:
Tax-exempt organizations may file Form 5768 to influence legislative activity.
Filing requirements.
Form 1023 requires the following information about an applying charity:
Applications cost $400 if the charity has earned less than $10,000 annually for the past four years, and $600 if over that amount.
Form 1023-EZ.
Form 1023-EZ is a streamlined version of Form 1023; it was introduced in 2014 because the original Form 1023 can take over nine hours to complete, and many organizations were waiting over a year for review. About 52% of all organizations filed Form 1023-EZ, with an average turnaround time of 9 days. Of the organizations submitted, 95% of them were approved for charity status.
Requirements.
Organizations applying for tax-exempt status through Form 1023-EZ can apply online at Pay.gov if they meet the following requirements:
Organizations that do not fall under these requirements may still file the original Form 1023.
History.
Form 1023-EZ was created when the National Taxpayer Advocate suggested simplifying the form in 2011, and the IRS eventually followed that advice in 2013. The form was finally introduced in July 2014. While the majority of charities will file through Form 1023-EZ, the move to simplify it wasn't without its criticisms. As Form 1023-EZ doesn't require a list of charity activities or supporting documentation, those activities will go unknown to the IRS, and there is no protection against uncharitable organizations filing the form for tax exemption status. In the 2015 Annual Report, the IRS reported an audit on Form 1023-EZ revealing that 2 in 5 charities that filed Form 1023-EZ would not qualify for charity status if they had gone through the full Form 1023. Furthermore, in 2016, the application fee for Form 1023-EZ had been reduced from $400 to $275.