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Instructions for Form 4506-A
(Revised November 2021)
Request for a Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless To see an organization’s current activities or financial data,
otherwise noted. TIP you can use www.guidestar.org.

Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form An organization, or its officers, may request a copy of the
4506-A and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after this organization's own return on Form 4506-A. However, they will only
form and instructions were published, go to www.irs.gov/ ▲! receive the copy that is “Open for Public Inspection.” The publicly
CAUTION
form4506ab. available copy will not include, for example, information that may
identify a contributor and documents that were filed with the return, but are not open
to public inspection. An organization, or its officers, may request a complete copy of
What's New the organization's own return by completing Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax
Forms 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, Return, and paying the applicable fee.
990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income
Tax, 990-PF Return of Private Foundation or Section 4947(a)(1) Digital Data Request
Trust treated as a Private Foundation, and 990-T, Exempt The IRS can provide copies of exempt organization returns on
Organization Business Income Tax Return received in 2017 or USB for returns received in years 2015 through 2016. Requesters
later are available in bulk download free of charge on Tax Exempt can order the complete set (for example, all Forms 990 and 990-
Organization Search (TEOS), www.irs.gov/teos. EZ or all Forms 990-PF filed for a year) or a partial set by state. If
you are ordering a partial set on USB, indicate the state(s), and
To request copies of exemption applications and letters, you must month(s) you are ordering. Sample USB requests are not
submit Form 4506-B, Request for a Copy of Exempt Organization available for individual states. USB and sample USB requests are
IRS Application or Letter. not available for individual exempt organizations. Complete
information, including the cost, is available on the IRS website.
General Instructions Search Copies of Scanned EO Returns Available at www.irs.gov/
copies.
Purpose Of Form
Use Form 4506-A to request under Section 6104:
Format
● A copy of an exempt or political organization’s return, report, or Raw. The USB contain image files in Tag Image File (TIF) format
notice. for returns selected for the month or quarter requested. This
You do not have to complete Form 4506-A to get copies of the format is best for users who intend to process the image files
following forms: through their data software.
● Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF and 990-T received in 2017 or
later, use Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS), How Much Will It Cost?
www.irs.gov/teos. You can use TEOS for individual copies and You may inspect a return, report, or notice at an IRS office free of
for bulk data downloads. Note: Before you complete a Form charge.
4506-A please check Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) If you want a photocopy of a return, report, or notice see the
at www.irs.gov/teos for the form you are requesting. If return is chart below.
not available submit a Form 4506-A.
● Form 8871, Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status, Note. The IRS will send you a bill for the photocopy cost. If your
and Form 8872, Political Organization Report of Contributions cost is over $250, we will ask for payment in advance.
and Expenditures, are available for inspection and printing from
IRS.gov. The website address for both forms is www.irs.gov/ THEN the charge for paper copies
IF you are. . .
polorgs. is . . .
● You may request images of Form 990-N (e-Postcard), for Tax-
A commercial user, $ .20 per page.
Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or 990-
EZ, filings at Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS), An educational institution, media, First 100 pages free, $ .20 per page
www.irs.gov/teos. non-commercial scientific institution, thereafter.
● The machine readable data for the efiled Forms 990, 990-EZ or all other requesters,
and 990-PF are available for download at Tax Exempt
Organization Search Bulk Data Downloads, www.irs.gov/ USB requests and sample USB requests must be prepaid.
charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search-bulk-data- Please include your payment with your request. Search Copies of
downloads. Scanned EO Returns Available at www.irs.gov/copies, available
● If you want to determine if charitable contributions are for the cost of USB and sample USB. A check or money order for
deductible, use Tax Exempt Organization Search, www.irs.gov/ the fee should be payable to “United States Treasury.”
teos. Reminder: Fees for USB are updated in January of each year.
Note. Exempt or political organizations must make their returns, See www.irs.gov to determine the required fee.
reports, and notices available for public inspection. You can visit
the organization to inspect the material instead of requesting it
from the IRS. The organization may be able to mail the copies to
you.
Catalog Number 51552X

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Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for
Where To File the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
To file Form 4506-A, mail or fax to: laws of the United States. We need the information to gain
Internal Revenue Service access to the return or other exempt or political organization IRS
RAIVS Unit MS: 6716 form you requested in our files and properly respond to your
Ogden, UT 84201 request.
Fax number - 855-653-9144 The authority to ask for the information requested on this form
is Internal Revenue Code Section 6104 and its regulations. You
are not required to provide the information requested on this form.
How Long Will It Take?
Generally, it may take up to 60 days for us to process your However, if you do not furnish the information, we may not be
request. able to fulfil your request. Providing willfully false or fraudulent
information may subject you to criminal penalties. Routine uses
include disclosing the information to the Department of Justice for
Specific Instructions civil or criminal litigation. We may also disclose this information to
Line 1 federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws
Exempt or political organization. Enter the organization's and to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to
official name under which exempt status was approved, address, combat terrorism.
and employer identification number. If you do not enter the official You are not required to provide the information requested on a
name, we may not be able to locate the requested form. form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the
Complete a separate Form 4506-A for each organization. form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as
Line 2 their contents may become material in the administration of any
Requester. Enter the requester's name, address, phone number, Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
and the name of a contact person. information are confidential, as required by Section 6103. The
time needed to complete and file Form 4506-A will vary
Line 3 depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
Category of requester. Check the appropriate category of the time is:
requester. You must check a box. Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 min.
Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 min.
Line 4 Preparing the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 min.
Reason for request. To avoid being charged the commercial Copying, assembling, and sending the form to the IRS . . . . . . 20 min.
rate, all requesters, except commercial users, must provide a If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
reason for requesting the records and explain how the records estimates or suggestions for making Form 4506-A simpler, we
will be used. would be happy to hear from you. You can send us comments by
going to www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/comment-on-tax-forms-and-
Lines 5-8 publications. You can also send your comments to:
For each applicable form, complete the item(s) you are
requesting. You may request more than one form. For each form Internal Revenue Service
requested enter the specific tax year(s) or period(s) for a paper or Tax Forms and Publications Division
USB request as indicated. If ordering a partial set on USB or 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
sample USB, indicate, state(s), and month(s) requested. If Washington, DC 20224
ordering a sample USB, check the sample USB box, and write in Do not send Form 4506-A to this address. Instead, see Where
the calendar year(s). Sample USB requests are not available for To File.
individual states. USB and sample USB requests are not
available for individual exempt organizations.

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Other form(s). Use this box to request any other form that is
publicly disclosable. Examples include Form 8886-T and, if filed
by a private foundation, Form 4720.
Note. Requests for these “other” documents take longer to
process and could result in significant delays.

Incomplete requests will be rejected.
▲!
CAUTION
Note. Tax returns are generally available only for seven years
from filing before they are destroyed.

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