A church-affiliated school is excused from filing Form 990, but must file the annual Form 5578 racial-nondiscrimination certification instead

Plain-English summary

Most tax-exempt organizations must file an annual Form 990 information return, but
there are exceptions. Treasury Regulation § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii) excuses a below-college
educational organization that has a regular academic program and is affiliated with a
church or run by a religious order. Here, an organization asked to be relieved of the
Form 990 requirement, and the IRS determined it qualifies as a church-affiliated school
under that regulation, so it does not have to file Form 990. The letter reminds the
school that it still has to certify each year that it does not racially discriminate:
because that certification is normally made on the Form 990 (Schedule E), a school that
skips the Form 990 must instead file Form 5578 annually under Revenue Procedure 75-50.
The organization also remains a 501(c)(3) with its other compliance obligations. This
release is a scanned determination letter; the transcription below fixes obvious scan
errors only.

Ruling snapshot

• Question: Does a church-affiliated below-college school qualify to be excused from filing Form 990?
• Outcome: Approved (not required to file Form 990; must file Form 5578 annually instead)
• Key authorities: Treas. Reg. § 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii), (h)(2); IRC § 6033; § 170(b)(1)(A)(ii); § 501(c)(3); Rev. Proc. 75-50

Full text (IRS public release)

Date:

Department of the Treasury

Ay Internal Revenue Service Cocoa momber:
Tax Exempt and Government Entities

IRS Person to contact:

Name:
ID number:
Telephone:
Form 990 required:
Release Number: 202550037
Release Date: 12/12/2025
UIL:
6033.01-00

Dear

Why you're receiving this letter
This is in response to your [date] request to be exempt from the requirement to file Form 990,
Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.

Treasury Regulation Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii) provides that an educational organization (below college level)
described in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 170(b)(1)(A)(1) with a program of general academic nature
and is affiliated with a church, or operated by a religious order, isn't required to file Form 990. Treas. Reg. Section
1.6033-2(h)(2) clarifies what it means to be affiliated with a church. Based on the information you provided,
we determined you qualify for classification as one of these educational organizations. Therefore, in accordance
with Treas. Reg. Section 1.6033-2(g)(1)(vii), you're not required to file Form 990. We'll update our records
accordingly.

However, be aware that Section 4.06 of Revenue Procedure 75-50 requires private schools provide us with
annual certification of racial nondiscrimination. This is normally done on Form 990 (Schedule E), Schools.

If you don't file Form 990, you must complete Form 5578, Annual Certificate of Racial Nondiscrimination for a
Private School Exempt from Federal Income Tax, annually to certify you're complying with Rev. Proc. 75-50.

What you need to know

As an organization exempt from federal income tax under IRC Section 501(c)(3), you must fulfill other
requirements. You can find helpful information about your responsibilities as tax exempt organization in
Publication 4221-PC, Compliance Guide for 501(c)(3) Public Charities.

Additional information
We'll make this determination letter available for public inspection after making deletions as
required by IRC Section 6110, such as the names, addresses, and other identifying details..,.
We've enclosed Letter 437, Notice of Intention to Disclose Rulings, and a copy of the letter
that shows our proposed deletions.

e If you disagree with our proposed deletions, follow the instructions in the Letter 437 on

how to notify us.
e If you agree with our deletions, you don't need to take any further action.

If you have questions, you can call the contact person shown at the top of this letter. Keep a
copy of this letter for your records.

Sincerely,

Stephen A. Martin
Director, Exempt Organizations
Rulings and Agreements

Enclosures:
Letter 437
Redacted Letter 4715