To report a nonprofit for misuse of funds, file IRS Form 13909, the Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form, and send a parallel complaint to your state Attorney General’s charity oversight office. Submit documented evidence with both. If the tax liability at stake is large enough, you can also file IRS Form 211 to claim a whistleblower reward, but that is a separate filing from the complaint itself.
Make Sure It’s Actually Misconduct
A nonprofit’s board has wide discretion over how to pursue its mission. Poor strategy is not fraud. What crosses the line is insiders channeling charitable assets toward personal benefit, or the organization drifting so far from its stated purpose that its tax-exempt status no longer makes sense.
The patterns the IRS treats as financial misconduct:
- Insider self-dealing, where a board member, officer, or their family member receives a direct financial benefit from the organization’s funds. Renovating a personal home with charity money or steering contracts to an insider-owned business are typical examples.
- Excessive compensation, meaning pay far above what comparable organizations pay for similar roles. The IRS expects compensation decisions to be made by independent board members who reviewed market data before approving the amount.
- Loans to directors, officers, or key employees. The IRS asks organizations to report these on their annual returns, and for private foundations, such loans are flatly prohibited.
- Mission drift spending, meaning charitable funds used on activities unrelated to the exempt purpose, such as a literacy nonprofit spending heavily on lobbying or on ventures that benefit private parties.
Knowing which category fits your concern helps you write a sharper complaint and point investigators toward the right documents.
Build Your Evidence File First
A vague tip rarely triggers an investigation. What moves the needle is concrete documentation with names, dates, dollar amounts, and a clear description of what happened.
Start With the Form 990
Every tax-exempt organization, except the smallest and some churches, must file an annual information return with the IRS, usually Form 990. Federal law requires these returns to be public, and the organization itself must allow inspection at its principal office during regular business hours.
You can find Form 990s through:
- The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, a free tool that lets you download recent returns.
- The nonprofit’s own website, since many organizations post 990s voluntarily.
- Third-party databases like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, which make the filings easier to read than the raw IRS documents.
p>When you review a 990, focus on the compensation schedules, the related-party transaction disclosures, and the narrative sections describing programs. A board with no independent members, compensation that dwarfs program spending, or unexplained receivables from insiders are all patterns worth flagging. The Employer Identification Number sits on the first page. You’ll need it for your complaint.
Other Documents Worth Collecting
Beyond the 990, look for audited financial statements and annual reports if the organization publishes them. Internal documents carry more weight: meeting minutes, emails, contracts with vendors controlled by insiders, or bank statements showing questionable transfers. If you’re a current or former employee or board member, you may have access to records the public does not. Make copies of everything before you file, because access can disappear quickly once an investigation starts.
File Form 13909 With the IRS
Form 13909 is the federal government’s primary channel for tips about nonprofit misconduct. You can submit it electronically through the IRS website, mail a printed copy, or send it by fax.
What the Form Asks For
The form asks for the nonprofit’s name, address, and EIN. If you don’t have the EIN, a state nonprofit registration number works as a substitute. The heart of the form is the section where you describe the alleged violation. Write it as if you’re briefing someone who knows nothing about the organization: what happened, who was involved, when it occurred, and what documents support your account. Attach copies of the evidence.
The form also asks how you learned about the problem, whether that was reviewing the 990, witnessing the conduct, or receiving information from someone else. The more specific you are, the easier it is for the IRS to decide whether to open an examination.
You can file anonymously by entering “Anonymous” in the submitter name field. If you’re worried about retaliation but still want an acknowledgment letter, you can provide your name and check the box indicating concern about retribution. The IRS will keep your identity confidential regardless.
Where to Send It
- Online: submit electronically through the IRS Form 13909 page at irs.gov.
- Mail: TEGE Referrals Group, 1100 Commerce Street, MC 4910 DAL, Dallas, TX 75242.
- Email: eoclass@irs.gov. Note that email submissions are not encrypted.
You don’t have to use Form 13909 at all. The IRS also accepts complaint information in a plain letter format, as long as you include the same key details and supporting documents.
File a Parallel Complaint With Your State Attorney General
The IRS handles federal tax-exempt status, but state Attorneys General regulate charities operating within their borders under state nonprofit law. Filing with both channels gives your complaint the best chance of producing results. State investigators can pursue issues the IRS cannot, including breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement of charitable assets under state trust law.
Most states house charity oversight in a Charitable Trusts Division or Consumer Protection Division within the Attorney General’s office. Searching your state’s name plus “charity complaint” usually leads to an online portal or downloadable form. The National Association of State Charity Officials maintains resources for locating the right office. State complaints ask for the same core information as the IRS form, so if you’ve already assembled evidence for the federal filing, the state submission is straightforward.
File Form 211 Separately if You Want a Reward
Form 13909 does not make you eligible for a financial reward. If you want compensation for your information, you have to file a separate claim on IRS Form 211, Application for Award for Original Information.
When the tax, penalties, and interest in dispute exceed $2 million, you qualify for a mandatory award of 15 to 30 percent of what the IRS ultimately collects. The exact percentage depends on how much your information contributed. For individual taxpayers, the $2 million threshold also requires that the person’s gross income exceeded $200,000 in at least one of the relevant tax years. Below $2 million, the IRS can still grant a discretionary award, but no minimum percentage is guaranteed.
Form 211 cannot be filed anonymously. You must provide your contact information and sign under penalty of perjury. Current and former Treasury Department employees are ineligible, as are people who obtained the information through a federal government contract. If you participated in planning the misconduct, the IRS can reduce or deny your award, and a criminal conviction from that involvement disqualifies you entirely.
Protection From Retaliation
Federal law provides meaningful protection for people who report, though it isn’t bulletproof.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s anti-retaliation provisions apply to nonprofits, not just publicly traded companies. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1514A, it is illegal for an organization to fire, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or otherwise discriminate against an employee who reports suspected fraud. You don’t have to prove misconduct actually occurred. A reasonable belief that a violation exists is enough to trigger protection.
The IRS commits to protecting whistleblower identity to the fullest extent the law allows. If you file Form 13909, your name will not be shared with the organization you reported. If you file Form 211 for a reward, the Whistleblower Office handles your identity with similar care, though your involvement may eventually become apparent if the case reaches litigation.
Retaliation complaints go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s whistleblower program. If your employer takes adverse action after you report, that’s where you file.
If you’re a current employee, consider talking to an employment lawyer or whistleblower specialist before filing. An attorney can advise on preserving evidence without violating confidentiality obligations and help you decide whether a Form 211 reward claim makes sense for your situation.
What Happens After You File
Set realistic expectations: you’re handing off information, not directing an investigation. After the IRS receives Form 13909, it mails an acknowledgment letter confirming receipt, unless you filed anonymously. That letter is likely the last communication you’ll receive.
Federal law under 26 U.S.C. § 6103 makes tax return information confidential. The IRS cannot tell you whether it opened an investigation, what it found, or what action it took. The same rule that frustrates complainants also prevents the IRS from tipping off a target. State Attorneys General operate under similar confidentiality constraints during active investigations. Only Form 211 filers get any status updates, and even those are limited to notice that the case was referred for audit and notice that the taxpayer made a payment.
If the evidence warrants it, the IRS may open an examination, which can range from a correspondence audit to a field investigation. If the complaint is unsubstantiated or duplicates information the IRS already has, no action may follow. These processes routinely take months and sometimes years. In cases involving deliberate fraud, the matter can be referred to the IRS Criminal Investigation division.
The consequences for the nonprofit vary with what investigators find. When an insider receives an excessive benefit, the IRS can impose excise taxes called intermediate sanctions under 26 U.S.C. § 4958, which hit the individuals rather than the organization. The most severe outcome is revocation of 501(c)(3) status, which makes donations no longer tax-deductible and typically destroys the organization’s fundraising ability. In the most serious cases, individuals face federal criminal charges.
Report what you know, not what you suspect. Stick to facts and documents. If something is speculation, label it that way in your complaint. Good-faith complaints that turn out to be wrong are not penalized, but filing a complaint you know to be false exposes you to liability for fraud. Keep copies of everything you submit, so that if an investigator later contacts you, you can pick up the conversation without relying on memory.