Nonprofit Law Resource Library
State-By-State Initial Compliance - Illinois
Initial Filings for Illinois Nonprofit Organizations
For a general discussion on starting a nonprofit organization, please refer to our article, Starting a Nonprofit Organization.
To Incorporate in Illinois
a. Submit 2 sets of Articles of Incorporation (original plus a copy) to:
Secretary of State
Department of Business Services
Corporations Division
350 Howlett Building
Springfield, IL 62756 Information: (217) 782-6961
Web Site: www.sos.state.il.us
Filing Fee: $50b. After receiving the Certificate of Incorporation and a stamped copy of the Articles of Incorporation from the Secretary of State, the organization must file them with the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the county in which the registered office of the corporation is located. This must be done within 15 days of receipt.
To Obtain 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status
Submit Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption to:
Note new address:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 12192
Covington, KY 41012-0192 Information: (800) 829-1040
Forms: (800) 829-3676
Web Site: www.irs.gov/charities
Filing Fee: $750 ($300 if revenues less than $10,000/year)Note: User fees will increase for all applications for exemption (Forms 1023, 1024, and 1028) postmarked after January 3, 2010:
$ 400 for organizations whose gross receipts are $10,000 or less annually over a 4-year period
$ 850 for organizations whose gross receipts exceed $10,000 annually over a 4-year period
$ 3,000 for group exemption letters.
For more information on filing fees and for information on the IRS' new web initiative "Cyber Assistant", see the IRS website.To Obtain Illinois Income Tax Exemption
501(c) tax-exempt organizations are automatically exempt from Illinois income taxes and need not apply for exemption.
To Obtain Illinois Sales and Use Tax Exemption
Submit a letter of request for exemption along with a copy of the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter to:
State of Illinois
Department of Revenue
Sales Tax Division
101 West Jefferson
Springfield, IL 62708 Information: (800) 732-8866
Web Site: www.revenue.state.il.us
Filing Fee: $0To Register with the Illinois Attorney General
Submit Form CO-1 (Charitable Organization Registration Statement) along with the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, IRS Form 990 for the previous 3 years (if no federal forms were filed, then file Form AG990-IL for the previous 3 years, or if in existence for less than 1 year, file Form CO-2), lists of all officers and directors, and copies of all contracts with professional fundraisers to:
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Trusts Bureau
100 West Randolph Street
3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60601-3175 Information: (312) 814-2595
Web Site: www.ag.state.il.us
Filing Fee: $15Notes: Religious organizations should also file Form CO-3 at the time of registration to request exemption from future annual reports.
The Unified Registration Statement (URS) form may be filed in place of this application. This can be found at the following website: www.multistatefiling.org.
