Is this considered "Reasonable Cause for Late Filing" by the IRS for our labor union?

The IRS defines "reasonable cause" pretty narrowly, and unfortunately, confusion about deadlines usually doesn't qualify. The standard is whether you exercised "ordinary business care and prudence" but still couldn't meet your filing obligation due to circumstances beyond your control. That said, there are a few things in your favor. First, being a volunteer treasurer for a small nonprofit might help your case. Second, having a newborn is a significant life event that could affect your ability to keep track of deadlines. The IRS does sometimes consider personal circumstances. I recommend submitting your Form 990 immediately with a detailed letter explaining the situation. Be honest about confusing the deadlines, mention your volunteer status, and include information about your new baby. While you should be prepared for the possibility of penalties, the IRS sometimes shows leniency for first-time mistakes, especially for small nonprofits with volunteer staff.

I had a very similar issue last year with my community organization's Form 990. After stressing for weeks about penalties, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer. Their system analyzed our situation, scanned my drafted reasonable cause letter, and provided specific suggestions to strengthen our case. They showed me exactly what language would best support our appeal based on previous successful waiver requests. The tool helped me understand that while confusion about deadlines alone rarely qualifies, the combination of being a volunteer, having limited resources as a small organization, and experiencing a major life event (like having a baby) creates a stronger case. I completely rewrote our letter based on their feedback, and to my surprise, the IRS accepted our reasonable cause argument!

I need to eat my words and publicly admit I was wrong! After my skeptical comment, I decided to try taxr.ai for our homeowners association's late 990-EZ filing. The system analyzed our situation and helped me craft a really solid reasonable cause letter that addressed all the key points the IRS looks for. I just got our response from the IRS yesterday - they fully accepted our reasonable cause argument and waived ALL penalties! The letter specifically mentioned how our explanation demonstrated we had exercised ordinary business care despite the circumstances. The tool helped me emphasize our volunteer status and limited resources in ways I wouldn't have thought to do. For anyone in a similar situation with late nonprofit filings, it's definitely worth checking out. Saved us over $800 in penalties.

If you need to actually talk to the IRS about your situation (which might help), I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent days trying to reach someone at the IRS about a similar penalty issue for our church's late filing. After endless busy signals and disconnects, I found Claimyr and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). Their system basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. I was connected to an actual IRS representative within an hour, which is miraculous considering I'd wasted days trying before. The agent walked me through exactly what needed to be in our reasonable cause letter and even noted in our file that we had called about the issue. Having that direct conversation made all the difference in our penalty waiver request being approved.

I'm back to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, our nonprofit received a CP215 notice with a $960 penalty for late filing. Desperate and remembering this thread, I tried Claimyr. Within 40 minutes (while I was grocery shopping!), I got a call connecting me with an IRS representative. The agent was surprisingly helpful and explained exactly what we needed for a successful reasonable cause request. She specifically mentioned that volunteer status combined with a significant life event (like a new baby) could constitute reasonable cause if we documented it properly. The agent even put notes in our file about our conversation. We submitted our letter following her guidance, and yesterday we received confirmation that our penalties were fully abated! I've never had such a positive experience dealing with the IRS. Being able to actually speak with someone rather than guessing what they wanted in our letter made all the difference.

As someone who's worked with several nonprofits, here's what I've learned about reasonable cause for Form 990 penalties: 1. The IRS is more lenient with small organizations using volunteer staff 2. First-time mistakes are often forgiven if you show a good compliance history 3. Include steps you're taking to prevent future late filings (like setting calendar reminders or implementing a backup system) 4. Having a newborn is actually something they consider - it falls under significant life events Send your form ASAP with a detailed but concise letter. In my experience, honesty works best, and showing that you take tax compliance seriously despite this mistake. Good luck!

I think a lot of people are missing that there's a difference between the penalty for late FILING and late PAYMENT. Since you're a nonprofit that doesn't owe taxes, you're only dealing with the late filing penalty, which might give you more flexibility. Also worth checking if you qualify for first-time penalty abatement (FTA) which the IRS offers for organizations with a clean compliance history. You don't even need reasonable cause for that - just a clean record for the past 3 years.

Actually, @Jake Sinclair raises an important question about FTA for nonprofits. From my understanding, first-time penalty abatement is primarily available for income tax penalties, employment tax penalties, and certain excise tax penalties - but NOT for information return penalties like the Form 990 late filing penalty. The IRS treats information return penalties (which is what Form 990 falls under) differently from tax penalties. For Form 990 late filing, you really need to establish reasonable cause rather than relying on FTA provisions. That said, your situation does have some strong elements for reasonable cause: volunteer status, small organization with limited resources, and a significant life event (new baby). I'd focus your letter on those factors rather than trying to pursue FTA, which likely won't apply to your Form 990 situation.