IRS Form 4506-A Instructions

The Internal Revenue Code allows certain organizations to maintain a tax-exempt status as long as they comply with certain requirements, such as keeping certain documents available for inspection. You can also request copies of these documents from the Internal Revenue Service. For example, you can file IRS Form 4506-A, Request for a Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form to request certain tax returns located in the IRS files.

In this article, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about IRS Form 4506-A, including:

How to complete and file IRS Form 4506-A
Costs and other considerations associated with filing this form
Alternate means to request certain information about a tax-exempt organization

Let’s start with an overview of this tax form and how it works.

How do I complete IRS Form 4506-A?

We’ll walk through this one-page tax form, step by step. But before we do, we should discuss some other options that you may have to obtain the tax information you’re looking for.

Ways to obtain tax information without filing IRS Form 4506-A

There are two primary ways to request tax information from an exempt organization or a political organization:

Online search
Requesting information directly from the organization

Let’s take a brief look at both options.

Search online

The IRS website contains a lot of publicly available information. There are two areas of the IRS website worth taking a closer look at.

Tax Exempt Organization Search
Tax Information for Political Organizations

We’ll examine what information you can obtain from each page.

Tax Exempt Organization Search

By going to the IRS’ Tax Exempt Organization Search page, you can find the following tax returns:

IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
IRS Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
IRS Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation
IRS Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return (and proxy tax under section 6033(e))
IRS Form 990-N, e-Postcard

Tax Information for Political Organizations

On the IRS’ Tax Information For Political Organizations page, you can find the following tax forms:

IRS Form 8871, Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status
IRS Form 8872, Political Organization Report of Contributions and Expenditures

Request tax information directly from the organization

You can also request tax information directly from the exempt or political organization. In order to maintain their exempt status, these organizations must make certain information available for public inspection.

This includes things like:

Returns
Reports
Notices
Exempt applications

Let’s proceed to Form 4506-A itself.

Line 1: Exempt or political organization

Enter the following information for the tax-exempt organization you are requesting information for:

Name of tax exempt organization
Employer identification number
Street address, including city, state, country, and ZIP code

If you are completing Form 4506-A for multiple tax-exempt organizations, you will need to complete a Form 4506-A request for each organization.

Line 2: Requester information

You’ll need to enter the following information on your own behalf:

Requester’s full name
Telephone number
Street address, including city, state, and zip code
Date

Line 3: Category Of Requester

Check one of the following boxes:

Commercial user
Non-commercial scientific institution
Media
- If selected, enter the name of the media outlet in the space provided
Educational institution
All others

The IRS instructions do not give much guidance, so you’ll have to use your judgment in deciding which box to select.

Line 4: Reason For Request

Unless you are a commercial user, all other applicants must enter a reason for requesting these records as well as a written explanation of how they will be used. Otherwise, the Internal Revenue Service may charge you the commercial rate, instead of the non-commercial rate.

How Much Will This Request Cost?

Depending on your status, the IRS reserves the right to charge an adequate fee for the cost of reproducing an existing public document.

For commercial users, the rate to photocopy filed documents is 20 cents per page. For all other requesters, the cost is:

First 100 pages: No cost
Subsequent pages: 20 cents per page

The IRS will send you a bill for the reproduction cost of requested documents. If your application will cost $250 or more to process, then the IRS will bill you in advance.

USB costs: At the time of this writing, the form instructions indicate that you may be charged a user fee to obtain data via USB. However, the IRS website does not appear to have available cost information, other than the cost for paper copies.

For Lines 5 through 8

Before we get to Line 5, we should take a little time to outline how things will work in Lines 5-8.

Check the box or boxes for the item(s) you are requesting, under each applicable form. You can request multiple forms.

For each form that you request, you should complete either the paper or USB request, then enter the specific tax year or years that you would like.

If ordering a partial set in USB or Sample USB, you must indicate the state(s) and month(s) requested. If you check ‘other,’ indicate the specific form or forms you are requesting.

Note: You cannot obtain USB or Sample USB information for individual exempt organizations. Also, you cannot obtain sample USB requests for individual states.

Line 5: Form 990 & Form 990-EZ

You’ll use Line 5 to request either of the following:

IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax
IRS Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax

Line 5a: Paper request

If you’re requesting paper versions of either tax form, enter the tax year(s) or tax period(s) that you’re requesting.

Line 5b: USB request

If you’re requesting USB versions of either tax form, check enter the calendar year(s) that you’re requesting.

For a partial set on USB or a sample USB, indicate the state(s) and month(s) requested. If ordering a sample USB, then check the sample USB box and write in the calendar year(s).

Sample USB requests are not available for individual states. USB and sample USB requests are not available for individual exempt organizations.

Line 6: Form 990-PF

Use Line 6 to request copies of IRS Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation.

Line 6a: Paper request

If you’re requesting paper versions of this tax form, enter the tax year(s) or tax period(s) that you’re requesting.

Line 6b: USB request

If you’re requesting USB versions of either Form 990-PF, check enter the calendar year(s) that you’re requesting.

For a partial set on USB or a sample USB, indicate the state(s) and month(s) requested. If ordering a sample USB, then check the sample USB box and write in the calendar year(s).

Sample USB requests are not available for individual states. USB and sample USB requests are not available for individual exempt organizations.

Line 7: Form 990-T (501(c)(3) organizations filed after August 17, 2006)

Use Line 7 to request copies of IRS Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return (and proxy tax under section 6033(e)).

Line 7a: Paper request

If you’re requesting paper versions of this tax form, enter the tax year(s) or tax period(s) that you’re requesting.

Line 7b: USB request

If you’re requesting USB versions of either Form 990-PF, check enter the calendar year(s) that you’re requesting.

For a partial set on USB or a sample USB, indicate the state(s) and month(s) requested. If ordering a sample USB, then check the sample USB box and write in the calendar year(s).

Sample USB requests are not available for individual states. USB and sample USB requests are not available for individual exempt organizations.

Line 8: Form 5227 (for tax years beginning after December 31, 2006)

Use Line 8 to request copies of IRS Form 5227, Split-Interest Trust Information Return, for tax years beginning January 1, 2007 and later.

Line 8a: Paper request

If you’re requesting paper versions of this tax form, enter the tax year(s) or tax period(s) that you’re requesting.

Line 8b: Other forms

Use this box to request any other form that is publicly disclosable. Examples may include:

IRS Form 8886-T, Disclosure by Tax Exempt Entity Regarding Prohibited Tax Shelter Transaction
IRS Form 4720, Return of Certain Excise Taxes Under Chapters 41 and 42 of the Internal Revenue Code
- If filed by a private foundation

Filing IRS Form 4506-A

There are some things you need to know when filing IRS Form 4506-A.

How to file IRS Form 4506-A

The IRS will accept your completed Form 4506-A via mail or fax. You cannot submit this form online.

Mailing address

Mail your completed Form 4506-A to:

Internal Revenue Service
RAIVS Unit MS: 6716
Ogden, UT 84201

Fax number

Fax your completed form to the IRS at: (855) 653-9144.

How long will it take?

As a general rule, the IRS estimates that it can take as many as 60 days to process your request.

Looking for a different version of Form 4506?

If you stumbled upon this page by accident, don’t feel bad. There are many versions of Form 4506, each with different purposes.

We’ve written articles on literally all of the 4506 tax forms. Instead of hitting the ‘Back’ button, take a quick second to peruse the list below to find the version that you want.

Video walkthrough

Watch this instructional video to learn more about requesting tax returns filed by exempt organizations using IRS Form 4506-A.

Frequently asked questions

What is IRS Form 4506-A used for?

Interested parties may use IRS Form 4506-A to request prior year tax returns and other tax record information filed by exempt or political organizations from the Internal Revenue Service.

Do I need IRS Form 4506-A to request tax returns from a tax-exempt organization?

No. You may also find tax return information from tax-exempt and political organizations through the IRS website by navigating to the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) page.