Form 990 Schedule K: Difficult Even For Accountants

The accountants or accounting firms hired by nonprofits typically handle nonprofit tax returns -- Form 990 and Form 990-T -- completely and efficiently. But Form 990's Schedule K: Supplemental Information on Tax-Exempt Bonds often stumps even the best accountants at the best accounting firms. Accountants often send the schedule back to the nonprofit, asking the person responsible for the nonprofit's bond issues to complete it. The language of and questions asked on the schedule presume a complete understanding of the tax law and vocabulary of tax-exempt bond financing, which is a highly specialized and esoteric area most accountants have not studied, and of all relevant information about the organization's bond issues.