Drake Tax – 990: Part III Lines 4a, 4b, 4c

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Article #: 11369


Exempt Purpose
Use the Primary exempt purpose field on screen 3 to describe the organization’s mission. The mission statement can address why the organization exists, what it hopes to accomplish, whom it intends to serve, and activities it will undertake and where. See IRS instructions for further information on what constitutes a purpose.

If the organization does not have a mission that has been adopted by its governing body, type None as the Primary exempt purpose.

If you answer Yes to question 2 or 3 on screen 3, use Schedule O (screen O) to describe any new services or changes to services. From screen 3, click the Sch O Screen link to access the Supplemental Information screen. From the Schedule drop list of the Supplemental Information screen, select O22 (for line 2) or O23 (for line 3).

Long description entered on screen 4 not showing on page 2 of the 990

If the description entered on screen 4 does not fit in the space allowed for lines 4a, 4b, or 4c (Page 2, Part III), the software creates a separate statement in view titled SERVICES, which appears after the other 990 pages. The statement is referenced on Part III line 4:

Image of line 4a on Form 990.

To enter a description that exceeds the allowed number of characters on screen 4, press Page Down and continue the description. There is no need to re-enter the information in the top section of the screen.

To enter another achievement, press Page Down and select Check this box if starting a new description. The second description entered is shown (or referenced to a SERVICES page, if applicable) in section 4b of Part III.

The exempt achievement description has a 5,000-character limit for e-filing; if the description exceeds that, the return must be paper-filed.

Note Note: Line 4d is only used when 4a, 4b, and 4c already contain data. When 4d has amounts showing, you will need to fill out schedule O to describe the accomplishments.

The program service code field should currently be left blank. The IRS Instructions for Form 990 direct that nothing be entered in this field for tax year 2019 and 2020 990 returns.​