How to Start a Nonprofit in Arizona

Arizona has 27,978 active 501(c)(3) organizations, 2,349 of them approved in the last twelve months, up from 2,315 the year before. 79.3% report no revenue on file or under $50,000, and education groups are the largest category. Arizona gives charities something few states do: a state tax credit that lets donors redirect part of their Arizona income tax to a qualifying charity. It also keeps two older rules most guides skip, a certificate of disclosure and newspaper publication of the articles.

The federal half of this is identical in every state and is set out on the state hub: incorporate, adopt bylaws, get an EIN, apply to the IRS on Form 1023 or 1023-EZ. This page covers what Arizona adds, what each step costs, and the two or three things that catch people out here specifically.

What it costs in Arizona

The state filings come to $40 in cash. Outside Maricopa and Pima counties, add the cost of three newspaper notices, which varies by paper. The annual report is $10 a year, and Arizona has no general charity registration to pay for. On top of that sits the IRS user fee, which is set each year by revenue procedure and shown on Pay.gov when you file, so no figure for it is printed here. Every amount above was read from the issuing agency’s own fee schedule or form, and each one is linked in the sources at the foot of this page. Fees change: check before you budget.

The order to do it in

Sequence matters more than speed. The IRS application asks for documents the state has to create first, and the state charity regulator wants the organization to exist before it registers.

• Decide whether you need a corporation at all. Fiscal sponsorship gives a project the same tax treatment with no incorporation, no IRS application and no annual return. For a project under a few thousand dollars a year it is usually the better answer.
• File the formation document with the Arizona Corporation Commission, with the IRS purpose and dissolution language in it. Our articles template carries both.
• Adopt bylaws and appoint the board before the IRS application, which asks about governance. The bylaws template and the board guide cover what that means in practice.
• Get an EIN. Free, online, immediate, and needed for the bank account. Do not pay anyone for it: the EIN guide explains why people do.
• Apply to the IRS on Form 1023-EZ if you qualify, which most new organizations do, or the long Form 1023 if you project gross receipts over $50,000 or hold assets over $250,000.
• Handle the state exemptions and registrations in the section below, once the determination letter arrives.

What catches people out in Arizona

Outside Maricopa and Pima, you must publish the articles. A.R.S. 10-3203 says that within 60 days of approval either the articles are published or the Commission enters them in its database, and the database covers only corporations in counties of more than 800,000 people. Everyone else must publish the articles three times in a newspaper of general circulation in their county and can file an affidavit of publication. Skip it and the Commission can dissolve the corporation. Ask two local papers for a quote before you file, because rates vary.

The certificate of disclosure follows you every year. Arizona requires a certificate of disclosure with the articles, covering directors, officers and incorporators: felony convictions and civil judgments for fraud, securities or antitrust violations in the past five years, and certain bankruptcies. It must be signed no more than 30 days before filing, anyone joining as an officer or director within 60 days files their own declaration, and a fresh certificate goes with every annual report. A knowingly false statement is a class 6 felony.

The QCO credit is a real fundraising advantage, with conditions. Under A.R.S. 43-1088, Arizona taxpayers can claim a credit for gifts to a certified Qualifying Charitable Organization, and gifts made by mid-April can count for the previous year. To certify, a 501(c)(3) must show that at least half its budget goes to Arizona residents who receive TANF, have incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level, or are chronically ill or disabled, and must make the other statements the law requires. A charity that qualifies should say so in every appeal; one that does not must never imply that a gift earns the credit.

No general sales tax exemption on purchases. Arizona’s transaction privilege tax exempts purchases only by listed types, such as qualifying hospitals and health care organizations, charities that regularly serve free meals to the needy, and programs for people with disabilities. Most charities pay tax on what they buy. Retail sales by a 501(c)(3) organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes are excluded from the retail tax.

What Arizona’s nonprofit sector looks like

From the IRS Business Master File, which lists every organization whose exemption has not been revoked.

The size column is the one worth sitting with before you file. 79.3% of Arizona’s charities have no revenue figure on file or report under $50,000, against 77.5% nationally. The typical outcome of starting a nonprofit here is a very small organization, which is not an argument against doing it, but it is an argument for choosing the cheap route first and for being honest in the projections on the IRS form. What the whole thing costs, federal and state together, is set out in what it costs to start a nonprofit.

A realistic timeline

Written as weeks rather than as a list, because the waiting is the part people plan badly. Nothing here assumes you pay anyone to do it for you.

1. Week one. Agree the purpose, the name, at least one director, and a statutory agent with an Arizona address.
2. Week one. File the Articles of Incorporation with the Corporation Commission for $40, with the IRS purpose and dissolution clauses, and a certificate of disclosure signed within the last 30 days.
3. Same week. Apply for the EIN online. Free and immediate.
4. Within 60 days of approval. Outside Maricopa and Pima counties, publish the articles three times in a local newspaper and file the affidavit of publication.
5. Month one. Hold the organizational meeting, adopt bylaws and appoint officers.
6. Month one or two. File Form 1023-EZ if you qualify, or the long Form 1023.
7. If you serve low-income residents. Once you have 501(c)(3) status and a year’s budget, certify with the Department of Revenue as a Qualifying Charitable Organization.
8. Every year. The $10 annual report in your anniversary month, and the property tax affidavit by 1 March if you own property.

The long pole is the IRS, not Arizona. The state end of this is measured in days and costs $40. Everything after the determination letter is either free or a form with a copy of that letter stapled to it.

What kind of charities Arizona has

The Business Master File classifies each organization by activity. The six commonest categories in Arizona account for 15,412 organizations between them:

• Education: 3,651 organizations
• Religion related: 3,480 organizations
• Human services: 2,865 organizations
• Recreation and sports: 1,957 organizations
• Arts, culture and humanities: 1,876 organizations
• Philanthropy and grantmaking: 1,583 organizations

That mix is worth checking against what you are planning. The largest category in every state is religion related, which is a reporting artifact as much as a fact, since churches are exempt automatically and many register anyway. The categories underneath it are the real map of what gets funded locally, and an organization entering a crowded category needs a sharper answer to the question of why it should exist separately than one entering a thin one.

Approvals in Arizona are rising

The file carries a determination date for every organization, so the last two years can be compared directly. Arizona had 2,349 approvals in the last twelve months against 2,315 in the twelve before that, a change of +1.5%. Nationally the last twelve months produced 115,927.

Read that as competitive context rather than as a verdict. More approvals means more organizations chasing the same local funders, and it also means the process is working normally for people like you. What it does not tell you is how many of them are still operating in three years, which the file cannot say, because it keeps listing an organization until its exemption is actually revoked.

After approval

The annual obligations start immediately and they run on two calendars. Federally, a return is due every year from the first full tax year, and three consecutive misses means automatic revocation with no appeal: which return applies is covered in which Form 990 you file. In Arizona, the filings in the table above renew on their own cycle. If the organization eventually sells anything or lets space, selling products and renting out space cover the tax treatment, and if it does not work out, closing properly is its own process.

Method and sources

Every fee and form on this page was read from the issuing agency’s own page or form on 10 November 2026, listed in the sources below. Nothing here is copied from another guide. The IRS user fee is not stated because the form instructions point to a revenue procedure and to Pay.gov rather than printing an amount.

The counts are from the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, filtered to subsection 03, with determinations through October 2026. Three limits carry over from that file: it includes organizations that are dormant but not yet auto revoked, the ruling date is when the IRS decided rather than when anyone applied, and revenue is blank for most small organizations, which is why the size row reads “no revenue on file or under $50,000” rather than giving a median. State is the organization’s own mailing address. This page is general information and not legal advice.

This is reference information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and change over time. For a decision that carries real consequences, check the current text at irs.gov or your state registry, and talk to a nonprofit attorney or CPA.