How to Report a Nonprofit, and Why You Cannot Order an Audit

People who search for how to request an audit of a nonprofit usually suspect something is wrong with one: money that has gone missing, a director paying himself, donations not reaching the cause. The short version is that you cannot order an audit, but you can read a great deal of the organization’s finances yourself, report to the regulators who can investigate, and in some cases enforce your own rights. This page sets out each route, what it will and will not do, and what is not wrongdoing at all.

Who to report to, at a glance

Start with what you can read yourself

Before reporting anything, look at the organization’s own filings. Every tax-exempt organization must make its last three annual returns, its Form 990 series, and its exemption application available to anyone who asks. A written request must be answered within 30 days, an in-person request generally the same day, and the IRS can impose a penalty of $20 per day, up to $10,000 for each return, on an organization that refuses. Most 990s are also online; our guide to finding a Form 990 shows where.

In the 990, look at the parts that show insiders’ dealings:

• Part VI, line 5 asks whether the organization became aware during the year of a significant diversion of its assets.
• Part VI, line 2 asks about family or business relationships between officers and directors.
• Part IV, lines 25 to 28 ask about excess benefit transactions, loans to insiders and business with interested persons, which are detailed on Schedule L.
• Part VII lists pay for officers, directors and the highest-paid staff; compare it with typical charity CEO pay.

How to read the whole return is in our Form 990 guide.

Can you request an audit of a nonprofit?

Not as a member of the public. No regulator takes a request from an outsider to audit an organization. Audits happen because the law, a funder or the board requires one:

• State law. California requires charities with gross revenue of two million dollars or more to have audited financial statements, made available to the public. New York requires an audit for revenue in excess of one million dollars, and a CPA review from $250,000. Other states set their own thresholds.
• Federal grants. An organization that expends $1,000,000 or more of federal awards in a year must have a Single Audit. Those reports are public: search the Federal Audit Clearinghouse by the organization’s EIN.
• Funders and the board. A funder can require an audit as a grant condition, and the board can commission one at any time.

So the practical route to an audit is to ask whether one already exists and read it, to raise the concern with the board, or to report to a regulator who can investigate. How audits work from the organization’s side is in our guide to the nonprofit audit.

How to write a complaint a regulator can act on

State complaint forms ask for much the same things. New York’s Charities Bureau form asks for the organization’s name and address, the names and positions of the individuals involved, “as much specific detail as possible”, and copies of any documents relating to the complaint. It also asks two questions worth answering before you file anywhere: whether you have raised the complaint with the organization itself, and what it said, and whether you have sent it to any other agency. California lets you add information later by filing another complaint.

1. Say what happened, when, and how much. “The treasurer paid $18,000 to her own company in March” is something an investigator can check; “they seem to waste money” is not.
2. Attach what you have. The 990 pages, receipts, emails, board minutes you received as a member or director. Do not take records you are not entitled to.
3. Show the link to charitable assets. Texas is more likely to investigate where there is reliable evidence of diversion or gross mismanagement causing significant loss or harm.
4. Send it to the right place. Misuse of funds to the attorney general, tax violations to the IRS, a scam to the FTC. Sending to more than one is fine; say so.
5. Keep a copy and expect silence. Neither the IRS nor most attorneys general report back, so a lack of reply is not a sign nothing happened.

Reporting to your state attorney general

The state attorney general is the main regulator of charities. California’s Attorney General states that it has “primary responsibility for supervising charities” and represents the public beneficiaries of charities, who cannot sue in their own right. The National Association of State Charity Officials keeps a directory of every state’s charity office.

Be realistic about what an attorney general will do. California investigates misuse of charitable funds, diversion, excessive compensation, self-dealing and deceptive solicitation, but says it generally does not investigate internal labor or board disputes or contested elections, that an investigation is not opened for every complaint received, and that it does not provide status reports to complainants. New York’s Charities Bureau says it generally does not become involved in governance disputes and that the Attorney General is not your private attorney. Texas says it is more likely to act on “reliable evidence of a diversion of charitable assets or gross mismanagement”. Send documents, not suspicions: the 990 lines, bank records you are entitled to, dates and amounts.

Reporting to the IRS

The IRS handles tax-law violations: income or assets used for personal gain, political campaign activity, excessive lobbying, operating like a business, failing to file, and unreported pay. Its complaint page now directs people to submit a referral online at IRS.gov/SubmitATip. The paper Form 13909 that older guides describe, with mail and fax addresses, was no longer posted on irs.gov when we checked in November 2026.

Two things to know before you file. First, the IRS says submitters will not receive an acknowledgement letter or further updates, because tax return information is confidential under section 6103; it also says it will keep your identity confidential. Second, its report-fraud page warns against AI-generated, unsupported or purely speculative reports. You can report anonymously, but anonymous tips do not qualify for an award.

The odds of an examination are low. The IRS Data Book shows 889 Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-N examined in fiscal 2025, against 1,916,367 recognized 501(c) organizations, by our calculation about one in two thousand. A Treasury Inspector General review found that in fiscal 2018 referrals from the public and regulators were 20% of exempt organization exam closures but produced 40% of revocations: a well-documented referral matters.

The IRS Whistleblower Office pays awards of generally 15 to 30% of the proceeds collected, but the mandatory award program applies only where the proceeds in dispute exceed $2,000,000, and, against an individual, only if their gross income exceeds $200,000, under 26 U.S.C. 7623. Most complaints about a local charity are not award cases.

Scams, fake charities and solicitation complaints

If the “charity” may not be real, or a fundraiser lied to you, the Federal Trade Commission asks people to report to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to their state charity regulator. Online donation fraud can also go to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the central hub for reporting cyber-enabled crime, and anything sent through the post to the Postal Inspection Service. The BBB Wise Giving Alliance processes certain complaints about charitable solicitations.

Rights you can use yourself

If you are a member or director, state law may let you act directly. In California, for example, the accounting books and records are open to inspection upon the written demand of any member, and every director has the absolute right to inspect books, records and documents at any reasonable time. Who can sue over the misuse of charitable assets is narrower: California’s Corporations Code lists the corporation, members suing on its behalf, officers, directors, people with a reversionary, contractual or property interest, and the Attorney General, but not ordinary donors. A donor whose restricted gift was misused generally has to go to the attorney general. Other states have similar rules; check yours.

If you are on the board, you are not a bystander: directors owe duties of care and loyalty and can demand information. Our guide to the board of directors covers those duties, and a whistleblower policy and internal controls are the protections to insist on.

What is not wrongdoing

Before reporting, check that the concern is a legal one. High overhead is not fraud: the Supreme Court held that fraud may not be inferred simply from the percentage of donations absorbed by fundraising costs. The BBB’s voluntary standards ask charities to spend at least 65% of expenses on programs, but they are standards, not law. A deficit, a large salary set properly by the board, or a decision you disagree with may be poor judgment without being illegal; what overhead and deficits look like across the sector is on our statistics pages. And the 990 itself says its governance policies are not required by the Internal Revenue Code, so a “no” to a whistleblower policy is a weakness, not a violation.

What is wrongdoing, in the IRS’s words: no part of a charity’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private individual, and the tax code imposes an excise tax on excess benefit transactions between a charity and its insiders. Money flowing to insiders beyond fair value, diverted restricted gifts and fake programs are what regulators act on.

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.