The Internal Revenue Service recently extended the deadline for small non-profit organizations (those with gross receipts normally under $25,000.00) to maintain their tax exempt status by filing Form 990-N to October 15, 2010. Previously, small non-profit organizations did not have to file any return at all; however, beginning in 2007, Congress mandated that all tax-exempt organizations, except churches, had to file returns with the IRS beginning in 2007. If a non-profit fails to file the return for three consecutive years, the organization may lose its tax exempt status. Although the penalty of losing tax-exempt status did not kick in until this year, it is estimated that almost one-third of small tax exempt organizations have yet to file the required return.