Tax 990 Preparation
Prepare IRS Form 990 and 990-PF filings with Muin's AI-assisted workspace. Section-by-section review, compliance validation, and export.
Muin’s Tax 990 workspace streamlines the preparation of IRS Form 990 and 990-PF filings for nonprofit organizations. The AI-assisted process gathers data from your existing records, organizes it into form sections, validates for compliance, and exports when you are ready to file.
How the 990 Workspace Works
The workspace is organized around fiscal years. Each fiscal year gets its own workspace that tracks the preparation lifecycle:
Create Workspace → AI Data Gathering → Section Review → Issue Resolution → Approval → Export| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Create | A workspace is created for a specific fiscal year and form type (990 or 990-PF) |
| Data Gathering | The AI agent scans your organization’s data to populate form sections |
| Section Review | Advisors review each section, verify data, and make corrections |
| Issue Resolution | AI flags compliance issues; you resolve them before proceeding |
| Approval | Authorized users approve the completed form |
| Export | Generate the final filing document for submission |
Getting Started
Accessing the Workspace
- Navigate to Tax 990 from the Finance module or the advisor portal
- Select the fiscal year
- The workspace opens with all sections and their current status
Form Types
| Form | Who Files It |
|---|---|
| 990 | Tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts over $200,000 or total assets over $500,000 |
| 990-PF | Private foundations regardless of financial status |
Workspace Status
Each workspace tracks its overall preparation status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Initial state; sections are being populated |
| In Review | Sections have data and are being reviewed |
| Issues Found | AI detected compliance issues that need resolution |
| Ready for Approval | All sections reviewed and issues resolved |
| Approved | An authorized user has approved the filing |
| Exported | The final document has been generated |
AI Data Gathering
Running the AI Agent
The AI agent automates the most time-consuming part of 990 preparation: gathering and organizing data.
- Open the workspace for the target fiscal year
- Click Run AI Agent
- The agent scans your organization’s financial records, program data, and governance information
- Each form section is populated with relevant data
- Confidence scores indicate how reliable the AI’s data extraction is
What the Agent Collects
The agent pulls data from across Muin to populate form sections:
| Section Area | Data Sources |
|---|---|
| Revenue and expenses | Finance module transactions, invoices, expense records |
| Program accomplishments | Program records, grant reports |
| Officer and director compensation | HR records, payroll data |
| Governance | Board records, policy documents |
| Financial statements | Balance sheet and income statement data |
Confidence Scores
Each populated section receives a confidence score:
| Score | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100% | High confidence; data likely accurate | Quick review is sufficient |
| 70-89% | Moderate confidence; some data may need verification | Review carefully, spot-check against source records |
| Below 70% | Low confidence; significant manual review needed | Verify each data point against source documents |
Reviewing Sections
Section-by-Section Review
Each form section has its own review workflow:
- Open a section from the workspace overview
- Review the populated data against your records
- Make corrections directly in the section editor
- Update the review status:
- Pending: Not yet reviewed
- Reviewed: Verified as accurate
- Needs Correction: Issues found that require changes
AI Notes
The AI agent leaves notes on each section explaining:
- Where the data came from
- Any assumptions or estimations made
- Recommendations for manual verification
- References to source documents
Source Type Tracking
Each data point tracks its source:
| Source | Description |
|---|---|
| AI-extracted | Automatically gathered by the AI agent |
| Manual | Entered or corrected by a human reviewer |
| Imported | Pulled from an integrated system |
Issue Resolution
How Issues Are Detected
The AI validates the form data against IRS requirements and flags issues:
- Missing required information
- Inconsistencies between sections
- Values that fall outside expected ranges
- Governance disclosures that may be incomplete
Issue Detail
Each issue includes:
- Severity: Critical, Warning, or Informational
- Section: Which part of the form is affected
- Description: What the issue is
- Suggested action: How to resolve it
- IRS reference: The relevant IRS instruction or regulation
Resolving Issues
- Open the issue from the workspace’s issue list
- Review the description and suggested action
- Navigate to the affected section and make corrections
- Mark the issue as resolved
- The resolver’s identity and timestamp are recorded
Approval and Export
Approval Process
Once all sections are reviewed and issues resolved:
- The workspace status changes to Ready for Approval
- An authorized user (e.g., CFO, executive director) reviews the complete form
- Click Approve to sign off on the filing
- The approver’s identity and timestamp are recorded
Exporting the Filing
After approval:
- Click Export
- Choose the export format
- The system generates the final filing document
- Download the document for submission to the IRS
- The export timestamp is recorded on the workspace
Additional Workflows
Multi-Year Comparison
Open workspaces from different fiscal years side by side to:
- Compare revenue and expense trends
- Verify year-over-year consistency
- Identify sections that changed significantly
Advisor Portal Access
For organizations working with external advisors:
- Advisors access the 990 workspace through the advisor portal
- Role-based permissions control what advisors can view and edit
- All advisor actions are logged for audit purposes
Re-Running the AI Agent
If your underlying data changes during the preparation period:
- Click Run AI Agent again
- The agent updates sections with new data
- Previously reviewed sections are flagged for re-review
- Your manual corrections are preserved unless you choose to overwrite them
Tips
- Run the AI agent early in the preparation cycle. Give your team time to review before the filing deadline.
- Address critical issues first. These often block other sections from being finalized.
- Use confidence scores to prioritize reviews. Focus manual verification on low-confidence sections.
- Keep source records accessible. The AI notes reference specific documents; having them handy speeds review.
- Export a draft before final approval for one last review pass.
Common Issues
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| AI agent returns low confidence across all sections | Insufficient data in Muin for the fiscal year | Ensure financial records, HR data, and program information are entered for the target year |
| Section data is stale | Agent was run before recent data updates | Re-run the AI agent to pull the latest data |
| Cannot approve workspace | Unresolved critical issues | Review and resolve all critical issues before approval |
| Export fails | Workspace not in approved status | Complete the approval step before exporting |
| Advisor cannot access workspace | Missing advisor portal permissions | Verify the advisor’s role includes read_tax access |
Related Features
- Expense Management – Expense records feed into 990 preparation
- Budget Management – Budget data provides context for financial sections
- Customer Invoices – Invoice records contribute to revenue and expense reporting
- 1099 Tracking – Vendor payment tracking for related tax compliance
Need Help?
If the 990 workspace is not populating correctly or issues persist:
- Verify that financial data for the target fiscal year exists in Muin
- Re-run the AI agent after ensuring data completeness
- Check advisor portal permissions if external users report access issues
- Contact support through the in-app help widget for further assistance