Tax Exempt Organization Search
The free IRS database for checking whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Tax Exempt Organization Search, often shortened to TEOS, is the IRS tool for looking up an organization by name or by employer identification number and seeing what the IRS knows about it. It is free, it needs no account, and it is the answer to almost every version of the question "is this donation deductible."
It searches five separate datasets, and knowing which one answered matters. Publication 78 data lists organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. The automatic revocation list holds organizations whose exemption was revoked for not filing for three consecutive years. The other three are determination letters, Form 990-N (e-Postcard) filings, and the Form 990 series returns themselves.
A blank result is not a "no." The IRS states that "Some donees (i.e., churches, group ruling subordinates, and governmental units) eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions may not be listed in Pub. 78 Data." Those three categories are common enough that a missing result usually means you are looking at one of them rather than at a problem.
Sources
- Search for tax exempt organizations (Tax Exempt Organization Search)IRS, IRS guidance
- Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloadsIRS, IRS guidance
- Publication 526 (2025), Charitable Contributions, full textIRS, IRS publication
Definitions describe the rule as published. They are not tax advice, and almost every threshold above has an exception attached to it in the underlying publication. Confirm anything that affects a return with a qualified tax professional.
Related terms
Qualified organization
An organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Giving to anyone else is generous, not deductible.
Automatic revocation
Loss of tax-exempt status for failing to file a required annual return or notice for three consecutive years.
Group exemption ruling
A ruling under which a parent organization's exemption covers affiliated subordinates that are not individually listed.
Employer identification number (EIN)
A nine-digit federal tax ID. A charity's EIN identifies it uniquely, which is why it is the reliable way to look one up.
Values with the source attached
DeductiBee applies a cited fair-market-value range to everything you donate, keeps the photo with the record, and exports a Form 8283 worksheet when you file.
