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Form 990 Schedule D: Endowments, Donor Advised Funds and Supplemental Financial Statements
Last updated: October 10, 2026 · Independent guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.
Form 990 Schedule D is the supplemental financial statements schedule that a nonprofit attaches to Form 990 when it answers “Yes” to any of Part IV, lines 6 through 12a, and optionally when it answers “Yes” to line 12b. Each Part IV answer switches on a specific part of Schedule D: donor advised funds, conservation easements, collections, escrow arrangements, endowments, balance sheet detail, and the reconciliations of revenue and expenses to your audited financial statements. For most audited nonprofits the work sits in the Part V endowment roll-forward, the Part VI fixed asset table and the Parts XI and XII reconciliations, and a well-mapped general ledger can produce all three.
The rule in brief
- Who files it: organizations filing Form 990 (not Form 990-EZ) that answer “Yes” on Part IV, line 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11a to 11f or 12a. Line 12b makes Parts XI and XII optional.
- Key requirements: each completed part must agree with Form 990, Part X (balance sheet) or Part I. Parts XI and XII must reconcile to Part I, lines 12 and 18.
- Key dates: Schedule D is filed with Form 990 by the 15th day of the 5th month after year end (May 15 for a calendar-year filer), and the 2025 return must be e-filed.
- Official source: IRS Instructions for Schedule D (Form 990), Rev. December 2024, a continuous-use revision for tax year 2024 and later. We checked it on October 10, 2026.
Which Part IV answers trigger each part of Schedule D
Schedule D has 13 parts. The form header lists the triggering Part IV lines, and each part repeats its own trigger (Schedule D (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). The Part IV questions themselves are on page 3 of the 2025 Form 990.
| Schedule D part | Form 990 trigger | What it reports | Must agree with |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Donor advised funds | Part IV, line 6 | Number of funds, contributions, grants and year-end value | Fund records |
| II. Conservation easements | Line 7 | Purposes, count, acreage, monitoring hours and expense | Easement register |
| III. Collections of art and similar assets | Line 8 | Capitalized or not under ASC 958, related revenue and assets | Part VIII, line 1; Part X |
| IV. Escrow and custodial arrangements | Line 9, or an amount on Part X, line 21 | Agency funds held off the balance sheet, with a roll-forward | Part X, line 21 |
| V. Endowment funds | Line 10 | Five-year roll-forward and split by endowment type | ASC 958-205 endowment note |
| VI. Land, buildings and equipment | Line 11a | Cost, accumulated depreciation and book value by class | Part X, lines 10a, 10b, 10c |
| VII. Investments, other securities | Line 11b (5% or more of total assets) | Derivatives, closely held interests, other | Part X, line 12 |
| VIII. Program-related investments | Line 11c (5% or more of total assets) | Each investment and valuation method | Part X, line 13 |
| IX. Other assets | Line 11d (5% or more of total assets) | Description and book value | Part X, line 15 |
| X. Other liabilities | Line 11e or 11f | Other liabilities and the ASC 740 uncertain tax position note | Part X, line 25 |
| XI. Revenue reconciliation | Line 12a (required); 12b only (optional) | Audited revenue to Form 990 revenue | Part I, line 12 |
| XII. Expense reconciliation | Line 12a (required); 12b only (optional) | Audited expenses to Form 990 expenses | Part I, line 18 |
| XIII. Supplemental information | No trigger of its own | Narratives required by other parts | Lines that call for it |
Two triggers catch people out. Line 10 is “Yes” if you, a related organization or a foundation formed exclusively to hold endowment funds for you held donor-restricted or board-designated (quasi) endowment funds at any time during the year, whether or not you follow ASC 958 (2025 Instructions for Form 990, December 9, 2025). Line 11 is also “Yes” if your financial statements include an uncertain tax position footnote, including one that says you have no liability.
Part V: the endowment roll-forward in detail
Part V uses ASC 958 definitions. A permanent endowment keeps its principal intact in perpetuity, a term endowment runs for a set period or until an event, and a board-designated or quasi-endowment is classified as net assets without donor restrictions because the board can spend it at any time (IRS Schedule D instructions).
The form has columns for the current year and four prior years. The lines are:
- 1a Beginning balance for all three endowment types combined.
- 1b Contributions, including new board designations.
- 1c Net investment earnings, gains and losses, realized and unrealized. Earnings recorded net of transaction costs go here net; if recorded gross, the costs go on line 1f.
- 1d Grants or scholarships, separate from 1e because scholarships are direct aid to individuals.
- 1e Other expenditures for facilities and programs, including quasi-endowment draws for capital spending.
- 1f Administrative expenses charged to the endowment.
- 1g End of year balance: 1a plus 1b plus 1c, less 1d through 1f.
- 2a to 2c: the percentage held as board-designated, permanent and term endowment, totaling 100% and consistent with your ASC 958-205 footnote.
- 3a, 3b and 4: endowment funds held by related or unrelated organizations, Schedule R listing, and intended uses described in Part XIII.
Illustration only. All figures are constructed for this example. A private school opens with $2,000,000, receives a $250,000 permanent endowment gift and earns $160,000 net of fees. It draws $51,750 for scholarships (line 1d) and $30,900 for library purchases and a facilities transfer (line 1e). Line 1g is $2,327,350. The quasi-endowment ends at $518,400, so line 2a is about 22.3%, line 2b about 77.7% and line 2c is 0%.
To get those numbers from the ledger, put a fund dimension on every endowment transaction and an “endowment type” attribute on each fund. Code each spending draw by purpose when you post it, or you will split line 1d from line 1e by hand at year end.
Part VI: land, buildings and equipment
Part VI is required whenever you report any amount on Form 990, Part X, line 10a. It has five rows (land, buildings, leasehold improvements, equipment, other) and four columns: cost or other basis of assets held for investment, such as rental property, in column (a); cost of all other fixed assets, including those used in exempt activities, in column (b); accumulated depreciation in column (c); and book value in column (d) (IRS Schedule D instructions).
Three tie-outs apply. Columns (a) plus (b) must equal Part X, line 10a. Column (c) must equal line 10b. Column (d) must equal Part X, line 10c, column (B). Land gets no amount in column (c).
To produce this from the ledger, keep separate cost and accumulated depreciation accounts for each of the five Part VI classes, and flag investment property in the fixed asset register so it lands in column (a). If your auditor’s roll-forward uses different classes, build a crosswalk once.
Parts XI and XII: reconciling to the audited financial statements
You must complete Parts XI and XII if you answered “Yes” to Part IV, line 12a, meaning you received separate, independent audited financial statements for the year. If you were only included in consolidated audited statements (line 12b) and answered “No” to 12a, the parts are optional. A compilation or review is not an audit, so it does not trigger them (2025 Form 990 instructions).
Part XI starts with audited total revenue (line 1), subtracts items in the audit but not on the 990 (2a unrealized gains, 2b donated services and facilities, 2c recoveries of prior year grants, 2d other), and adds items on the 990 but not in the audit (4a investment expenses, 4b other). Line 5 must equal Form 990, Part I, line 12. Part XII does the same for expenses (2a donated services, 2b prior year adjustments, 2c other losses, 2d other, 4a investment expenses) and ends at Part I, line 18.
The reconciling items come from real differences between ASC 958 and the 990 rules. The 990 excludes donated services and use of facilities from revenue and expenses, excludes unrealized gains on securities carried at fair value from Part VIII, and reports direct expenses of fundraising events on Part VIII, line 8b, rather than in Part IX (2025 Form 990 instructions). Wegner CPAs lists the same items, plus gross versus net reporting of merchandise sales (Wegner CPAs, February 22, 2024). Line 4a takes only investment expenses netted against investment income in the audit’s revenue section.
Illustration only. All figures are constructed for this example.
| Line | Part XI (revenue) | Part XII (expenses) | GL source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Per audited statements | $5,400,000 | $5,050,000 | Final adjusted trial balance |
| Unrealized gains (XI 2a) | ($180,000) | Not applicable | Unrealized gain account |
| Donated services (XI 2b, XII 2a) | ($60,000) | ($60,000) | In-kind services revenue and expense |
| Event direct costs (2d, explained in Part XIII) | ($45,000) | ($45,000) | Direct benefit to donors accounts |
| Investment fees netted in audit (4a) | $25,000 | $25,000 | Investment management fee account |
| 5 Per Form 990 | $5,140,000 (Part I, line 12) | $4,970,000 (Part I, line 18) | Check row |
Each reconciling item above is its own account, so the reconciliation becomes a report and each “other” line’s Part XIII explanation can follow the account name.
Part X and Part XIII
Part X lists other liabilities totaling Part X, line 25, with federal income taxes on its own row, and line 2 requires the text of your ASC 740 uncertain tax position footnote in Part XIII. Part XIII also carries the narratives that Parts II, III, IV, V, XI and XII call for, each labeled by part and line in form order (IRS Schedule D instructions).
Who is exempt
- Form 990-EZ and 990-PF filers. Schedule D is attached only to Form 990. Hawkins Ash CPAs notes that 990-EZ and 990-PF filers do not file it (Hawkins Ash CPAs, April 24, 2018).
- Organizations without an audit. If you did not receive audited statements for the year, you do not complete Parts XI and XII, even if your books follow ASC 958. You can still provide them voluntarily.
- Group returns. Parts XI and XII are not required.
- Below the 5% tests. Parts VII, VIII and IX apply only at 5% or more of total assets.
Deadlines and penalties
Schedule D is part of Form 990, so it shares the return’s due date: the 15th day of the 5th month after year end, with an automatic extension available on Form 8868. The 2025 Form 990 must be filed electronically (2025 Form 990 instructions).
The section 6652(c) penalty is $25 a day, up to the lesser of $13,000 or 5% of gross receipts. For organizations with gross receipts over $1,309,500 it is $130 a day, up to $65,000 per return. The penalty can also apply to an incomplete return, including one missing a required part of a schedule. Schedule D is open to public inspection.
Records to keep
The Form 990 instructions say supporting records are usually kept at least 3 years from the date the return is due or filed, whichever is later, and property basis records for as long as basis matters. For Schedule D, keep:
- Each year’s endowment roll-forward, so Part V’s prior-year columns agree with returns already filed, plus the gift agreements and board resolutions behind the type split.
- The fixed asset register and depreciation schedule behind Part VI.
- The Parts XI and XII workpaper, tied to the audit and the final trial balance, and the audited statements themselves.
What to set up in your systems
Most of Schedule D can come from the ledger if four things are true: the chart of accounts separates every reconciling item, fixed assets carry the Part VI class, endowment funds carry their type, and the tax software reads mapped balances rather than retyped totals.
| Ledger setup | Attribute or account | Feeds |
|---|---|---|
| Endowment fund dimension | Type: board-designated, permanent, term | Part V, lines 1a to 1g and 2a to 2c |
| Endowment draw accounts | Scholarships separate from program and facility draws | Part V, lines 1d and 1e |
| Fixed asset classes | Land, buildings, leasehold improvements, equipment, other; investment flag | Part VI and Part X, line 10 |
| Investment return accounts | Interest and dividends, realized gains, unrealized gains, management fees | Part XI, lines 2a and 4a; Part XII, line 4a |
| In-kind accounts | Donated services and use of facilities, apart from donated goods | Part XI, line 2b; Part XII, line 2a |
| Special event accounts | Direct benefit costs apart from indirect event costs | Part VIII, line 8b; Parts XI and XII, line 2d |
| Adjustment accounts | Prior period adjustments, grant recoveries | Part XI, line 2c; Part XII, line 2b |
Our nonprofit accounting software guide compares ledgers that support these dimensions. Sage Intacct’s Nonprofit QuickStart includes “990VIII Statement of revenue” and “990IX Statement of functional expenses” reports built on column filters over your dimensions (Sage Intacct help, last modified October 8, 2026). It lists no Schedule D report, so you build the reconciliation yourself. Thomson Reuters documents importing trial balances from Workpapers CS into UltraTax CS by tax code for 990 returns, excluding fund balance accounts (Thomson Reuters help, no date shown). Both vendors sell the products described.
How we researched this
We read Schedule D (Rev. December 2024), its instructions, and the 2025 Form 990 and its instructions on irs.gov on October 10, 2026, and took every line reference and tie-out from those documents. We reviewed the pages that rank for this term from Tax990 (a software seller, page updated August 21, 2024), Hawkins Ash CPAs (April 24, 2018) and Wegner CPAs. None gives the full trigger table with tie-outs or explains the ledger setup behind the reconciliations. We checked vendor documentation on the same date.
Related guides
- Restricted Funds Accounting: Restrictions and Releases
- Nonprofit Statement of Financial Position: Template
- Form 990 Schedule A: The Public Support Test Explained
Frequently asked questions
Does every Form 990 filer have to complete Schedule D?
No. You file it only if you answer “Yes” to a triggering Part IV line from 6 through 12a. Most audited nonprofits do file it, because any fixed assets trigger Part VI and a separate audit triggers Parts XI and XII.
Do board-designated funds count as an endowment on Schedule D?
Yes. Part IV, line 10 covers quasi-endowments as well as donor-restricted endowments. The board-designated share goes on Part V, line 2a, even though those funds are net assets without donor restrictions on your balance sheet.
Why doesn’t our Form 990 revenue match our audited financial statements?
The Form 990 excludes donated services and unrealized investment gains, reports fundraising event revenue net of direct costs, and reports investment fees as expenses rather than netting them against return. Parts XI and XII exist to show each of those differences so the two totals reconcile.
Do we need Parts XI and XII if our nonprofit only has a review?
No. The Form 990 instructions say a compilation or review does not produce audited financial statements, so you answer “No” to Part IV, line 12a. You may still complete the reconciliations voluntarily.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service, Instructions for Schedule D (Form 990), Rev. December 2024, page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026, checked October 10, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Schedule D (Form 990), Supplemental Financial Statements, Rev. December 2024, checked October 10, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Form 990 (2025), checked October 10, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, 2025 Instructions for Form 990, December 9, 2025, checked October 10, 2026.
- Wegner CPAs, IRS Form 990 and Financial Statements: Explaining the Discrepancies, February 22, 2024 (CPA firm).
- Hawkins Ash CPAs, Nonprofit Tax Tidbits: Form 990 Schedule D, April 24, 2018 (CPA firm).
- Tax990, Form 990 Schedule D, updated August 21, 2024 (sells e-filing software).
- Sage Intacct help, Financial reports and graphs for nonprofit organizations, last modified October 8, 2026 (vendor).
- Thomson Reuters help, Import account balances into UltraTax CS, no date shown (vendor).
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