Academy/Taxes, Audits & Financial Compliance
Annual reports
The state filing that keeps your HOA's corporate status current, and has nothing to do with your tax return.
An annual report is a state corporate filing, separate from your HOA's federal tax return, that most states require periodically to keep the association in good standing. It typically confirms basic entity information is current. Deadlines, fees, and consequences for missing one vary by state, so check your secretary of state's website.
A state filing, not a tax return
Filing Form 1120-H or Form 1120 with the IRS answers a federal tax question. It says nothing about whether your association is current with the state that incorporated it. States run their own, separate system for keeping corporations, including nonprofit corporations, which is how most HOAs are organized, on the books, and an annual report is usually part of that system.
It is also separate from whether the association's books get an audit, a review, or a compilation, and from federal filings like the now-repealed beneficial-ownership reporting requirement. Each of these is its own track, governed by its own rules.
"Having a registered agent is a general requirement for legal entity formation and foreign qualification."
Source: What is a registered agent for an LLC or corporation?, Wolters Kluwer
Why it matters: staying in good standing
Most states require corporations, including HOA corporations, to file some kind of periodic report to remain in good standing. What the report asks for, how often it is due, and what it costs varies by state. Falling behind does not usually change your federal tax picture, but it can put the association's legal status with the state at risk.
Keeping a current, reachable registered agent on file (see Registered agents) is part of what most states expect to see confirmed. If your registered agent's address is outdated, the state's notice about a report deadline may never reach the board in the first place, which is often how associations miss the deadline without anyone deciding to skip it.
What happens if you miss the deadline, anything from a late fee to eventual loss of good standing status, depends on your state's rules.
Where to check your state's actual requirements
Skip the guessing. Your state's secretary of state, or equivalent corporations office, website will list whether an annual report is required, when it is due, what it costs, and what happens if you miss it. Search for your state's name plus "corporation annual report" or "nonprofit corporation annual report," since most HOAs are organized as nonprofit corporations.
If your association also needs to register in another state, or has recently changed its principal address or officers, that is worth double checking against your report at the same time. See Corporate registrations for the broader picture of what states expect from your association's corporate status.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
Your board files Form 1120-H every year and treats that as the only compliance task on the calendar. What risk does that leave open?
A board member wants to know exactly when their state's annual report is due and what it costs. Where should they look?
An association's registered agent moved and never updated the address on file. The state's annual report notice never reached the board. What happened?
- What is a registered agent for an LLC or corporation?, Wolters Kluwer
Taxes, Audits & Financial Compliance
Curious whether your registered agent's address is current? Read Registered agents next.
Whether your state requires an annual report, its deadline, filing fee, and the consequence of missing one vary by state and by your association's corporate status.