Top 5 Tax-Exempt Organization Search Tools for 2026: Verify Nonprofits Before You Donate
Why Tax-Exempt Organization Search Tool Is a Must-Have
The old approach where you manually verified non-profits organizations and their status don’t work anymore. You risk significant exposure like making non-deductible contributions to funding entities whose status has already been revoked.
With a strong nonprofit tax-exempt organization lookup tool in place, your organization does not have to worry. This tool can be used to confirm whether a nonprofit’s tax-exempt status is legitimate, if donations are tax-deductible, and tells you if an organization’s exempt status has been revoked or reinstated, using IRS tax records. All of this helps you get a full picture of who they are before you open up your wallet.
And the right solution for your business depends on your needs. But with a good solution you can stay aligned with the latest IRS data, get fast search capabilities, automation through APIs, integration with your accounts payable and grants management systems. Plus, have access to auditable trails that satisfy everyone.
Best Tax-Exempt Organization Search Tools for 2026
1. Compliancely (Unified Tax-Exempt & Business Verification Platform)
Compliancely is a unified business and tax identity verification platform. It is part of Zenwork’s broader tax and information-reporting ecosystem, which includes products such as Tax1099 and Zenwork Payments.
This platform offers tax-exemption checks along with EIN/TIN validation, business identity verification, and sanctions screening. It’s built for organizations that need multiple verification layers working together.
Key Features
- Offers real-time EIN and tax-exempt status verification using current IRS data
- Does business verification with direct data checks.
- Robust APIs and dashboards designed for scalable accounts payable, grants, and donor operations.
- Built with enterprise grade security to ensure data is processed securely.
- Part of the broader Zenwork ecosystem of compliance and reporting tools.
What Sets It Apart
- You can conduct tax-exempt verification, business identity checks, sanctions screening, and tax identity checks in a single platform.
- Designed to handle both small scale and large-scale onboarding and payment volumes.
- Provides configurable rule settings to help reduce time spent on manual reviews and close documentation gaps.
- Helps support audit, tax, and regulatory evidence needs.
What to Consider
- Delivers the most value for teams when embedding verification directly into their workflows.
- If you’re only checking a few organizations per year, it may offer more capability than necessary.
Pricing
- To get accurate pricing for tax-exempt organization checks, contact the Compliancely team.
2. IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (Official IRS Database)
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search is the official federal government tool for verifying 501(c)(3) tax exempt status of an organization and its eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. This is an authoritative source that directly gives users access to IRS data.
Key Features
- Get direct access to IRS tax-exempt status and related data sets.
- Web-based searching by organization name, EIN, or location.
- Multiple data sets including deduction eligibility, revocations, and filings.
What Sets It Apart
- It’s the authoritative federal source for tax-exempt status.
- Free to use and accessible to anyone.
What to Consider
- No official real-time API integration tool.
- You won’t find workflows, case management, or audit features.
- Doesn’t provide sanctions screening or broader business risk checks.
- Bulk support and downloadable data files that requires your team to process.
Pricing
- This tool is free to use.
3. GuideStar Charity Check by Candid (Grantmaker-Focused Nonprofit Verification)
Candid’s GuideStar Charity Check is one of the largest source of information on U.S. nonprofit organizations. It is designed to be used by grantmakers and philanthropy teams who need quality authoritative tax-exempt status data derived from validated sources.
Key Features
- Offers tax-exempt and public charity status verification checks with API and bulk checking capabilities.
- Enhances nonprofit profiles by including mission details, leadership demographics, and financial information.
What Sets It Apart
- Built for grants and donor due diligence nonprofit verification workflows.
- Provides additional nonprofit details that goes beyond simple status search.
What to Consider
- The platform focuses only on nonprofit and philanthropy data rather than covering general entities.
- While Candid provides APIs, their primary focus is nonprofit data, not broad enterprise vendor risk platforms.
- Integrating with accounts payable or vendor onboarding systems often requires custom work.
Pricing
- Candid offers free basic searches. But tools for deeper vetting require paid subscriptions: Candid Premium ($3,499/year) or Ultimate ($4,999/year).
4. CharityAPI.org (Developer-Friendly IRS Nonprofit Status API)
CharityAPI.org provides a REST API layer over publicly available IRS nonprofit data. It helps teams verify tax-exempt status and deductibility directly from their own systems. It’s aimed at developers who want IRS-aligned nonprofit checks embedded into donation flows, accounts payable tools, or grant making applications without building their own ingestion of IRS files.
Key Features
- Uses API to look up nonprofits via EIN or other identifiers against IRS data.
- Returns organization details, tax-exempt status, and deductibility information.
- Built to integrate with donation flows, vendor management, and grants workflows for automated verification.
What Sets It Apart
- Simple developer-friendly REST API for automating tax-exempt verification.
- Easier to integrate into existing systems rather than manually checking the IRS website.
- Complements in-house risk management, grants, and repeated IRS checks.
What to Consider
- Coverage focuses only on U.S. IRS nonprofit data. Foreign entities need different sources.
- Does not include sanctions screening, business identity verification, or broader risk screening.
- Built-in case management and dashboard features are limited compared with unified verification platforms.
Pricing
- CharityAPI.org offers a subscription-based pricing model. The free version offers 1 Live API Key, 1 Test API Key, docs-only support, with a rate limit. The paid version starts at $15 per month, along with no rate limit and support.
5. LexisNexis Risk Solutions (Enterprise Nonprofit & Third-Party Screening)
LexisNexis Risk Solutions is an enterprise-grade entity and risk data screening platform that also performs nonprofit or tax-exempt organization verification as part of its broader third-party due diligence and screening programs.
Key Features
- Offers extensive entity databases, watchlist screening, and adverse media monitoring.
- Configurable screening workflows and rules designed for large-scale search.
What Sets It Apart
- Suitable for complex and regulated enterprise environments.
- Can align nonprofit verification with overall risk screening within the same framework.
What to Consider
- Complex and resource-intensive to implement and maintain.
- For teams primarily needing straightforward tax-exempt checks, this may be offers more than required.
Pricing
- To obtain pricing information, contact their team directly for a custom quote.
Checklist for Choosing The Right Tax-Exempt Organization Search Tool
Start with your regulatory, tax, and audit requirements
Figure out where tax-exempt status matters most in your operations and determine whether you also need EIN/TIN validation, business identity verification, and sanctions coverage in the same workflow.
Understand your volume and re-screening needs
Estimate how many nonprofits or payees you verify each month and how often re-checks are required. Tools that offer APIs, batch processing, and fast response times are better suited for higher volumes and ongoing monitoring.
Consider the platform strategy and total cost
Compare the real cost of manual IRS lookups versus adopting a unified platform. Factor in licensing fees, engineering time, spreadsheet maintenance overhead.
Evaluate consequences of missed status changes
Prioritize providers that support ongoing monitoring, maintain clear audit trails, and offer pilot programs using real historical data.
FAQs
1. What is a tax-exempt organization search tool?
It’s a solution that lets you look up nonprofits and charities, confirm their IRS tax-exempt status, and whether contributions are generally tax-deductible.
2. Why not just use the IRS websitefor tax-exempt search?
The IRS site provides authoritative data through its web interface. But the platform requires manual, single-record search which is time-consuming. Platforms like Compliancely offer automation, bulk verification, system integrations, and audit trails that the IRS website doesn’t offer.
3. Can one stack handle vendors, grantees, and charities?
Absolutely. Some organizations use a single verification layer to vet vendors, grantees, and charitable partners by combining tax-exempt checks with EIN/TIN validation, business identity verification, and sanctions screening.
4. Do these tools cover non-U.S. nonprofits?
Some of the tools covered in this blog focus exclusively on U.S. organizations, while others incorporate foreign registries and business verification data. If you fund global charities, look for coverage beyond just IRS records.
5. How often should we re-check tax-exempt status?
Most teams re-screen before major payments or grants and conduct at least annual reviews for key relationships. The right frequency depends on your risk level and policies.
Build your 2026 nonprofit and tax-exempt verification stack around Compliancely.
