Free & Accepted Masons of Arkansas
Group exemption number 0398 · Little Rock, AR. When this group’s Form 15644 is due, and what the IRS file lists for it.
IRS EO BMF, posted Oct 13, 2026
I run the central office
You file Form 15644 for the whole group. Your window and deadlines are below, free.
If you’d rather not match the IRS files yourself, the report for Free & Accepted Masons of Arkansas is $49, one time: your chapter roster as the IRS has it, checks on each chapter and a worksheet for Form 15644. A private service, not the IRS.
I’m a chapter, club or post officer
Your central office files Form 15644 for the whole group. Your own job is your chapter’s yearly IRS return, usually the 990-N e-Postcard, unless your central office includes you in its group return.
Opens your email with this page’s link filled in. You choose who to send it to.
Deadlines for this group
This group’s Form 15644 window
–
38 days until it closes
Cleanup due for group letters that existed on Jan 20, 2026
89 days left
If you must remove chapters, add a first chapter, or keep one group letter and terminate the others (Rev. Proc. 2026-8 §12.02(2)), file that before this date, as an interim update if your annual window is later. See the cleanup checklist.
Facts from the IRS file
- Group exemption number (GEN)
- 0398
- Central organization
- Free & Accepted Masons of ArkansasName in IRS file: FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS OF ARKANSAS · EIN 71-0060390
- Location in the IRS file
- Little Rock, AR
- Chapters on file
- 158Local chapters listed under this group exemption in the IRS file (the IRS calls them subordinates)
- Central organization’s tax-exempt category
- 501(c)(10)The central’s own 501(c) paragraph. Its chapters can be under a different one (Rev. Proc. 2026-8 §4.03(2)(a)). Under the new rules all chapters must share one paragraph; groups whose letter existed on Jan 20, 2026 must remove the others before Jan 22, 2027 (§12.02(2)(e), (f)).
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31
- Form 15644 window
- Oct 2 – Dec 1, 2026From 90 to 30 days before the fiscal year ends, every year
- Cleanup deadline
- Before Jan 22, 2027If you need to remove chapters, add a first chapter, or keep one group letter and terminate the others, file that before Jan 22, 2027. If your annual window is later, file it as an interim update. See the cleanup checklist.
How to file your Form 15644: step by step
General steps from Rev. Proc. 2026-8 and the Form 15644 instructions (Rev. 10-2026), with this group’s public IRS facts filled in. Not tax or legal advice. The full Form 15644 guide has every detail.
Your window
File between Oct 2, 2026 and Dec 1, 2026: from 90 to 30 days before the fiscal year ends on Dec 31, 2026 (Rev. Proc. 2026-8 §7.01). Nothing changed? You still file, choosing “No reportable change”.
If you miss it: the IRS may end a group exemption when the central doesn’t file a timely and complete Form 15644 (§8.01(1)). File as soon as you can and talk to your adviser. The Rev. Proc. sets no dollar penalty.
Before filing day
- Set up the IRS Online Account sign-in: the online form needs it. Or plan to fax the PDF.
- Find your group exemption letter. Your GEN is 0398.
- Gather your own chapter list: each chapter’s EIN, name and mailing address, and every change since your most recent filing. The IRS file lists 158 chapters under this GEN; the IRS stopped mailing centrals their list in 2019.
Header, items a–k
From IRS records (check them against your group exemption letter):
a. Tax year Calendar year 2026, if this filing is for the window above. It should match the central’s Form 990 or 990-EZ. b. Name of central organization FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS OF ARKANSAS in the IRS file. Enter the central’s legal name. c. EIN 71-0060390, the central’s own EIN (not a separate EIN used for a group return). d. GEN 0398 e. Number of subordinates The IRS file lists 158. Enter your own count as of the day you submit, leaving out chapters this filing removes and including chapters it adds. You fill in:
f. IRC subsection The 501(c) paragraph all your chapters share, written like “501(c)(3)”. g–i. Contact A principal officer, their title and a business-hours phone number. j. Type of filing Annual update for your yearly window (or interim update, or termination). k. Type of change Reportable change, or no reportable change. Part I and Part II
Part I asks five yes/no questions: any change in purpose, character or method of operation; any chapter that lost its exemption through automatic revocation; whether every chapter is affiliated with you and under your general supervision; any change to the chapter list since your most recent filing; and whether you’re adding chapters. Your answers decide which parts of Part III you complete.
Part II has three statements you check only if true: all chapters are in the same 501(c) paragraph; none is ineligible; and all have adopted a uniform purpose statement. If you can’t check one, talk to your adviser before filing.
Part III: the changes
A change is a chapter that joined, left, changed its name or mailing address, or lost its exemption through automatic revocation, or a change in purpose, character or method of operation.
- Section A: describe changes in purpose (line 1), and enter how many chapters lost their exemption through automatic revocation since your most recent annual filing (line 2). You can count them yourself, free.
- Section B: one row per chapter with a change. A removal needs only the type of entry and the EIN; a new chapter or a change needs the name, address and the other items. Chapters that lost their exemption through automatic revocation go in as removals (our reading of the instructions; confirm with your adviser).
Submit and keep a copy
Submit online on the IRS forms page, or fax the PDF to (833) 312-5228. Filing with the IRS is free. Save the download link or the fax confirmation with your copy, then set a reminder: the form is due every year, even with no changes. Next year’s window, for a year ending Dec 31, 2027: Oct 2, 2027 to Dec 1, 2027.
Source: IRS EO BMF, posted Oct 13, 2026 (the IRS roster file). Window rule: Rev. Proc. 2026-8 §7.01. Plain facts from public IRS data; not tax or legal advice. Read the Form 15644 guide or the glossary.