EP
ExemptPay.com
Your 990 is already public

Your 990 is public. Your compensation rationale should be too.

Someone saw your Form 990 — and the number is out there without context. Put your compensation in perspective, showing where executive pay sits relative to comparable nonprofits by budget size, geography, and mission area.

Reports from $149 · minutes, not weeks

Put my pay in context →Explore benchmarks free
100%
Of Form 990 executive compensation is public record
25% / 20%
Excise tax on excess pay — executive, then approving board
3.27M
Peer records to show your number in context
How scrutiny happens

A number without context is the story. A number with peers is a non-story.

Form 990 is public, and sites like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer and GuideStar make it searchable in seconds. A donor, reporter, or board member can look up exactly what your leaders are paid — without any of the reasoning behind it.

Out of context, a six-figure salary at a modest nonprofit can generate a negative headline even when it’s squarely market-rate. The missing ingredient is almost never the number; it’s the comparison that shows the number is reasonable.

ExemptPay builds that comparison from the same public filings. If your pay is aligned, the report documents the alignment. If it sits above market, it gives your board structured rationale language to explain why.

§4958
Excess compensation can trigger intermediate sanctions — a 25% excise tax on the executive and up to 20% on the board members who approved it. Documented comparability is the defense.

The strongest time to document is before anyone asks.

01
It’s already out there
The compensation figure is public the day you file. The only variable you control is whether context sits next to it.
02
Context defuses it
A documented peer comparison turns “why so much?” into a two-minute, data-backed answer for donors, press, or the board.
03
Contemporaneous counts
The IRS rebuttable presumption rewards documentation made with the decision — not scrambled together after a challenge arrives.
How it works

From your numbers to a board-ready file in three steps.

1
Enter your details
Title, total compensation, state, and budget size. Your EIN auto-fills the rest.
2
We find your peers
Matched against 3.27M compensation records from IRS Form 990 filings by budget, geography, and mission.
3
Get your report
A board-ready PDF with benchmarks, variance analysis, and minutes-ready discussion language.
Free, right now
The market picture
•Median & percentile ranges by title, budget band, and state
•Sample size on every benchmark you view
•A directional read on where a number sits in the market
In the report · from $149
Your defensible case
✓Your compensation placed against a matched peer group
✓Compa-ratio, position-in-range, and full P10–P90 detail
✓Traffic-light variance signals for every position
✓Rebuttable-presumption (§4958) checklist, ready for your minutes
✓Board discussion language your secretary can paste in
✓Board deck & discussion guide on the Governance tier
See a sample report →
Frequently asked

Public 990 compensation, in context.

Can anyone see nonprofit executive compensation on Form 990?+
Yes. Form 990 is public. Sites like ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer and GuideStar make them searchable online. Anyone can look up what a nonprofit’s executives are paid.
What should I do if a donor questions our executive compensation?+
Respond with transparency and data. Having a Board Confidence Report on file means you can share comparability data, peer-group criteria, and board rationale immediately — rather than reacting defensively.
Is high nonprofit executive pay illegal?+
Not inherently. The standard is “reasonable” — comparable to similar organizations. However, “excess” compensation can trigger intermediate sanctions: a 25% excise tax on the executive and potentially 20% on approving board members.
How do journalists and watchdog groups evaluate nonprofit pay?+
They compare executive pay to budget, revenue, or peers. Without context, a six-figure salary at a small nonprofit generates negative headlines even if market-rate. Documented peer comparisons provide the missing context.
Should we generate a report even if no one has questioned our compensation yet?+
Yes — that’s the ideal time. The IRS rebuttable presumption requires documentation contemporaneous with the compensation decision, not after a challenge. Organizations that benchmark annually and keep a current report on file are in the strongest possible position when a question does arrive.

Related resources

Nonprofit salary benchmarks
See what comparable organizations actually pay their executives.
Board compensation challenge
How to respond when a board member questions executive pay.
Compensation documentation
Generate documentation with peer benchmarks and board-ready language.
See a sample report
Preview the Board Confidence Report format before you buy.

Give the public number the context it’s missing.

Board-ready reports from $149. Less than a single consultant hour.

Put my pay in context →View pricing