Archewell promised to declare $4M - but has not made records public

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's charity The Archewell Foundation has surprisingly delayed releasing its latest tax return online.

The charity raised eyebrows when MailOnline reported that $4million had not been declared in Archewell's last tax return, which is called a 990 form, with sources close to the Sussexes insisting that it would appear in the following year’s filing.

However, while the Mail understands the charity filed the new 990 form to the IRS last week on November 15, there is no sign of the tax return on Archewell's website.

Instead, MailOnline understands Archewell has promised it will be publicly released up to three weeks after the IRS's deadline in the week starting with December 2.

The decision has been met with surprise. A leading tax expert said that while delaying the release until the IRS has processed the return was 'not uncommon' for many charities, given Archewell's high profile and the publicity over the undeclared $4million, in this case it was puzzling.

Cynthia Reed Altchek, a private wealth partner at Katten law firm in New York, told MailOnline it was 'a little odd' that Archewell had not posted the return publicly if it had indeed filed it to the IRS.

She said that 'given how famous [Archewell is,] that's interesting'.

The private wealth partner added that if Archewell had actually missed the IRS deadline, the charity could have faced a fine of up to $60,000. 

She said: 'That's an issue. There are penalties for late filings.'

If it missed the deadline three years in a row, its tax exempt status would be automatically revoked.

In early May, California's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers banned Archewell from raising or spending donations and said it was because the charity had failed to properly submit its annual report or renewal fees.

Sussex sources said it was actually because a cheque had gone missing in the post before saying the next day that it was down to the Attorney General's office not processing a $200 cheque.

Later in May, the ban was lifted. Sussex sources previously told MailOnline that the Archewell Foundation's tax filings for 2022 were submitted in full in accordance with all regulations in the US.

But then in September, MailOnline revealed that $4million was not declared in its tax return for 2022.

The huge undeclared sum boils down to Archewell not including the majority of a $6million donation it received during the last financial year in its 2022 tax return. 

In the 2022/23 financial year, Archewell received two donations. One from Fidelity Charitable totalled $6million and another was for $10,050 from Tisbest Philanthropy, both their 990 forms revealed. 

Yet Archewell only declared $2,000,911 on its 2022 return, meaning $4,009,139 was not declared. 

It is likely that individual donors could have used Fidelity and Tisbest to donate money to Archewell anonymously, as was previously the case with large donations to the Sussexes' charity. 

In 2021, an anonymous $10million donation was made through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a mega-rich non-profit and a vehicle for extremely wealthy philanthropists to give out tax-free grants anonymously. 

That led to suggestions Archewell was being almost entirely funded by a single mystery donor.

In 2022, Archewell said it received just two grants of $1million each from anonymous donors.

Fidelity Charitable could be the vessel that was used by one or both of those donors.

There is a reason why the remaining $4million not included in Archewell's 2022 tax return could be in its next filing.

This is because while both Fidelity and Tisbest's tax years run from the first half of one year to the second half of the next, Archewell's is from January to December of a single year.

It means Fidelity's $6million could have been split over two years and appear as two separate donations for Archewell while only a single one for Fidelity. The same could be the case for Tisbest's cash.

And although Archewell's tax year ending in December should mean it files its returns on May 15 each year, it is thought that for the past three years, the charity has filed for a six-month extension to November 15 with a Form 8868, which Altchek said was 'very common'. 

Archewell's website says the charity is 'compliant with all deadlines and measures of the charitable sector and operates with complete transparency' in a paragraph directly above its 2021 and 2022 tax returns. 

However, Archewell's latest tax return is not there.

A Treasury spokesman said: 'For privacy/legal reasons, we can't comment on individual taxpayer situations.' 

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Archewell were approached for comment.