Archive for Non-Profit Tax

Political Campaign Activity by Non-profit Organizations – Part 2

We previously discussed the prohibition against a church or religious organization from participating in political campaign activities.  The specific prohibitions that are a part of the law were discussed.  However, a church or religious organization is not being placed in a situation where is cannot express opinions on the issues of the day, nor are they expected to “put its head in the sand” in regard to the political process.

Lobbying Activities

A church or religious organization is permitted to engage in lobbying activities.  These activities are limited, however, as the organization must maintain a focus on its exempt purpose.  If the IRS determines that the organization is devoting more than an “insubstantial” part of its total activities during the year to lobbying activities, its tax-exempt Read More

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Political Campaign Activity by Non-profit Organizations – Part 1

Our society is very much a political society.  Even though not everyone may vote for a number of reasons, citizens are aware of elections and often the issues that are matters of discussion.  Opinions are plentiful, some are not factually-based, but that does not deter the individual from expressing his or her opinions.  Political campaigns are pervasive – we see advertising on various media, our mailboxes are filled with flyers from competing candidates, our phone often rings with pitches from various candidates. With everyone seemingly getting in on the action, there may be a temptation for a church or non-profit organization to throw in their two cents worth.

At one level, it makes sense for an organization to take a stand in favor or opposition to a candidate.  For example, a church may be a strong supporter of the nation of Israel.  One Read More

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Endowments – Good Or Bad For Churches?

An endowment is a donation of money or property to a non-profit organization for the ongoing support of the organization. It may be structured that the organization leaves the principal amount intact and is only permitted to spend the income from the investments in the endowment funds. Less commonly, the gift may be structured allowing the organization to spend the principal amount. If this is the case, there may be restrictions placed upon the amount of principal that may be spent annually. Many non-profit organizations, most notably colleges and universities may have endowments of millions of dollars. It is less common for a church to have endowment funds, although it is not unheard of.

Not everyone favors a church having endowment funds. Some feel that any funds in Read More

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Beware of Clawbacks

Your 501(c)(3) organization or church is in the midst of a large building campaign. Someone approaches you about making a large gift to the campaign. You don’t know the person, but he says that his grandparents were long-time members and supporters of your organization and he would like to honor them with a donation in their names. Sound too good to be true? Well, rein in your enthusiasm. That may just be the case. Before accepting any large gift, particularly one from someone you don’t know, you should exercise some due diligence.

Fraudulent Transfer may Result in a Clawback

A gift that is given to an organization or to individuals may be required to be returned if it can be shown that the transfer to your organization could be termed a fraudulent transfer Read More

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Does The National Football League Deserve Tax-Exempt Status?

Now here is a fact that is not so widely known – the National Football Association which you figure makes a ton of money is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt entity.

Besides the match-up of the Seahawks and the Patriots in Super Bowl 49, people are excited over the entertainment and half-time show, what celebrities will be attending the game and of course – the commercials.

Sponsors present their best commercials during the Super Bowl, and the big game wouldn’t be the same without them. For the advertising community, the Super Bowl is their Super Bowl, and often creates commercials specifically for the enormous viewership that the game provides. For many, watching the commercials is the most entertaining part of Read More

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Proving Tax Exempt Status

In order for contributions to a charitable organization to be deductible, the organization must be an IRS tax-exempt non-profit organization. Before making a contribution to a charitable organization, potential donors may inquire about the organization’s tax exempt status. In these cases, the organization should be able to demonstrate to the potential donor that it is, in fact, a tax-exempt organization. Many people confuse being a non-profit organization and having IRS tax-exempt status. An organization is established as a non-profit by filing with the state as a non-profit corporation. One becomes a tax-exempt organization by filing Form 1023 (or 1023EZ) with the IRS. However, churches are automatically exempt and do not need to apply for tax-exempt status.

Having tax-exempt status means that the organization is not subject to income tax on Read More

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Unrelated Business Taxable Income For An IRA

In a previous article, we discussed the concept of Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI) as it relates to non-profit organizations. If you have a self-directed IRA, you may be surprised to know that UBTI may also apply to your IRA. An IRA is a tax-exempt entity, under IRS rules. Note that the IRA itself is the tax exempt entity and the tax would be paid by the IRA, not the owner of the IRA.

The basic rules for UBTI in an IRA are pretty much the same as for any non-profit organization, but there are a couple of issues that may be encountered more commonly with an IRA. If a non-profit entity has UBTI, it will be subject to tax on that income at the applicable corporate rates. The purpose of this is to level the playing field for for-profit entities that must pay tax on their income. Read More

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Unrelated Business Taxable Income

Non-profit organizations in the United States do not pay income tax on their “income.” However, when a non-profit ventures into certain business activities, it will owe income tax on this income, termed “unrelated business taxable income (UBTI).” This is only fair, as the non-profit is now competing with profit-making organizations that must pay tax on its income. UBTI levels the playing field.

What is Unrelated Business Taxable Income?

The IRS defines unrelated business taxable income as “gross income derived from any unrelated trade or business regularly conducted by the exempt organization, less the deductions directly connected with carrying on the trade or business.” Let’s unpack this definition and see how it applies in particular cases. Read More

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Potential Tax Changes Affecting Non-Profit Organizations

The Tax Reform Act of 2014 is currently in the House of Representatives. This law is a major reform effort and is almost 1,000 pages long. Congress is expected to take action on this proposal after the November elections. While it is often risky to speculate what changes Congress will enact, this proposal has several significant changes that will affect non-profit organizations. In a previous article (Potential Tax Changes Affecting Charitable Contributions) the proposed changes in regard to charitable contributions was discussed. This article deals with other changes that would affect non-profit organizations.

Excise Taxes

The proposed legislation would levy a one per cent excise tax on net investment income of Read More

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Starting And Maintaining A Non-Profit Organization

Each year, more than 50,000 organizations apply to the IRS for tax exempt status. There are several steps involved in becoming tax exempt. Many do not realize that there is a difference in a non-profit organization and one that is tax exempt. Not all non-profit organizations hold tax-exempt status. According to IRS statistics, there were slightly over 189,000 returns filed in 2011 by tax-exempt organizations. However, the National Center for Charitable Statistics lists a total of 1,427,807 non-profit organizations. Obviously, many non-profits are not tax exempt, or at least, are failing to file a return.

Forming a Non-Profit Organization

The first step in forming a non-profit organization is to form a non-profit corporation. This involves filing an application with an appropriate official in the state in which the Read More

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Non-Profits Get Smart With Access To Online, On Demand Education On Non-Profits

For the very first time, members of non-profits can easily access pay per view video education that can literally save their organization! Stuart Sobel, the only man known as the “Guru of Giving”, knows the IRS rules and regulations for tax exempt organizations inside and out. After working for the IRS for thirty years he became an expert on the subject matter. Although Stu has used his tax exempt expertise to primarily teach the tax professionals, TaxConnections is now making these private educational opportunities available to Board Members and Members of non-profit organizations. Times are about to get better for the non-profits with access to these online and on-demand videos!

With more than 500,000 non-profits losing their tax exempt status in the past few years due to lack of compliance with IRS Guidelines, access to this extraordinary valuable on Read More

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IRS Now Accepting Simplified Form 1023-EZ For Tax Exempts

Not-for-profit organizations who wanted to be IRS-exempt have long been faced with completing Form 1023. This form is an arduous 26 pages long and the IRS estimates are that it would take as long as 16 hours just to complete the form after spending up to 7 hours learning about the form. Time spent in record keeping is estimated to be up to 100 hours. Obviously, this is not a task for the faint of heart and is a major hurdle to an organization wishing to become tax exempt. In addition, the IRS spends an inordinate amount of time processing these forms and has a backlog of 60,000 applications, which is about a nine-month backlog. Currently, the IRS states that it takes up to 21 days just to acknowledge the application.

This step is necessary for an organization to be qualified as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Read More

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