The IRS Exempt Organizations Division 2011 for its Fiscal Year 2011 was released last month. The new year is a good time to review the Division’s priorities and how they might impact your organizations. The Division will support five overarching IRS focus areas: Impact of Recent Legislation. The Affordable...
IRS & FEDERAL TAX ISSUES
IRS Exempt Organizations Division FY2010 Annual Report
The IRS Exempt Organizations Division Annual Report for its Fiscal Year 2010 was released earlier this month. The EO Division has three principal offices: EO Examinations (Examinations) is responsible for audits and (less intensive) compliance checks of tax-exempt organizations. EO Rulings and Agreements (R&A) is responsible for reviewing applications...
2010 Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations
Last Thursday and Friday, I attended one of my favorite annual events, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), co-sponsored by Loyola Law School and the Internal Revenue Service. As always, the event was attended by many prominent attorneys, accountants, and executives who practice in the nonprofit and...
IRS: When Charities Lose, Everybody Loses
Tax-exempt organizations that fail to satisfy annual filing requirements for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status. The IRS is providing one-time relief that will allow small exempt organizations to come back into compliance and retain their tax-exempt status even though they failed to file for three consecutive...
Emerging Leaders Program: Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership
The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) of the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership "addresses the core competencies needed to effectively manage organizations and complex programs as well as the leadership skills one needs to be successful within our quickly changing sector." Last week, Emily Chan and I spoke to...
Public Support Tests – Public Charities: An Update
Satisfaction of one of the public support tests under Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is one way that an organization can qualify as a public charity rather than a private foundation. There are two types of public support tests under Section 509(a)(1) for organizations seeking public charity...
IRS Releases Revised Publication on Charitable Contributions: Substantiation & Disclosure
The Internal Revenue Service recently released a revised version of Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements. The Publication explains the federal tax law charities and churches that receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and for taxpayers who make contributions. There are recordkeeping and substantiation rules imposed on donors of charitable...
One-Time Relief Program for Small Organizations that Failed to File Form 990 for Three Consecutive Years
From the IRS website (July 26, 2010): Tax-exempt organizations that fail to satisfy annual filing requirements for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status. The IRS is providing one-time relief that will allow small exempt organizations to come back into compliance and retain their tax-exempt status even though they...
The End of Small Nonprofits That Have Not Filed Form 990
Today is the last day for up to 380,000 nonprofits to file some version of Form 990 or automatically lose their tax-exempt status. Many of these organizations have been abandoned, and it will be of value to get them off the books. But it is believed that a substantial...
IRS Interim Report on Nonprofit Colleges and Universities Compliance Project
The Internal Revenue Service released an interim report (the "Report") on May 7, 2010, summarizing responses to compliance questionnaires sent to 400 public and private colleges and universities in October 2008. The Report and underlying project principally focused on (1) the conduct and reporting of exempt or other activities...