Tax Exemption Standards
Removing an Organization from the Auto-Revocation List
Adding additional incentive to stay in Form 990 compliance, the IRS recently announced that names on the auto-revocation list will remain visible, even if the organization has since reapplied and had its tax-exempt status reinstated. A nonprofit that has failed to file tax returns for three consecutive years will have its status automatically revoked and its name added to the IRS auto-revocation list. The only way a name may be removed from the list is if the listing occurred in error. Organizations must provide the IRS either documentation showing a filing did indeed occur or that no filing name was required. The IRS has. Read More.
IRS Lauches Exempt Organizations Select Check
The IRS recently announced the launch of the Exempt Organizations Select Check , an online search tool which provides information regarding the federal tax status and filings of exempt organizations. Select Check condenses information previously housed on three different sites to more efficiently search for an organization’s: Eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (Publication 78 data), Tax-exempt status revocation due to lapses in Form 990 filing in three consecutive years (Auto-Revocation List), and Annual Form 990-N filings (e-Postcard). Starting this month, Select Check will be updated monthly for most information, and more often for 990-N filings. For more information and search tips , visit Exempt Organizations Select Check.
IRS Launches New Online Search Tool to Check Tax Status of Exempt Organizations
The IRS recently announced the launch of the Exempt Organizations Select Check , an online search tool which provides information regarding the federal tax status and filings of exempt organizations. Select Check condenses information previously housed on three different sites to more efficiently search for an organization’s: Eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (Publication 78 data), Tax-exempt status revocation due to lapses in Form 990 filing in three consecutive years (Auto-Revocation List), and Annual Form 990-N filings (e-Postcard). Starting this month, Select Check will be updated monthly for most information, and more often for 990-N filings. For more information and search tips , visit Exempt Organizations Select Check.
Lawmakers Consider Making Nonprofit Universities Pay More Taxes
As 2011 comes to a close, large universities are looking back on a very good year for their endowment funds. As The Fiscal Times reports, Harvard University, which holds the largest endowment fund in the nation, showed a 21.4 percent return on investments, growing by $4.4 billion to a total of $32 billion. Cash-starved government entities are paying more attention than ever to the discrepancy between these profits and the extensive tax relief offered to these institutions. “At some point, a nonprofit gets so rich that it seems kind of obscene to let wealthy universities get out of paying taxes,” said James Miller, an. Read More.
IRS Revoked-Status List Now Totals 350,000
Since early July, the IRS has added another 75,000 organizations to its list of organizations whose tax-exempt status has been automatically revoked . Of the now 350,000 organizations whose status has been revoked, the IRS Exempt Organization (EO) Office reports only 4,000 entities have applied for reinstatement. If your organization’s status has been revoked, it is not too late to regain your status with minimal interruption to your operations. See our previous post for detailed instructions on the process to reclaim your status. Should you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact your local nonprofit tax professional.
IRS Study: Half of All Tax-Exempt Bond Issuers Lack Proper Processes
The Tax Exempt Bonds (TEB) division of the IRS recently issued the results of a years-long study on 501(c)(3) organizations that issue tax-exempt bonds. Specifically, TEB examined post-issuance compliance procedures and record retention practices within the tax-exempt bond industry. Upon closer investigation, nearly half of all the nonprofits that assumed their procedures were properly in order proved noncompliant. While 95 percent of entities reported having written procedures for post-issuance compliance, a deeper examination by the IRS found the actual number of responders with either specific written procedures or ad hoc processes at 49 percent. Almost all nonprofits reporting (89 percent) had appointed a person at management-level or higher to. Read More.