The goal of transparency is to establish and maintain the trust of the organization’s key stakeholders.
Tax-exempt organizations
New Form 990-EZ has help icons to aid exempt organizations in filing
The IRS announces new Form 990-EZ with help icons to assist organizations with accurate filing.
Telling the not-for-profit story through Form 990
Form 990, which is publicly available, provides an opportunity to attract donors and appeal to other stakeholders by compellingly describing an organization’s purpose and accomplishments.
IRS implements new Sec. 501(c)(4) notice requirement
Form 8976 notifying of intent to operate must be filed within 60 days of an organization’s formation.
IRS implements new Sec. 501(c)(4) registration requirement
Social welfare benefit organizations are now required to notify the Internal Revenue Service of their formation and intent to operate under Sec. 501(c)(4).
IRS withdraws controversial charitable donation information-reporting rules
After receiving tens of thousands of negative comment letters, the Service makes an about-face.
Exempt organizations’ applications do not contain protected return information
A federal appeals court ordered the IRS to comply with a lower court’s order that it hand over the names of organizations that had been on its “Be on the lookout” list when it was mishandling applications for tax-exempt status.
What to do when a client wants to give an LLC or limited partnership unit to charity
Many charitable organizations will not accept a gift of an LLC or limited partnership units because the entity’s business is not part of their charitable mission.
Form 1023-EZ: First-year results are in
A year after introducing a streamlined application process for tax-exempt organizations, the IRS reports on customer satisfaction and what worked and what didn’t.
Notice postpones Sec. 501(c)(4) social welfare organization requirements
A new notice requirement recently enacted by Congress in the wake of the scandal regarding the IRS’s handling of Sec. 501(c)(4) applications will not be implemented immediately, the IRS announced.
Controversial charitable donation rules withdrawn
The IRS announced that it is withdrawing proposed regulations released last September that would have allowed charities to file information returns with the IRS and donors instead of providing contemporaneous written acknowledgments of charitable donations.
IRS to implement donee reporting for charities
The Service issues prop. regs. and will develop a new information return.
Charities would be permitted to issue information returns to donors
Charities will be allowed to file information returns instead of providing contemporaneous written acknowledgment of charitable donations under proposed regulations issued by the IRS.
“Be on the lookout” lists gone from IRS reviews of Sec. 501(c)(4) applications
Two years after finding the IRS used inappropriate criteria when reviewing applications for tax-exempt status under Sec. 501(c)(4) and delayed the processing of some applications, the TIGTA issued a follow-up report to check on the IRS’s progress in eliminating the controversial practices.
Seventh Circuit denies plaintiffs’ standing to challenge parsonage allowance
Group’s leaders did not claim the income exemption. Finding the plaintiffs lacked standing, the Seventh Circuit vacated a district court’s holding that the Sec. 107(2) “parsonage” rental allowance income exclusion for ministers violates the Constitution and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss it for lack of jurisdiction. Facts: Freedom
Charitable trusts and the streamlined exempt-status application
It is not unusual for a tax adviser to suggest that a client involved in estate tax planning leave some assets to a charity.
Form 990: Late filing penalty abatement
Several types of relief may be available to not-for-profit organizations that incur penalties for violating complex filing requirements.
Exemption from PFIC regime for indirect ownership expanded
The IRS clarifies that shares held through a variety of tax-exempt organizations, plans, and accounts are generally excluded. On April 14, Treasury and the IRS announced they will amend the regulations under Sec. 1291 to provide that a U.S. person who indirectly owns stock of a passive foreign investment company
Streamlined tax-exempt application process introduced
The IRS introduced on Tuesday a streamlined application process for small organizations that want tax-exempt status under Sec. 501(c)(3) (Rev. Proc. 2014-40). Final and temporary regulations were also issued on July 1 to allow the IRS to adopt this streamlined application process (T.D. 9674). To apply for tax-exempt status under Sec.
Sec. 501(c)(4) regulations will be reproposed following outpouring of public comments
The IRS received an overwhelming flood of comments in response to proposed regulations it issued last November on the rules governing the political activities of Sec. 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. As a result, the IRS announced that it will repropose the regulations, after taking the comments into account, and will
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FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Flip out with the latest Tech Q&A
The September Technology Q&A column shows how to create dynamic to-do lists with Excel's checkboxes and also how to set up multifactor authentication texts that don't rely on phones. Flip through both items and view a video walkthrough in our digital format.