Stay Exempt: IRS Compliance, 990s, and 501c3 Status

Overview

As you likely know, the federal government provides tax benefits to registered nonprofits and, in return, the IRS requires that those organizations comply with specific tax laws – or else face the loss of their tax-exempt status and other penalties.

In this class, we will provide a brief overview of IRS Form 990 and identify general compliance requirements for tax-exempt organizations. We will also address unrelated business income tax (UBIT), substantiation and disclosure requirements for charitable contributions, and how annual returns and exemption applications are inspected by the public. Finally, we will examine activities that could jeopardize a public charity’s tax-exempt status, including a look at the myths and realities around political activities, lobbying, and inurement and private benefit.

This course focuses on 501c3 public charities.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the key components of IRS Form 990
• Name activities that could jeopardize tax-exempt status
• Describe the activities that are required to maintain tax-exempt status

Audience

• Executive directors
• Accounting and finance staff
• Fundraising/development staff