CATEGORY

Nonprofit Tax

Corporate Sponsorship or Taxable Advertising?

Generally, exempt organizations are taxed on income from any unrelated trade or business activities regularly carried on by the organization, less any permitted deductions. Promotion of private companies is generally considered advertising – an unrelated business activity. If the recognition given to corporate sponsors is deemed to be advertising, then the sponsorship payment may be taxed as unrelated business income and will not be counted as public support for purposes of qualifying as a public charity.

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May 20, 2011 No Comments

Is it Time to Form a For-profit Subsidiary?

Tax-exempt Organizations engaging in social enterprise or other active business pursuits often worry that a growing stream of unrelated business income could threaten their tax-exempt status. This concern is related to the prohibition against tax-exempt organizations engaging in more than an insubstantial amount of activity unrelated to their tax-exempt purpose. Unfortunately the term insubstantial is undefined. Based on court cases, it appears that gross unrelated business income receipts of 5 percent or less is always safe while over 20% is probably too much.

When unrelated business endeavors take off, the success of the business can threaten a 501(c)(3) organization’s tax-exempt status. To protect their tax-exempt status, many tax-exempt organizations with successful unrelated business ventures move their unrelated business activities into a taxable for-profit subsidiary.

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March 15, 2011 No Comments
Revocation of Exemption
Nonprofit Tax

A Reprieve for Small Nonprofits?

Monday was the deadline for small nonprofits to file overdue Form 990s or face loss of tax-exempt status. Notwithstanding Monday’s deadline , Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Doug Shulman said the agency will do what it can for small charities to keep their exemptions in a statement released on Tuesday.

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May 24, 2010 No Comments
Private foundations and public charities
Nonprofit Tax

Private Foundations and Public Charities

Private foundations are subject to a more strict regulatory regime than public charities. There are penalties for “self-dealing” transactions, failure to distribute sufficient income for charitable purposes, holding concentrated interests in business enterprises, making risky investments, and for making certain types of expenditures.

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October 19, 2009 No Comments

How to Keep your Non-Profit Compliant in All 50 States

Most states require you to register your organization if you solicit donations from their residents. Many states also require registration if your organization collects substantial or ongoing donations from their residents, even if you aren’t specifically targeting donors in that state. Download our comprehensive list of each state’s requirements.

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