To be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for any of these purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition or preventing cruelty to children or animals.
Tax-exempt Organizations e-filing requirements & Forms
The Taxpayer First Act enacted July 1, 2019, requires tax-exempt organizations to electronically file information returns and related forms. Those that previously filed paper forms will receive a letter from the IRS informing them of the change.
The new law affects tax-exempt organizations in tax years beginning after July 1, 2019, and applies to the following IRS forms (filing deadlines vary by form type):
- Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.
- Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation or Section 4947(a)(1) Trust Treated as Private Foundation.
- Form 8872, Political Organization Report of Contributions and Expenditures.
- Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income (if filed by a Section 501(d) apostolic organization).
New Tax Law Affects Tax-Exempt Organizations
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act, passed on December 20, 2019, includes several provisions that may apply to tax-exempt organizations’ current and previous tax years. As such, tax-exempt organizations should understand how these recent tax law changes might affect them. With this in mind, let’s take a look at three key pieces of legislation that affect nonprofit organizations: