Nonprofits
The Return of the IRS Group Exemption: What Nonprofits Need to Know
After a wait of nearly six years, the IRS is now accepting group exemption applications for nonprofit organizations with multiple subordinates under a modernized standard and procedure. The old process was paused after forty years of use due to being outdated and inconsistent as well as administratively burdensome. That process has been replaced by new […]
California and Europe Lead the Way on Data Privacy – More States to Follow
You may have heard that the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA is the first major attempt by a state government in the United States to regulate the use of consumer personal information. Following California’s lead, other states have started considering similar data privacy laws. The CCPA […]
Act Promptly to Respond to a Data Breach
If you own or operate a business or non-profit organization, then it is likely not a matter of if, but when, you will experience a data breach. News stories proliferate of high-profile data breaches involving sensitive data of millions of people. A recent data breach of a major online fundraising platform has had far-ranging implications, […]
Group Exemption Letters to Become More Restrictive
Proposed changes to IRS group exemption letters could result in organizations needing to re-structure their operations or seek new exemption rulings from the IRS. In Notice 2020-36 (available here), the IRS announced that as of June 17, 2020, it would no longer accept applications for group rulings under Rev. Proc. 80-27. All applications for group […]
IRS Announces Guidance for “Siloing” Separate Unrelated Businesses
One of the more significant changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was to require tax-exempt organizations to separately calculate unrelated business income tax for each unrelated trade or business. Instead of offsetting all losses from all income attributable to all unrelated trade or business activities, organizations are now required to […]
Illinois Considering Data Privacy Law
Beginning with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 and continuing with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020, governments have become increasingly active in regulating how businesses use personal information of consumers. Legislation is currently pending before the Illinois General Assembly that would adopt a similar data protection framework for Illinois […]
Accepting Donations of Crypto Currency
More frequently, nonprofit development officers and fundraisers are asked by prospective donors about whether their organization will accept donations of “Crypto Currency”, or other types of virtual currency.[i] The most commonly known form of Crypto Currency is Bitcoin, however, there are many other types of Crypto Currency that can be bought, traded, and sold.
Year-End Federal Tax Changes Benefiting NonProfits
On December 20, 2019, the President signed, “The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act” (H.R. 1865), which contained the “Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019” (“Act”). The Act contains two important changes to federal tax laws affecting nonprofits: (1) repeal of the parking tax and (2) reduction in the private foundation excise tax.
IRS Grants The Salt Lake Tribune Tax-Exempt Status
In an interesting new development, the IRS granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to a major daily newspaper. On November 3, 2019, the Salt Lake Tribune announced that it had incorporated as a non-profit corporation, re-structured its operations, and obtained IRS recognition of its 501(c)(3) status. Tax-exempt practitioners have speculated for years that a daily newspaper could, […]
Where to Incorporate?
An early decision founders of new non-profit organizations must make is where to incorporate. A U.S. charitable, religious, or educational organization has its choice of incorporating in any of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. With this many choices, founders may ask if it is advantageous to incorporate in one state over another. […]