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About: Department of Treasury (IRS)
Exemption Requirements - 501(c)(3) Organizations
Department of Treasury (IRS)
To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an
organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set
forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings may inure to any private
shareholder or individual. In addition, it may not be an action organization, i.e., it
may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it
may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.
Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are commonly referred to as
charitable organizations. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3), other than
testing for public safety organizations, are eligible to receive tax-deductible
contributions in accordance with Code section 170.
The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private
interests, and no part of a section 501(c)(3) organization's net earnings may inure
to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. If the organization engages
in an excess benefit transaction with a person having substantial influence over the
organization, an excise tax may be imposed on the person and any organization
managers agreeing to the transaction.
Section 501(c)(3) organizations are restricted in how much political and legislative
(lobbying) activities they may conduct. For a detailed discussion, see Political and
Lobbying Activities. For more information about lobbying activities by charities, see
the article Lobbying Issues; for more information about political activities of
charities, see the FY-2002 CPE topic Election Year Issues.
A 501(c) organization.
For example, a nonprofit organization may be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3)
if its primary activities are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary,
testing for public safety, fostering amateur sports competition, preventing cruelty
to children, or preventing cruelty to animals.
A 501(c)(3) organization is a corporation, trust, unincorporated
association, or other type of organization that is exempt from federal income tax
under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is the most
common type of the 29 types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the United
States. Many charitable non-profits in the United States that Americans commonly
know of, and often make donations to, are 501(c)(3) organizations,[according to
whom?] ranging from charitable foundations to universities and churches. These
organizations must be approved by the Internal Revenue Service to be tax-exempt
under the terms of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
501(c)(3) tax-exemptions apply to entities that are organized and operated
exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or
for testing for public safety, or to foster national or international amateur sports
competition, or for the prevention of cruelty to children, women, or animals.
501(c)(3) exemption applies also for any non-incorporated community chest, fund,
cooperating association or foundation that is organized and operated exclusively
for those purposes. There are also supporting organizations—often referred to in
shorthand form as "Friends of" organizations.
26 U.S.C. § 170, provides a deduction, for federal income tax purposes, for some
donors who make charitable contributions to most types of 501(c)(3)
organizations, among others. Regulations specify which such deductions must be
verifiable to be allowed (e.g., receipts for donations over $250).
Due to the tax deductions associated with donations, loss of 501(c)(3) status can
be highly challenging if not fatal to a charity's continued operation, as many
foundations and corporate matching programs do not grant funds to a charity
without such status,
An approved 501(c)(3) exemption allows donors to the organization to reduce
their own taxable incomes by deducting the amounts of their donations given, and
thus to reduce their personal income taxes, and it allows the 501(c)(3)
organization to avoid federal income taxes on the difference between revenues
(donations, grants, service fees) received vs. expenses (wages, supplies, state and
local taxes paid, etc.) in its main operations. In a for-profit business, that
difference would represent taxable income and be taxed at federal corporate tax
rates of 15 to 39 percent. Organizations with 501(c)(3) status may also be exempt
from state and local corporate income taxes, which generally range from 0 to 12
percent.
Foreign subsidiaries
If a 501(c)(3) organization sets up and controls a foreign subsidiary in order to
facilitate its charitable work in a foreign country, then donors' contributions to the
501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible even if they are intended to fund the
charitable activities in the foreign country.
If a foreign organization sets up a 501(c)(3) organization for the sole purpose of
raising funds for the foreign organization, and the 501(c)(3) organization sends
substantially all contributions to the foreign organization, then donors'
contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are not tax-deductible to the donors.
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