The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) has renewed its court challenge to another longstanding exemption in the U.S. tax code for churches. The atheist organization is targeting the exemption churches currently enjoy from filing Form 990, the annual information return most public charities are required to file each year with the IRS. The Internal Revenue Code has never required churches to file such a form over concerns related to preserving the proper degree of separation of church and state.

The issue of whether or not charities and nonprofits organized under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code can (and should) be legally required to disclose their donor list continues. Already a requirement for years with the IRS, for any charity that files an annual information return, the issue has gained wider attention in recent years with several states imposing donor disclosure requirements as part of mandatory state information filings. (read more) 

Effective for months beginning after December 31, 2018, the amount owed by any taxpayer under the individual health insurance mandate "shared responsibility payment" for lack of minimum essential health insurance for themselves and their dependents is zero.

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The IRS is advising taxpayers about the steps they can take to ensure smooth processing of their 2018 tax return and avoid surprises when they file next year. The guidance is the first in a series of reminders to help taxpayers deal with the sweeping tax changes made by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97). Taxpayers are urged to refer to new Publication 5307, available at IRS.gov/getready that breaks down what is new for the 2018 federal tax return that individual taxpayers will be filing in 2019. (read more) 

The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") recently issued Revenue Procedure 2018-15, stating that it will no longer require a new exemption application from a domestic 501(c) organization that changes its corporate formation or place of organization, an action that historically required the filing of a new and properly executed Form 1023. The IRS determined that requiring a new application was often unnecessary and duplicative.  

 

Revenue Procedure 2018-15 provides that, in most circumstances, tax-exempt organizations no longer need to file new exemption applications if they change their organizational forms or states of incorporation. (read more) 

In two recent cases, requests for tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) were denied. In both instances the articles of incorporation of both organizations failed to include an exempt purpose clause and a dissolution clause.

 

The second organization was a business corporation that assisted nonprofit organizations in ending child slavery, assisting malnourished and ill children and providing educational funding for children, all activities that normally would be seen as qualifying the organization for nonprofit and tax-exempt status. (read more )