According to a recently released report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), although most exempt organizations pay their federal taxes, more than 64,200 of the nearly 1.7 million organizations recognized as exempt (or 3.8%) had nearly $875 million of federal tax debt as of June, 2012. This included payroll taxes, unrelated business …
Posts Categorized: IRS
Can Donors Trust 1023-EZ?
Donors rely on 501(c)(3) to indicate that an organization is carrying out charitable activities. But since the IRS released the streamlined exemption application (Form 1023-EZ), should they still do so? The National Taxpayer Advocate (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers who are having trouble resolving problems with the IRS. On …
IRS Crippled by Tea Party Scandal
In the wake of the tea party scandal, you might think that Congress would want to bolster up the IRS’s exempt organizations division to ensure proper staffing and oversight. But you would be wrong. The House recently cut the IRS tax enforcement division budget by $1.2 billion (a 25% cut). The cut is a reflection …
Failure to Preserve Lerner's Emails Violative of Federal Law?
The IRS’s failure to preserve former IRS official Lois Lerner’s emails is continuing to be problematic for the IRS and now appears to be causing trouble for the White House too. Cause of Action, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan government watchdog, recently released a memo alleging that the IRS’s failure to preserve Lerner’s emails may constitute a …
IRS Releases Short Form Exemption Application – Form 1023-EZ
The IRS has forged ahead in the face of opposition from charity regulators and several nonprofit associations and introduced a short form exemption “application.” To be eligible to use the form, an organization must be able to answer “No” to each of 26 yes or no questions, including the following 3: Do you project that …
IRS Releases Progress Report on Exemption Application Backlog
It may be hard to remember now why the scandal surrounding Lois Lerner started. Late last week the IRS reminded us. On Thursday it released an update on its progress reviewing the social welfare organization backlog. The backlog included organizations identified in May, 2013 as being selected by the IRS for additional scrutiny based on …