Have the leaders of nonprofits been overly incentivized to “follow the money,” resulting in a troubling shift in the composition of boards? The answer is yes according to a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The trend may be “distort[ing] organization priorities” and may “dilute charitable values.” According to the author, Garry W. …
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Form 990 Due Friday!
Form 990 is due this Friday (May 15) for all nonprofits that have a January to December tax year (other than churches, which are not required to file). If your nonprofit is not able to file a version of Form 990 by Friday, be sure it files for an automatic three-month extension instead. Then be …
990s to Get Greater Scrutiny
Late last month, the IRS announced enhanced electronic processing of Forms 990 that will result in their getting greater scrutiny to ferret out inconsistencies and missing information. According to IRS tax law specialist (and former Los Angeles-based colleague of The Law Firm for Non-Profits) Elaine Leichter, exempt organizations should fill out form 990 as completely …
Form 990 Filing Site Hacked
Form 990 Filing just got more complicated. The online service where 990s are filed electronically has recently been hacked. The Urban Institute, which operates the online filing site for the annual returns nonprofits must file, announced that it “recently discovered that an unauthorized party or parties have gained access to the Form 990 Online and …
IRS Targets Nonprofit Self-Declarers
It’s official. IRS targeting of nonprofit self-declarers will begin this year. Most organizations that qualify for federal tax-exemption other than non-church 501(c)(3) charities do not need to apply for tax-exemption. Whereas may do, they can simply self-declare that they are tax-exempt. When such nonprofit organizations complete their Forms 990 they need only identify their 501(c) …
WATCH OUT! Phishing Remains a Threat for Taxpayers
The IRS is warning taxpayers to watch out for fake emails and websites trying to steal personal information that can be used to commit identify or financial theft. The IRS is listing this type of “phishing” scheme on its list of the top tax scams for the 2015 filing season, the typical time when scams …