Tax Exemption Revocation Tools

If your organization has had its tax exemption revoked (see yesterday's post for access to list), the National Council of Nonprofits has designed a webpage (all links are after the jump) and resources to help.

An excerpt.

“On June 8, 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a list of more than 275,000 nonprofits that had their tax-exempt status automatically revoked due to failure to file annual returns.

• Read the National Council's tip sheet on automatic revocation and what to do if your organization's tax-exempt status was revoked.

• Listen to this podcast from the IRS about the obligation of nonprofits to submit annual returns to the IRS and how revocation is automatic when a nonprofit does not file its annual returns for three consecutive years.

• The effective date of revocation is "the original filing due date, without regard to extensions, of the third annual required return or notice that was not filed." (Source: IRS Exempt Organization Update, February 24, 2011) For many nonprofits on the automatic revocation list, this effective date is May 15, 2010.

“How will we know if our organization’s tax-exempt status has been revoked?

“Check the automatic revocation of exemption list on the IRS website.

• The nonfiler revocation list will be updated monthly by the IRS.

• Separate lists will be published for each state, the District of Columbia, and all other territories and countries. The list will provide each revoked organization's name, Employer Identification Number (EIN), subsection code, last known address, and effective date of the revocation.

• Guidestar’s analysis in February 2011 indicates that 56 percent of the nonprofits most likely to be affected are 501(c)(3) public charities, and the vast majority—82 percent—appear to have incomes of $25,000 or less.

• Resources from Guidestar on revocation.