CATEGORY

News and Avoiding Scams

Automatic Revocation of Exemption
News and Avoiding Scams

May 17 First Major Deadline for New Automatic Revocation of Exemption Penalty

As part of the Pension Protection Act passed in 1996, Congress added a new penalty for tax-exempt organizations that fail to file their annual return for three years in a row. Formerly, the only penalty was a monetary penalty. The new law has upped the ante to impose the ultimate penalty: loss of exemption. The penalty applies to organizations that fail to file Form 990, Form 990-EZ, as well as the relatively new Form 990-N. Form 990-N is a relatively new form that must be filed by tax-exempt organizations whose revenues normally fall below $25,000. Organizations that have their status revoked may apply for reinstatement based on reasonable cause for the failure to file. The first three year period is 2007 through 2009, which means that once the 2010 filing deadline passes for these forms (May 15, 2010 for tax-exempt organizations with calendar fiscal years), organizations that failed to file their Form 990s forms for those three years will automatically lose their tax-exempt status.

Read More »
Maryland Benefit Corporation
News and Avoiding Scams

Maryland Benefit Corporation

The benefit corporation concept has some similarities to the L3C model but is geared toward corporations rather than LLCs. Like the L3C, benefit corporations pursue a mission that goes beyond making a profit for owners and investors. Importantly, it also provides legal protection for board members that consider social and environmental issues when making decisions on behalf of the corporation.

Read More »
Small is Beautiful
News and Avoiding Scams

Caritas Law Group: Small is Beautiful

Yes, the rumors are true. CharityLawyer has formed her own law firm. My theme for 2010 is Small is Beautiful (which happens to be the title of the next book review). I started my career at a big four accounting firm with thousands of tax professionals, moved down the food chain to a national law firm of only 400 lawyers, and then to a regional law firm with a mere 200 lawyers. So, to continue the trend, I have started my own boutique law firm specializing in representing nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations. The firm is located in Phoenix, Arizona but will represent clients with respect to exempt organizations matters nationwide.

Read More »
Estate tax repeal
News and Avoiding Scams

Estate Tax Repeal Alert

It appears that Congress will adjourn this year without reaching an agreement on transfer tax legislation. This means that a one-year repeal of estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes is scheduled to begin on January 1. The one-year repeal results from provisions in the 2001 tax act that reduced estate and GST taxes from 2001 through 2009, culminating in complete repeal in 2010. The provisions in the 2001 act are scheduled to “sunset” in 2011, meaning that estate and GST tax rates and exemptions will return to pre-2001 levels on January 1, 2011.

Read More »
Scroll to Top
FREE DOWNLOAD

How to Start a Non-Profit Organization

Download our free guide to learn about the many elements needed to run a successful nonprofit organization, as well as how to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.