Every nonprofit's tax guide : how to keep your tax-exempt status & avoid IRS problems

The essential tax reference book for every nonprofit

Nonprofits enjoy privileges not available to other organizations. But these privileges come at a price: Nonprofits must comply with special IRS rules and regulations to maintain their tax-exempt status.

Practical, comprehensive, and easy to understand, Every Nonprofit's Tax Guide explains ongoing and annual IRS compliance requirements for nonprofits, including:
a detailed look at Form 990 line-by-line instructions for Form 990-EZ conflicts of interest and compensation rules charitable giving rules unrelated taxable business income rules lobbying and political activity restrictions nonprofit bookkeeping, and other key tax rules.
Whether you are just starting your nonprofit or are well established, you'll find all the information you need to avoid the most common issues nonprofits run into with the IRS.

• Introduction p. 1
• 1 Nonprofits and the IRS p. 3
• What Do We Mean When We Say "Nonprofit"? p. 4
• The Life Cycle of a Nonprofit p. 9
• Ongoing Compliance p. 13
• IRS Audits p. 18
• 2 Annual IRS Filings-The Form 990 p. 33
• The Nuts and Bolts of the Filing Process p. 35
• The 990-N Postcard Filing-As Simple as It Gets p. 45
• Form 990-EZ: The E-Z Way Out p. 50
• Form 990: Just Hold Your Nose and File It p. 82
• Letting the Public See Your Report Card: Disclosure of Form 990 p. 99
• Notifying the IRS If You Terminate, Merge, or Contract Your Nonprofit p. 104
• What to Do If the IRS Has Revoked Your Nonprofit's Tax-Exempt Status p. 109
• 3 Record Keeping and Accounting p. 115
• Why Keep Financial Records? p. 116
• What Does the IRS Require? p. 120
• Do You Need an Independent Audit? p. 141
• Minding the GAAP p. 144
• 4 Volunteers, Employees, and Independent Contractors p. 149
• Volunteers-The Backbone Workforce of Nonprofits p. 151
• Reimbursing Your Volunteers-Know the Rules p. 154
• Unreimbursed Volunteer Expenses p. 164
• Benefits and Freebies-How to Show Your Appreciation Tax Free p. 170
• Paid Help: Employees and Independent Contractors p. 177
• Hiring Independent Contractors p. 191
• E-Filing Form 1099s p. 202
• Hiring Employees p. 203
• Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) and Nonprofit Employers p. 210
• Charitable Giving-The Basics and Cash Donations p. 215
• Your Role as a Nonprofit p. 216
• Threshold Requirements for Deducting Donations p. 218
• 5 Annual Limits on Charitable Deductions p. 225
• What Can a Donor Contribute? p. 227
• When Is a Contribution Made for Tax Purposes? p. 229
• Special Gifts-Earmarked, Restricted, and Conditional p. 230
• If Your Nonprofit Provides Goods or Services p. 234
• Cash Contributions p. 236
• Cash Gifts From IRAs p. 241
• Interest-Free Loans p. 243
• Quid Pro Quo Contributions p. 243
• Charity Auctions p. 254
• 6 Property Donations p. 257
• Annual Deduction Limit for Property Donations p. 259
• Valuing Property Donations-An Art, Not a Science p. 261
• Different Types of Property Donations p. 264
• Documenting Property Donations p. 285
• 7 Excessive Compensation, Sweetheart Deals, and Other Ways to Get in Trouble With the IRS p. 307
• A Nonprofit Is Not a Personal Piggy Bank p. 308
• The 1RS Intermediate Sanctions Minefield p. 310
• Transactions With Disqualified Persons-How to Avoid Problems With the IRS p. 315
• Excessive Compensation for Services: The Most Common Excess Benefit p. 325
• Correcting and Reporting Excess Benefit Transactions p. 342
• The IRS's Sentence of Death: Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status p. 344
• 8 Nonprofits That Make Money and UBIT p. 351
• What Is UBIT? p. 353
• Activities Exempt From UBIT p. 361
• Do You Owe UBIT? p. 372
• Filing UBIT Tax Returns p. 375
• 9 Lobbying and Political Campaign Activities p. 379
• Lobbying by Nonprofits-What's Allowed and What's Not p. 380
• Political Campaign Activities-An Absolute Ban p. 396
• Getting Around the Restrictions p. 409
• 10 Help Beyond This Book p. 413
• Help From the IRS p. 414
• Other Helpful Publications and Websites p. 418
• Appendix
• Sample Forms p. 421
• Sample Conflict of Interest Policy p. 422
• Rebuttable Presumption Checklist p. 428
• Family and Business Relationship Questionnaire p. 430
• Expense Report p. 432
• Index p. 433