Avoid Penalties Under Unclaimed Property Laws with Best Practices for Compliance
By Janna Goudarzi, CPA | Nonprofit Tax Manager All 50 states have unclaimed property laws (also known as escheat laws) that require organizations to make reasonable efforts to contact those to whom they owe money or property and then remit any unpaid items to the state. These rules generally apply to all entities, including exempt…
Update on DC Tax Exempt Organization Renewal
As a follow up to the Industry Alert sent on December 18, 2018, Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs’ (GRF) Nonprofit Tax group is reminding organizations that the District of Columbia (DC) Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) has begun expiring all DC tax exemptions issued more than four years ago. The renewal process itself has…
Unrelated Business Income Tax: The TCJA Has Changed the Rules
Many not-for-profit organizations are concerned about the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that are affecting charitable giving. But the law also contains some important requirements involving unrelated business income tax (UBIT). If you engage in “unrelated business” — and even if you don’t — you could find that your UBIT liability…
A Revised Fundraising Strategy Can Help Nonprofits Reduce the Impact of TCJA on Charitable Giving
By Jorge Estrada, CPA | Nonprofit Audit and Tax Senior Manager The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed at the end of 2017 made the most far–reaching changes to the tax code since 1986. While many in the nonprofit industry believe the changes in the tax law are creating a more challenging environment for…
DC Tax-Exempt Organizations Should Proactively Renew Their Status for 2019
Starting January 1, 2019, the District of Columbia (DC) Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) will begin to expire current DC tax-exempt status and require each tax-exempt organization to renew its exemption or be reclassified as a taxable entity. To ensure that your organization’s DC tax exemptions (including income, sales or property tax) do not…
Employee or Independent Contractor? Classify Workers Correctly
The IRS has publicly stated it is cracking down on organizations that improperly classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Are you confident that your employee classifications would stand up to IRS scrutiny? Understand the Requirements If a worker is an employee, your not-for-profit organization must provide a Form W-2 annually and withhold income…
IRS Releases Interim Guidance on Parking Fringe Benefits and Penalty Relief
On December 10, 2018, the IRS issued long-awaited interim guidance to tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 512(a)(7). Notice 2018-99 provides guidance on determining the amount of parking expenses for qualified transportation fringe benefits (QTFs) that are now unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). On the same day, the IRS also issued Notice 2018-100…