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Category Archives: Charitable Giving

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IRS Issues New Guidance for Virtual Currency Donations

By Jeremy Naylor and Brianna Reed on Posted in Articles, Charitable Giving, IRS, Not-for-Profit, Tax-Exempt Organizations
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) quietly added two new questions and answers regarding virtual currency donations to its answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Virtual Currency Transactions (FAQs) on December 26, 2019.  The two new answers address the responsibilities of charitable organizations when accepting donations of virtual currency, including cryptocurrency. For a discussion of … Continue Reading

Simplification of the Net Investment Income Tax for Private Foundations

By Amanda H. Nussbaum and Brianna Reed on Posted in Charitable Giving, Client Alert, IRS, Not-for-Profit, Private Foundations, Tax-Exempt Organizations
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law changes to the private foundation excise tax on net investment income under Section 4940 of the Internal Revenue Code.[1] For purposes of Section 4940, net investment income is the excess of gross income from interest, dividends, rents and royalties (“gross investment income”), plus capital gain net … Continue Reading

Proskauer’s 24th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar

By Amanda H. Nussbaum, John Failla, David Pratt, Seth Safra and Laura Fant on Posted in Charitable Giving, Executive Compensation, Insurance, Labor, Not-for-Profit
Proskauer’s 24th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held on Wednesday, October 31 and discussed timely topics and best practices specifically tailored to the not-for-profit community. The seminar discussed: Protect Yourself: A Practical Guide to Strategic Risk Management and Insurance How to Solicit a Donor in Fifteen Minutes: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet Compensation and Benefits … Continue Reading

New Rules for Tax-Exempt Organizations in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

By Steven Einhorn, David Miller, Elizabeth M. Mills and Kathleen R Semanski on Posted in Charitable Giving, Private Foundations, Religious Organizations
House Republican Tax Bill Imposes Excise Tax on Wealthy Private Universities and Excess Compensation of Highly Paid Employees; Subjects State Pension Plans to UBTI Rules On Thursday, November 2, House Republicans led by Speaker Paul Brady (R-WI) and Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee Kevin Brady (R-TX), released the first public draft of … Continue Reading

Recaps from Proskauer’s 19th Annual Trick or Treat Tax Exempt Seminar

By Amanda H. Nussbaum on Posted in Charitable Giving, Governance
Proskauer’s 19th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar was held on Friday, October 31. The Seminar discussed: Charitable giving techniques Labor and employment issues with using volunteers and interns Recent developments in employee benefits In her introductory remarks, Amanda Nussbaum discussed recent tax developments, including the development of IRS Form 1023-EZ, the process for reinstatement of tax-exempt status, and … Continue Reading

Senate Finance Committee Staff Compiles Past Proposals for Exempt Organization Tax Reform

By Elizabeth M. Mills on Posted in Charitable Giving
As part of a series of papers outlining tax reform options for the Senate Finance Committee (SFC), the SFC staff recently published a paper on tax reform options for tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving.  Like the other staff papers on tax reform options, the exempt organizations paper compiles suggestions that have been made by witnesses … Continue Reading

Internet Fundraising for Tax-Exempt Organizations

By Jamie Bowles on Posted in Charitable Giving
The IRS recently released an Information Letter, written in response to a congressman’s inquiry about an unidentified charity’s unidentified practices, confirming that Section 501(c)(3) organizations may use the internet to raise funds.  The IRS stated that solicitations made through a website or e-mail should comply with the same rules that apply to other solicitations.  However, … Continue Reading

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012: Stealth Impact on Charities

By Elizabeth M. Mills on Posted in Charitable Giving
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“TRA”) (H.R. 8) passed by the Senate on January 1, 2013, passed by the House of Representatives early on January 2, 2013 and signed by President Obama, in large part addresses income and other tax rates without direct effect on tax-exempt organizations. Several provisions, however, will be of … Continue Reading

New York Attorney General Issues Best Practices for “Pink Ribbon” and Other Cause Marketing Campaigns

By Jamie Bowles on Posted in Charitable Giving, Governance
“Cause marketing campaigns,” or “commercial co-ventures” (i.e., advertising campaigns in which a company indicates that the purchase or use of its products will result in a charitable contribution) have long been a popular fundraising tool for charities. Some state charity authorities regulate cause marketing campaigns with a variety of requirements; some states do not regulate … Continue Reading

IRS Finally Confirms that Contributions to Single Member LLCs Owned by Charities Are Deductible

By Jacob I. Friedman and Elizabeth M. Mills on Posted in Charitable Giving, IRS Filings
On July 31, 2012, the IRS issued Notice 2012-52 (the “Notice”), providing long awaited confirmation that a charitable contribution to a limited liability company that is wholly owned by a charitable organization, and classified as a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes (an “SMLLC”), will be treated as a contribution to a branch … Continue Reading

Treasury Releases Long-Overdue Report on Supporting Organizations and Donor Advised Funds

By Elizabeth M. Mills on Posted in Charitable Giving
Along with making significant changes to the rules for supporting organizations ("SOs") and donor advised funds ("DAFs") in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the "PPA"), Congress directed that Treasury conduct a study on the organization and operation of SOs and DAFs. Congress gave Treasury one year after the enactment of the PPA to submit a report on the study. On December 5th, more than four years past the prescribed deadline, Treasury finally released its long-awaited report to Congress. … Continue Reading

275,000 Nonprofits Lose Tax-Exempt Status

By Christopher T. Bird on Posted in Charitable Giving
The IRS announced June 8, 2011 that approximately 275,000 organizations lost their tax-exempt status because they did not file annual returns for three consecutive years. The IRS has published on its website separate lists of affected organizations for each state. … Continue Reading

National Taxpayer Advocate Recommends Statute of Limitations on Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status

By Jacob I. Friedman on Posted in Charitable Giving
On the last day of 2010, the National Taxpayer Advocate, in its tenth annual report to Congress, recommended that Congress enact a statute of limitations on revocation of a charity’s tax-exempt status, to run concurrently with the current period of limitation on assessments. That period generally is (absent fraud, tax evasion or non-filing) either three or … Continue Reading

The New Tax Relief Law – What is in it for Charities?

By Jacob I. Friedman on Posted in Charitable Giving
On Friday, December 17, 2010, the President signed into law the unwieldy titled, “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010”.   In order to help explain the provisions in the new law, the Joint Committee on Taxation issued a Technical Explanation.  The Tax Relief Act has many provisions which affect charities, such as … Continue Reading

Proskauer Rose LLP to host its 15th Annual Trick or Treat Seminar on Friday October 29, 2010

By Jacob I. Friedman on Posted in Charitable Giving
The most successful exempt organizations are those that are well-positioned to run effectively and efficiently. This seminar highlights certain laws and best practices that are necessary for an exempt organization to succeed in this new regulatory landscape. This program will provide Exempt Organizations with information on:    Best Practices for Board Members The Effects of Health … Continue Reading

Is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on Your Radar Screen?

By Emily Stern on Posted in Charitable Giving
Charities and other exempt organizations that engage in cross-border charitable giving often conduct extensive due diligence before giving funds to international grantees. If these charities are unaware of how the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act can affect their grantmaking and other activities abroad, they should become aware very quickly. In fact, the FCPA is a real risk for U.S. exempt organizations that are operating globally and face pressures to make corrupt payments in order to obtain government support abroad. … Continue Reading

Treasury Issues Ramadan Alert

By Jacob I. Friedman on Posted in Charitable Giving
On August 11, 2010, the commencement of the observance of Ramadan, a charity alert was issued by the United States Treasury Department. Treasury acknowledged the importance of charitable giving during the month-long observance and used this opportunity to express concern about possible exploitation of all charities by terrorist organizations. The alert outlines steps for charities and donors to take in order to "guard against terrorist abuse." … Continue Reading

IRS Announces Qualified Disaster Treatment for Chile

By A. Nicole Campbell on Posted in Charitable Giving
On March 9, 2010, the IRS issued guidance designating the earthquake that occurred in Chile in February, 2010 as a qualified disaster for federal tax purposes. The guidance allows recipients of qualified disaster relief payments to exclude those payments from income tax. The guidance also allows employer-sponsored private foundations to assist employee victims in areas affected by the earthquake without affecting their tax-exempt status. … Continue Reading

President Obama Signs Bill Allowing 2009 Charitable Deductions for 2010 Haiti Donations

By A. Nicole Campbell on Posted in Charitable Giving
On Friday, January 22, 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill allowing taxpayers who made charitable contributions to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts to claim an itemizable deduction on their 2009 Tax Returns instead of waiting until next year to claim the deduction....The IRS also announced on Friday that it has issued guidance designating the Haiti earthquake as a natural disaster for federal tax purposes. The guidance allows recipients of qualified disaster relief payments to exclude those payments from income tax. … Continue Reading
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