Join Cherry, Bekaert & Holland for a seminar focusing on the pressing financial and tax issues facing nonprofit organizations today. Seminar speakers will provide information and answers to a variety of issues facing nonprofit executives. We’ll discuss current best practices and trends in the nonprofit industry.
Our Richmond office will host its annual NFP seminar on May 17 this year. Topics and speakers include:
Talent Wars: Are You Ready? Derrick Strand, Titan Group Tax Compliance and Board Oversight of Executive Pay and Deferred Compensation Nona K. Massengill, Esq., Partner, Williams Mullen A&A Update Russell Coleman, CB&H Tax Update Janice Ratica, CB&H Introduction to Enterprise Risk Management for Not-for-Profits John Richardson, CB&H The Arithmetic of Risk Bill Longan, SunTrust Bank Foundations and Endowments Specialty Practice
As the April 15 filing deadline fast approaches, small employers providing health insurance to their employees should be sure to check their eligibility for the small business health care tax credit. Small nonprofits can qualify for a credit up to 25 percent of expenditures toward employee’s health care premiums.
Adding additional incentive to stay in Form 990 compliance, the IRS recently announced that names on the auto-revocation list will remain visible, even if the organization has since reapplied and had its tax-exempt status reinstated. A nonprofit that has failed to file tax returns for three consecutive years will have its status automatically revoked and its name added to the IRS auto-revocation list.
The only way a name may be removed from the list is if the listing occurred in error. Organizations must provide the IRS either documentation showing a filing did indeed occur or that no filing name was required. The IRS has provided an organized FAQ for any additional information.
Last month, the IRS released its 2012 Work Plan for the Exempt Organizations Division (EO). In FY11, EO neither grew nor shrank, maintaining similar levels of staff, examinations and compliance checks as in FY10. Independent Sector offers a summary of the key initiatives for 2012 that will affect processes and documentation for nonprofits.
Section 501(c)(4), (5) and (6) organizations. These organizations can declare themselves as tax exempt without a determination from IRS. EO plans to review organizations in these categories to ensure that they have classified themselves correctly and are complying with applicable rules. In 2012, EO will send a questionnaire to these organizations to assess compliance in this area.
Political Activity. In 2012, EO will use information from past projects and new information from Form 990s to focus examinations on serious allegations of impermissible political intervention. A committee of career civil servants will assess information from outside sources to identify cases to refer for examination.
990-T and UBIT. In 2012, EO will look at organizations that report unrelated business activities but have not filed a Form 990-T. They will be preparing for an upcoming UBIT project.
The IRS recently announced the launch of the Exempt Organizations Select Check, an online search tool which provides information regarding the federal tax status and filings of exempt organizations. Select Check condenses information previously housed on three different sites to more efficiently search for an organization’s:
Eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (Publication 78 data),
Tax-exempt status revocation due to lapses in Form 990 filing in three consecutive years (Auto-Revocation List), and
Annual Form 990-N filings (e-Postcard).
Starting this month, Select Check will be updated monthly for most information, and more often for 990-N filings. For more information and search tips, visit Exempt Organizations Select Check.
Recently, the IRS released the final Form 990 for 2011 filers. Among the largest changes relates to required foreign investment reporting. As the Journal of Accountancy reports. Organizations must now complete Part I, Schedule F, Statement of Activities Outside the United States, for any tax year investment valued at or above $100,000. Previous Forms 990 set the requirement at revenues or expenses in excess of $10,000 attributable to foreign activities.
Organizations will also now be required to complete Part X, Balance Sheet, which requires reporting distributive shares in any partnerships reported in Schedule K-1. There have also been several changes to definitions and procedures which include:
The IRS released the 2012 standard mileage rates for business use of automobiles. Taxpayers driving a car, van, pickup or panel truck can use these rates to determine the deductible costs of that vehicle’s operation.
55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven
23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving expenses
14 cents per mile driven in service to charitable organizations
Rates for business miles driven remain unchanged from the July 1, 2011 adjustment while rates for medical and moving purposes are reduced by 0.5 cents per mile.
A study by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has found that claims for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, which includes provisions for nonprofits, were far below expected levels for tax year 2010. The CBO originally estimated up to $2 billion in claims for 2010. As Accounting Today reports, the actual claims totaled just over $278 million, or slightly under 14 percent of expectations.
“The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is an important credit for both small business employers and their employees,” said TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George in a statement. “TIGTA’s recommendations, once adopted, should improve the IRS’s ability to verify claims for this credit.”
Please join us in Atlanta, Georgia for our 2011 Not-for-Profit Conference:
• Accounting & Auditing Update: We’ll discuss what you need to know about recent FASB, GASB and Yellow Book updates and what they mean for your organization.
• Tax & Regulatory Update: A discussion of the latest developments and trends affecting nonprofit organizations from a tax perspective.
• Privacy & Identity Theft Protection Laws—What NFP’s Need to Know: This presentation describes the sources of a wide range of new obligations for data protection in nonprofit organizations, their impact on the industry, and how to meet the new obligations in a cost effective manner.
• Investing Foundation and Endowment Funds—A Practical Perspective: Learn what is considered good governance around investment management from a risk perspective; and how The Frank Dodd Act may affect investment advisors who currently participate on NFP boards.
