Another homeschool group awarded 501c3 tax exempt status!

 

Hi Carol,

 

We wanted to share our excitement in that Hartsville Home Educators, Inc. of Hartsville SC has been granted their 501(c)(3) status.

You have been a great help to our organization as we have developed by-laws and our co-op. We purchased your book and submitted our IRS application in May and was awarded our status in November.

Thanks for all you do for the home school organizations throughout the country.  We could not have done this without your guidance.

Terri King

Hartsville Home Educators

 

 

Do you know the pros and cons of 501c3 status?

Do you know what 501c3 status could mean for your homeschool group?

My book The IRS and Your Homeschool Organization could help your group as well.

A 120 page book explaining the pros and cons of tax exempt 501c3 status. Is it needed? Is it worth it?

 

Table of Contents
Sample pages

Price: $9.95

Ebook version $3.99 (pdf format)

Kindle version $3.99

Smashwords version $3.99 (multiple e-reader formats for Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc)

What tax forms do I file for a homeschool co-op?

photo credit: stevendepolo

Carol’s book has been so helpful in getting our co-op organized. We have determined we are going to file Articles with our state and create by-laws and set ourselves up for a non profit corporation. With our fundraising and dues, we never bring in more than  $5,000. We probably have around 50-60 families returning this year. We are 100% volunteer based for our fundraising (silent auctions, garage sale.)
Come tax time, do we file with the IRS (like I do for our household every year?) For example, do we use turbo tax and file for our co-op? And if we have let’s say, $1,000 left at the end of the year, is that taxable? We do not want to zero out our account as it is nice to have a cushion for various reasons.

Lisa

Lisa,

Good questions!

Q: Come tax time, do we  file with the IRS (like I do for our household every year?) For example, do we  use turbo tax and file for our co-op?

A: Nope. This is a nonprofit organization, not part of your family/individual income, and not a for-profit business, either. Don’t use TurboTax. Please! (we tax preparers are not crazy about TT in general)

Technically, you would file a corporate tax return (Form 1120), but I would not recommend doing that.

Since your group qualifies as an automatic 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization (under $5,000 gross annual income), you could file a Form 990N. It’s an online form of only 5 questions. You may have to call and register with the IRS first, since you are not in their database. But many small nonprofits do not file the Form 990N at all.

(If you make more than $5,000 gross annual income, you must apply for tax exempt status and then will file the Form 990N or the Form 990EZ or the full 990 depending on the gross income of your organization. If your nonprofit has gross income of $50,000 or less, you file the Form 990N. That covers 99% of all homeschool organizations.  So the paperwork is quite small and easy to deal with.)

The IRS expects nonprofit corporations to file for tax exempt status with in 27 months of formation (the date of your nonprofit incorporation status from your state). So you have about 2 years to run your program before you have to file for tax exempt status. In the meantime, you can file Form 990N each year.

Q: And if we have let’s say, $1,000 left at the end of the year, is that taxable?
A: Taxable, unless you qualify for tax exempt status (either automatically or by application).
Q:We do not want to zero out our account as it is nice to have a cushion for various reasons.
A: Yes, that the reason why groups want tax exempt status. To reserve their surplus for future use. It’s a wonderful blessing in the USA that our gov’t allows charitable, religious and educational organizations to exist tax free. Not every country allows that!

Hope that helps!

Carol Topp, CPA

P.S. I’m glad my books were helpful. I have just updated my book on  501(c)(3) tax exempt status for homeschool groups. It’s called  The IRS and Your Homeschool Organization and covers all this information in greater detail. Read about it here.

Does a nonprofit need to file any tax returns before they apply for tax exempt status?

I was advising a small homeschool organization about applying for tax exempt status and explained that they had 27 months after their date of formation to file an application with the IRS.

Hi Carol,

I just read this and was concerned that I would need to file something during the 27 months time frame.  Please explain if possible.
http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=156389,00.html

Teri

Teri,

The link to the IRS website concerns IRS requirements before you apply for tax exempt status. The link above states this (in part)

Tax Law Compliance Before Exempt Status Is Recognized

An organization that claims tax-exempt status under section 501(a), but has not yet received an IRS letter recognizing exempt status, is generally required to file an annual exempt organization return.

This is a fairly new requirement from the IRS. I used to tell nonprofit organizations that if they had not yet applied for 501c3 status, they did not have to file the Form 990. It came to my attention only a week ago that the IRS wants Form 990 from all nonprofits.

Fortunately, the form your organization (and all small nonprofits with annual gross revenues of less than $50,000) would need to file is the 990N, an electronic postcard that asks about 5 questions: Name and address of organization, the principle officer’s name and check a box that your annual gross revenues are under $25,000. It is very short and would take less than 5 minutes once a year.

Here’s a blog post that answers your question. http://homeschoolcpa.com/does-new-irs-990n-apply/

I hope that helps.

Carol Topp, CPA

Congratulations on 501(c)(3) tax exempt status!

Congratulations to two homeschool organizations that received letters from the IRS this week granting them 501(c)(3) tax exempt status!

JMJ Tampa Bay in Florida

and

Community Homeschool Outreach in OK.

I was so happy to help these organizations achieve this important status.

Would your homeschool group benefit from tax exempt staus? Do you qualify?

Learn more by reading my articles under Leader Tools.

Carol Topp, CPA

Compare 501(c)(3) Charity to 501(c)(7) Social Club

The IRS offers more than a dozen different classifications of tax exempt status.  The most popular by far with 80% of the total is the 501(c)(3) “Qualified charity status.”

Many homeschool organizations may qualify to be 501(c)(3) qualified charities with an educational purpose or 501(c)(7) Social Clubs.

Here’s a comparison of 501(c)(3) “qualified charity” status and 501(c)(7) Social Club.

In general, homeschool co-ops fall under 501(c)(3) “qualified charity” because they have an educational purpose, while homeschool support groups fall under 501(c)(7) Social Club.

	501(c)(3) Qualified Charity	501(c)(7) Social Club
Purpose	Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary,	Pleasure, recreation, social activities
Examples	churches, charities, private schools, homeschool co-ops with an educational purpose	Fraternities, sororities, country clubs, hobby clubs, homeschool support groups
Requirements	No private inurement allowed. Upon dissolution all assets must be distributed to another 501(c)(3) organization.	Personal contact, fellowship and co-mingling of members. No private inurement allowed.
Activities	Can hold programs, sell services and products as part of their exempt purpose.	Can provide meals or services only to members in connection with club activities
Tax deductible donations allowed	Yes	No
Tax exempt (no taxes on profits)	Exempt from Federal income tax unless the organization has unrelated business income	Exempt from Federal income tax on income derived from members; other income taxed
Source of Income	Membership fees, fees for services, donations, fund raisers, program fees	Primarily (65% or more) from membership fees.
Membership	Open to public	Limited membership and consistent with the purpose of the club.
IRS Application Required?	Yes, if gross revenues over $5,000/year. File Form 1023	No. The IRS does not require 501(c)(7) organizations to file an application. They can “self-proclaim” tax exempt status.
Annual IRS Reporting	Form 990N, Form 99EZ or Form 990	Not required
Legislative Lobbying permitted?	Insubstantial lobbying allowed (less than 20% of total expenses). No endorsement of a candidate.	No limit on legislative activity as long as it furthers the exempt purpose

I hope that helps!

Carol Topp, CPA

Can’t we operate without IRS tax exempt status?

Carol,

Does my homeschool support group really need to apply to 501(c)(3) tax exempt status with the IRS? It seems like a lot of time and money. We have a small budget and we don’t accept tax deductible donations.

Can’t we just operate as we are?

You described your group as a support group, meaning you exists for the benefit of the members and you do not accept or plan to seek tax deductible donations.

Many larger homeschool organizations, especially co-ops that have an educational function and not just a support group purpose, seek 501(c)(3) tax exempt status for its many benefits:

• tax exemption
• ability to accept tax deductible donations
• ability to participate in fund raisers only open to 501(c)(3) charities

See my article Do we need 501c3 status?

But homeschool support groups are different. They don’t hold classes; they focus on fellowship. Support groups don’t accept donations; they get all their income from membership dues and maybe a little bit of fund raising.

I attended an IRS webinar and asked your question. Here’s what the IRS said:

It is true the Tax Reform Act of 1969 requirement to “give notice,” (to apply for recognition of tax-exempt status) applies only to organizations wanting section 501(c)(3) status.
So, although other types of organizations are not required to file Form 1024, they may still wish to do so in order to receive a determination letter of IRS recognition of their status. Having the determination letter ensures public recognition of their status and may enable exemption from some state taxes.
Also, even though an organization may “self-proclaim” its tax-exempt status, it is still subject to the rules governing its particular sub-section. It is also subject to IRS examination to determine whether it meets the requirements for the exemption it is claiming.

Translation:

If your organization wished to obtain 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, then you must file an application for that. I can help . See my Services page

If  instead, your group fits the criteria of a social club (what the IRS calls a 501(c)(7)), then your organization can “self-proclaim” that you are tax exempt without filing the paperwork.

But you still have to obey the rules and fit the IRS definition of a social club. 

What it takes to be classified as a 501(c)(7) Social Club

And you don’t have a nice letter from the IRS to prove that you are tax exempt.

So there you have it…most homeschool support groups, if they operate as a social club, can be considered tax exempt without going through the time and expense of tax exempt application with the IRS.

Carol Topp, CPA

More nonprofits can file the easy Form 990N

Many homeschool organizations that have tax exempt status are small enough they do not have to file any tax forms with the IRS. And now new IRS guidelines mean even more groups are free from IRS filing requirements!

Small exempt organizations can file the simple Form 990-N, the electronic postcard, instead of the longer Form 990-EZ or  Form 990.

The e-Postcard is an electronic notice filed at http://epostcard.form990.org.

Need help determining your gross receipts? Send me an email and we can arrange a private consultation over the phone. Email me here.

If your tax exempt homeschool organization needs help filing their Form 990EZ or Form 990, I can help. Read more here.

Would your homeschool group benefit from being tax exempt? Find out by reading my articles on the pros and cons of tax exempt status.

Can a homeschool co-op be denied 501(c)(3) status?

I frequently learn a lot about nonprofit law from Harvey Mechanic’s All Experts Site. Mr Mechanic is an attorney that does a fantastic job of answering all sorts of questions about nonprofit law. I always learn a lot.

Recently, a parent from a small private school mentioned the need to do fundraisers and have everyone “do their fair share.” That is a pretty common expectation in activities involving children like youth sports leagues, scouting, etc. But to my surprise, Mr Mechanic has a problem with the “fair share” idea.

Here is Harvey Mechanic’s reply:

The statement that you made about “fair share” indicates that you do not want to operate properly. The fair share is applicable for a co-operative organization but not a charitable organization. In denying exemption to a purported 501(c)(3) organization booster organization, in 1992 the IRS at
http://viewer.zoho.com/docs/s2ca6g on page 6 stated “The reason you were created and your method of operation indicate that you are made up of a group of parents who have joined together to work cooperatively to provide funds to pay for the participation of their children in athletic events.
The expenses incurred by these children would otherwise have been paid by the parents.  All parents of competitive team members are automatically members of your organization.  Accordingly, members expect to receive a benefit in return for their membership.  You pay no benefits to non-members.

Another, similar denial of exemption was issued by the IRS in 1990 and may be viewed at
http://viewer.zoho.com/docs/a4vd3

Such an operation would be what the IRS calls a cooperative. A cooperative is not qualified as a 501(c)(3) organization. (emphasis added)

Wow!  So does that mean homeschool co-ops cannot obtain 501(c)(3) status? Oh, no!  I spend a lot of time helping homeschool co-ops obtain 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. I have been successful many times. I even wrote a book telling homeschool organizations how and why to become a 501(c)(3) organization. See Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) Status for Homeschool Organizations. Am I wrong?  Or is Mr. Mechanic incorrect?

Neither.  Or rather, it depends on how your organization is structured and your purpose.  If your homeschool organization is a support group that is “made up of a group of parents who have joined together to work cooperatively to provide funds to pay for the participation of their children in athletic (or educational) events.” you do not qualify for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. But you can qualify for a different IRS tax exempt status called 501(c)(7) Social Club status.

I am assisting a homeschool support group that has a few co-op classes, but their main purpose is to join together to support each other in homeschooling. They are applying for 501(c)(7) as a Social Club. They will receive many of the benefits of tax exempt status, but not quite the same a 501(c)(3) status.

What about your homeschool organization?  Would you qualify as a 501(c)(3) charity or 501(c)(7) Social Club? Do you know the difference? How can you decide? It depends on your activities, purpose and structure.

I can help you sort out the differences.

Please contact me about a phone consultation to help you determine which status is best for your organization.

Do not make the mistake of choosing the wrong tax exempt status.  You could be denied by the IRS like Mr Mechanic mentioned and waste a lot of time and money. It can happen to your group.  Read a real life story here:

http://homeschoolcpa.com/irs-intimidates-homeschool-group

If you need help discerning the tax exempt status of your homeschool organization, send me an email at Carol@HomeschoolCPA.com. We can arrange a private consultation to discuss your particular situation.

Carol Topp, CPA

Can a small group be an IRS qualified charity?

In the past week, I have received two emails from homeschool leaders in MD and CA with  a surprisingly similar situations.

In both groups, a small number of homeschooling families were  joining together to hire a single teacher to teach their children once or twice a week. Both groups were very small, only seven families total, but they were paying each instructor quite a bit of money-$11,000 annually in one case and $17,000 in the other. This meant that they exceeded the IRS threshold of $5,000 annual gross revenue and needed to consider filing for 501c3 tax exempt status.

They had several concerns such as a contract with the teacher, how should the teacher be paid and could the group qualify for 501c3 tax exempt status as an educational organization?

Here were some of their questions:

I found your website and found it to be most interesting and helpful to homeschool co-ops.  I would like to schedule a personal consultation with you.  I am part of a homeschool group that informally hired a teacher to teach certain classes in past years, but this coming year the teacher wants a contract.
Rosemary in MD

I saw your website and had some general questions for you.  Appreciate your ministry to homeschoolers. We are trying to decide whether our group should be a sole proprietorship owned by person or try to establish a nonprofit. What would be the pros and cons of each? What if we can’t afford to file for tax exemption at this time?  What are our choices if our gross receipts are around $11K/year?
Teri in CA

There are several options for homeschool organizations who are trying to decide how to structure themselves. I advised the leader from CA to read this article:

When to become a 501c3?

I offered a private phone consultation and discussed the concerns and options with the leader from MD. I explained that I doubted the IRS would grant 501c3 “qualified charity” status to a group with only seven families. An IRS qualified charity is supposed to serve a public good, not the needs of only seven families.

Instead of pursuing 501c3 tax exempt status, we discussed that the hired teacher is really running a for-profit business (a sole proprietorship) with seven families as her customers. I shared with her several sample contractor agreements the teacher could use in her business.

There is a sample contractor agreement available in my ebooks Money Management in a Homeschool Organization and Paying Workers in a Homeschool Organization.

Thank you again for the consultation.  It answered a lot of questions for me, and I appreciate your support. Thank you also for the contractor agreements – I have been reading through them.
Rosemary in MD

If you have a unique homeschooling situation and would like to schedule a private consultation with me, please send me an email at Carol@HomeschoolCPA.com. Tell me a little about your group and we can arrange a mutually convenient time to talk.

Carol Topp, CPA

IRS delays Cyber Assistant (again)

On May 7, 2010 the IRS announced it would be delaying the release of the on-line program Cyber Assistant.  This long-promised software will allow charitable organizations (including homeschool organizations) to file for 501c3 tax exempt status on-line. The IRS had previously announced that the filing fee would be lowered from $400 (or $850 depending on the organizations annual revenues) to $200 for organizations that filed using Cyber Assistant.

I had several homeschool organizations that were hoping to save $200-$650 by using the on-line filing option.  Unfortunately, it won’t happen in 2010. When will the on-ling filing option be available? No telling. The IRS is not offering a new timeline.

What should your group do now if they want to apply for 501c3 tax exempt status?

Sandy Deja of 501c3Book.org has some good advice (emphasis added by me):

A 501(c)(3) has until the end of the 27th month after it is created to file its exemption application.  If your organization is closing in on the end of its 27 month grace period, you should not wait for the Cyber 1023.  Avoiding the hassles of missing the 27 month deadline is definitely worth the extra money.

Delayed 501(c)(3) Benefits

501(c)(3) status offers a number of benefits other than exemption from Federal income tax: deductibility for contributions, bulk mailing permits, state, local and property tax exemptions, and eligibility for foundation grants, to name a few.  Only you can weigh the $650 discount against the costs of postponing these valuable benefits for your group.

Reputation

In some cases, lost benefits can be recouped once the IRS recognizes 501(c)(3) status.  There is one benefit, though, that once lost may be gone forever: your non-profit’s reputation.  If you think there is any chance your organization will be in the news sometime soon, don’t wait for the Cyber 1023. Savvy journalists check the IRS website when writing articles about local charities.  A news story pointing out that your group has not yet taken care of its IRS paperwork can do lasting damage.

So, in summary, take a look at the date you incorporated as a nonprofit within your state. If you are getting close to the 27 month window, your organization should file for 501c3 tax exempt status now and not wait for the IRS to offer their lower fee by filing through Cyber Assistant.

I can help with your 501c3 tax exempt application. See my Services page for details.

Carol Topp, CPA

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