IRS Outlines 2003 Workplan for Exempt Organizations Division - Nonprofit Accountability

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Published: 09/30/2002

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IRS Outlines 2003 Workplan for Exempt Organizations Division

The IRS Exempt Organizations (EO) division will issue more guidance to, and increase audits of, tax-exempt organizations in the coming year, according to the division’s 2003 workplan. The EO division has also made a priority of electronic filing for the Form 990 and a web-based interactive application for 501(c)(3) charity status (Form 1023).

Included in plans to offer more guidance to organizations are “how-to” workshops on applying for tax-exemption, workshops on tax law for current exempt organizations, and a series of publications on various aspects of tax law, including rules for donated vehicles and “Do’s and Don’ts” for exempt organizations.

Another priority of the workplan is to increase audits of Section 527 political organizations (also known as “stealth PACs”) to check compliance with financial disclosure regulations. In preparation for this increased scrutiny, the IRS sent letters to 7,000 Section 527 organizations that were potentially not in compliance with the disclosure regulations as part of an amnesty program that ended July 15. Three thousand organizations responded with disclosure documents.