Other Regulatory Issues

Online Compendium of Federal and State Regulations for U.S. Nonprofit Organizations

Other Topics in NPO Regulation

There are many other specialized issues in NPO regulation besides those addressed at this site at this time, such as laws and regulations that specifically apply to schools, hospitals, or private foundations, the special treatment accorded religious institutions, issues of investments and investment income, and many complicated aspects of federal tax-exemption law. Should you be interested in creating significant resources in any of these areas or others, either at this site or elsewhere, the Compendium's site administrator would love to hear about it! The goal is that if you can't find specific information about some aspect of NPO regulation here, you should be able to find a link to resources on that subject located elsewhere.

Tax Deductions for Charitable Giving

Although charitable organizations are not themselves responsible for determining whether contributions are tax-deductible, they are often asked for advice on this issue from donors. Nonprofit organizations are generally advised NOT to provide detailed assistance to donors with regard to the tax-deductibility of contributions, else they may develop improper conflicts of interest, and also be held legally responsible for poor advice. However, it is often useful for NPO staff that accept donations for the organization to be familiar with the appropriate laws and regulations.

Note that there are specific responsibilities prescribed by federal law for the NPO that are associated with certain charitable gifts. These are described at this Web site under "Charitable Solicitations."

A special and complex class of charitable gifts, those associated with "planned giving," are described elsewhere.

This section will provide some very limited information on the topic of charitable giving and tax deductions, but is not yet complete.

Some Useful Resources

Public Disclosure of Financial and Other Materials

Nonprofit organizations that are recognized as tax-exempt under IRC 501(c) of the U.S. Code are required to publicly disclose their IRS annual information returns (generally IRS Form 990 and associated documents) from the last three years, as well as their application for tax-exempt status. You will find a great deal of information about these regulations, and assistance for NPOs seeking to comply with them, at the U.S. Nonprofit Organization's Public Disclosure Regulations Site. That site is administered by the same person who administers this Online Compendium.

Other Topics in NPO Regulation

Tax Deductions for Charitable Giving

Some Useful Resources

Public Disclosure of Financial and Other Materials

More Topics