According to the IRS, there are a lot of bad charities in Utah. At least that is what you’d think reading the just published list of “Exempt Organizations At-Risk of Revocation”.
There are
79 pages of charities in Utah including such notables as:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah
And just about every American Legion lodge in the state.
What did they do wrong? Nothing sinister. There was a change in the law on reporting for tax-exempt organizations that apparently a lot of tax-exempt organizations missed.
Frankly, I don’t know how they could have missed it. The change was part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006. What? You didn’t read that either?
Anyway, my over simplified version is that the change is a way for the IRS to clean out the charities that it has had on its rolls for years that probably no longer exist – small-time groups and family foundations mostly.
Didn’t file a return for the past three years? Get wiped off the IRS list. There are a lot more rules, regulations and exceptions (after all,
this is the IRS), but that’s the essence.
Don’t want the tax-exempt status of your favorite charity taken away? Then spread the word, they have one more chance to meet the filing requirements. The new deadline is October 15th. For details straight from the horse’s mouth,
click here. (It will take you to the official IRS website, not the Mr. Ed fan club.)
If you want to see if a charity near and dear to your heart is in jeopardy,
click here.
