Nonprofit organizations benefit from donations of money, goods or time given by volunteers. If you you are considering donating money or goods to a nonprofit organization, you may want to know if your gift will be tax deductible. I discussed tools to research nonprofit organizations in a previous post and one of the tools listed there is an IRS online checking toll that allows users to look up a nonprofits tax status. The following list comes from IRS Publication 557.
| Section of 1986 Code | Description of organization | Application General nature of activities Form No. | Contributions allowable (*notes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 501(c)(1) | Corporations Organized under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions) | Instrumentalities of the No Form United States | Yes, if made for exclusively public purposes |
| 501(c)(2) | Title Holding Corporation For Exempt Organization | Holding title to property of an 1024 exempt organization | No2 |
| 501(c)(3) | Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations | Activities of nature implied by 1023 description of class of organization | Yes, generally |
| 501(c)(4) | Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees | Promotion of community welfare; 1024 charitable, educational, or recreational | No, generally 2, 3 |
| 501(c)(5) | Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations | Educational or instructive, the 1024 purpose being to improve conditions of work, and to improve products of efficiency | No2 |
| 501(c)(6) | Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, etc. | Improvement of business 1024 conditions of one or more lines of business | No2 |
| 501(c)(7) | Social and Recreational Clubs | Pleasure, recreation, social activities 1024 | No2 |
| 501(c)(8) | Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations | Lodge providing for payment of life, 1024 sickness, accident or other benefits to members | Yes, if for certain Sec. 501(c)(3) purposes |
| 501(c)(9) | Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Associations | Providing for payment of life, sickness, 1024 accident, or other benefits to members | No2 |
| 501(c)(10) | Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations | Lodge devoting its net earnings to 1024 charitable, fraternal, and other specified purposes. No life, sickness, or accident benefits to members | Yes, if for certain Sec. 501(c)(3) purposes |
| 501(c)(11) | Teachers’ Retirement Fund Associations | Teachers’ association for payment of No Form6retirement benefits | No2 |
| 501(c)(12) | Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, etc. | Activities of a mutually beneficial 1024 nature similar to those implied by the description of class of organization | No2 |
| 501(c)(13) | Cemetery Companies | Burials and incidental activities 1024 | Yes, generally |
| 501(c)(14) | State-Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds | Loans to members No Form6 | No2 |
| 501(c)(15) | Mutual Insurance Companies or Associations | Providing insurance to members 1024 substantially at cost | No2 |
| 501(c)(16) | Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations | Financing crop operations in Form 1120-C6 conjunction with activities of a marketing or purchasing association | No2 |
| 501(c)(17) | Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts | Provides for payment of 1024 supplemental unemployment compensation benefits | No2 |
| 501(c)(18) | Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959) | Payment of benefits under a No Form6 pension plan funded by employees | No2 |
| 501(c)(19) | Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces | Activities implied by nature of organization | No, generally7 |
| 501(c)(21) | Black Lung Benefit Trusts | Funded by coal mine operators to satisfy their liability for disability or death due to black lung diseases | No4 |
| 501(c)(22) | Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund | To provide funds to meet the liability of employers withdrawing from a multi-employer pension fund | No5 |
| 501(c)(23) | Veterans’ Organization (created before 1880) | To provide insurance and other benefits to veterans | No, generally7 |
| 501(c)(25) | Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parent Corporations | Holding title and paying over income from property to 35 or fewer parents or beneficiaries | No |
| 501(c)(26) | State-Sponsored Organization Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals | Provides health care coverage to high-risk individuals | No |
| 501(c)(27) | State-Sponsored Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Organization | Reimburses members for losses under workers’ compensation acts | No |
| 501(c)(28) | National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust | Manages and invests the assets of the Railroad Retirement Account | No11 |
| 501(c)(29) | CO-OP health insurance issuers | A qualified health insurance issuer which has received a loan or grant under the CO-OP program | No13 |
| 501(d) | Religious and Apostolic Associations | Regular business activities; Communal religious community | No2 |
| 501(e) | Cooperative Hospital Service Organizations | Performs cooperative services for hospitals | Yes |
| 501(f) | Cooperative Service Organizations of Operating Educational Organizations | Performs collective investment services for educational organizations | Yes |
| 501(k) | Child Care Organizations | Provides care for children | Yes |
| 501(n) | Charitable Risk Pools | Pools certain insurance risks of sec. 501(c)(3) organizations | Yes |
| 501(q) | Credit Counseling Organization | Credit counseling services | No |
| 521(a) | Farmers’ Cooperative Associations | Cooperative marketing and purchasing for agricultural procedures | No |
| 527 | Political organizations | A party, committee, fund, association, etc., that directly or indirectly accepts contributions or makes expenditures for political campaigns | No |
*Footnotes:
1 For exceptions to the filing requirement, see chapter 2 and the form 6Application is by letter to the address shown on Form 8718. A copy of the instructions. Note: For annual tax periods beginning after 2006, most organizing document should be attached and the letter should be signed by
tax-exempt organizations, other than churches, are required to file an annual an officer. Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF with the IRS or to submit an annual electronic notice, Form 990-N (e-Postcard), to the IRS. Tax-exempt organizations failing 7Contributions to these organizations are deductible only if 90% or more of
to file an annual return or submit an annual notice as required for 3 the organization’s members are war veterans. consecutive years will automatically lose their tax-exempt status.
8 For limits on the use of Form 990-EZ, see chapter 2 and the general
2 An organization exempt under a subsection of section 501 other than instructions for Form 990-EZ (or Form 990). 501(c)(3) can establish a charitable fund, contributions to which are deductible. Such a fund must itself meet the requirements of section 9Although the organization files a partnership return, all distributions are
501(c)(3) and the related notice requirements of section 508(a). deemed dividends. The members are not entitled to pass through treatment of the organization’s income or expenses.
3 Contributions to volunteer fire companies and similar organizations are deductible, but only if made for exclusively public purposes. 10Form 1120-POL is required only if the organization has taxable income as
defined in section 527(c).
4 Deductible as a business expense to the extent allowed by section 192.
11 Only required to annually file so much of the Form 990 that relates to the
5 Deductible as a business expense to the extent allowed by section 194A. names and addresses of the officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, and their titles, compensation, and hours devoted to their positions (Part VII
of Form 990) and complete Tax exempt status (Item I in the Heading of Form 990).
12 See section 501(q) if the organization provides credit counseling services and seeks recognition of exemption under section 501(c)(4). Use Form 1024 if applying for recognition under section
