On August 26, 2014, the IRS and the Department of the Treasury issued the 2014-2015 Priority Guidance Plan. The Priority Guidance Plan includes 18 exempt organization law projects and four projects relating to charitable giving.

Summary

Tax-Exempt Organizations Law Projects:

• Regulations to allow the IRS to adopt a streamlined application process that eligible organizations may use to apply for recognition of tax-exempt status by means of Form 1023-EZ (final, temporary, and proposed regulations have been issued). For more information on Form 1023-EZ, see "Are you Eligible? IRS Releases Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption under Section 501(c)(3) or the Internal Revenue Code."
• Development of a revenue procedure setting forth the procedures for issuance of determination letters as to exempt status for eligible organizations that filed Form 1023-EZ (revenue procedure has been published).
• Proposed regulations pertaining to political campaign intervention.
• Guidance regarding methods of allocating expenses relating to dual-use facilities.
• Final regulations concerning the application for recognition of exemption as a qualified nonprofit health insurance issuer (temporary and proposed regulations have been issued).
• Issuance of revenue procedures updating grantor and contributor reliance criteria.
• Issuance of revenue procedure to update Revenue Procedure 2011-33 for EO Select Check.
• Promulgation of final regulations on the additional requirements for tax exemption for charitable hospitals under Section 501(r) (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Promulgation of additional guidance on supporting organizations (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Guidance regarding the excise taxes on donor-advised funds and fund management.
• Guidance relating to tax-exempt organizations' reporting of contributions.
• Final regulations on reliance standards for making good-faith determinations (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Promulgation of final regulations concerning the IRS's authority to disclose exempt organization information to state officials (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Publication of final regulations relating to church tax inquiries and examinations (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Issuance of regulations concerning program-related investments (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Issuance of guidance regarding a private foundation's investment in a partnership in which disqualified persons are also partners.
• Publication of regulations explaining the computation of unrelated business income of exempt voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Issuance of regulations concerning the fractions rule.

Charitable Giving Law Projects:

• Publication of final regulations concerning the charitable deduction recordkeeping, substantiation, and appraisal requirements (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Publication of regulations regarding donee substantiation of charitable contributions.
• Publication of regulations concerning the uniform basis of charitable remainder trusts (proposed regulations have been issued).
• Final regulations regarding issues pertaining to the net investment income tax (proposed regulations have been issued).

Items to Note

The reference to guidance on political campaign interventions has shifted from focusing solely on exempt social welfare organizations (Section 501(c)(4) entities) to tax-exempt organizations in general (All section 501(c) entities). This follows the abandonment of the proposed political campaign regulations. The other item to note is the dual-use facilities expense allocation project. This was a prominent issue in the IRS's colleges and universities compliance report. The IRS continues to focus on expense allocation relating to unrelated business income activities.

What You Should Do Now

Tax-exempt organizations should review the Priority Guidance Plan and determine if any of their activities may be impacted by new developments in these areas. These organizations should consult with their advisors to monitor new guidance in the coming year that may directly influence their activities.