Publication 557 |
2001 Tax Year |
Application Procedures
Oral requests for recognition of exemption will not be considered
by the IRS. Your application for tax-exempt status must be in writing
using the appropriate forms as discussed below.
Forms Required
Most organizations seeking recognition of exemption from federal
income tax must use specific application forms prescribed by the IRS.
Two forms currently required by the IRS are Form 1023,
Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and Form 1024,
Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section
501(a). For information about how to obtain the latest revision,
see chapter 5.
Forms 1023 and 1024 contain instructions and checklists to help you
provide the information required to process your application.
Incomplete applications will not be processed.
Some organizations do not have to use specific application forms.
The application your organization must use is specified in the chapter
in this publication dealing with your kind of organization. It is also
shown in the Organization Reference Chart on page 57 of
this publication.
When no specific application form is prescribed for your
organization, application for exemption is by letter to the IRS. Send
the application to the appropriate address shown on Form 8718,
User Fee for Exempt Organization Determination Letter
Request. The letter must be signed by an authorized individual
such as an officer of the organization or a person authorized by a
power of attorney. (See Power of attorney on page 4.) Send
the power of attorney with the application letter when you file it.
The letter should also contain the name and telephone number of the
person to contact. The information described below under Required
Inclusions must be sent with the letter.
User fee.
The law requires the payment of a user fee for determination letter
requests such as your application for recognition of tax-exempt
status. You should use Form 8718 to figure the amount of your fee and
to pay it. Your payment must accompany your request. The IRS will not
process a request unless the fee has been paid.
To find the correct amounts for user fees and the length of time to
process a request, call 1-877-829-5500 for assistance.
Required Inclusions
Every exempt organization must have an employer identification
number (EIN), whether or not it has any employees.
If your organization does not have an EIN, your application for
recognition of exemption should include a completed Form
SS-4, Application for Employer Identification
Number.
Organizing documents.
Each application for exemption must be accompanied by a
conformed copy of your organization's Articles of
Incorporation (and the Certificate of Incorporation, if available),
Articles of Association, Trust Indenture, Constitution, or other
enabling document. If the organization does not have an organizing
document, it will not qualify for exempt status.
Bylaws.
Bylaws alone are not organizing documents. However, if your
organization has adopted bylaws, include a current copy. The bylaws
need not be signed if submitted as an attachment.
If your organization's name has been officially changed by an
amendment to your organizing instruments, you should also attach a
conformed copy of that amendment to your application.
Conformed copy.
A conformed copy is a copy that agrees with the original and all
amendments to it. If the original document required a signature, the
copy should either be signed by a principal officer or, if not signed,
be accompanied by a written declaration signed by an authorized
officer of the organization. With either option, the officer must
certify that the document is a complete and accurate copy of the
original. A certificate of incorporation should be approved and dated
by an appropriate state official.
Every attachment should show your organization's name, address, and
EIN. It should also state that it is an attachment to your application
form and identify the part and line item number to which it applies.
Do not submit original documents
because they become part of the IRS file and cannot be returned.
Description of activities.
Your application must include a full description of the purposes
and the activities of your organization. When describing the
activities in which your organization expects to engage, you must
include the standards, criteria, procedures, or other means that your
organization adopted or planned for carrying out those activities.
To determine the information you need to provide, you should study
the part of this publication that applies to your organization. The
appropriate chapter will describe the purposes and activities that
your organization must pursue, engage in, and include in your
application in order to achieve exempt status.
Often your organization's articles of organization (or other
organizing instruments) contain descriptions of your organization's
purposes and activities.
Financial data.
You must include in your application financial statements showing
your receipts and expenditures for the current year and the 3
preceding years (or for the number of years your organization was in
existence, if less than 4 years). For each accounting period, you must
describe the sources of your receipts and the nature of your
expenditures. You must also include a balance sheet for the current
year.
If you have not yet begun operations, or have operated for less
than 1 year, a proposed budget for 2 full accounting periods and a
current statement of assets and liabilities will be acceptable.
Other information.
The IRS may require you to provide additional information necessary
to clarify the nature of your organization. Some examples are:
- Representative copies of advertising placed,
- Copies of publications, such as magazines,
- Distributed written material used for expressing views on
proposed legislation, and
- Copies of leases, contracts, or agreements into which your
organization has entered.
Miscellaneous Procedures
For prompt action on your application, be sure to attach all
schedules, statements, and other documents required by the application
form. If you do not attach them, you may have to resubmit your
application or you may otherwise encounter a delay in obtaining
recognition of exemption.
Incomplete application.
If the application does not contain the required information, it
may be returned with a letter of explanation without being considered
on its merits. If the completed application is resubmitted within the
time period indicated in the letter from the IRS, it will be
considered received on the original submission date. In that case, if
the original submission was timely, the application will be considered
timely filed as discussed in chapter 3, under Application for
Recognition of Exemption.
Application made under wrong paragraph of section 501(c).
Occasionally, an organization may appear to qualify for exemption
under a paragraph of section 501(c) that is different from the one for
which the organization applied. If the application was made on Form
1024, which applies to more than one paragraph of section 501(c), the
organization may be recognized as exempt under any paragraph to which
the form applies if the organization has agreed to have its
application considered under that paragraph. It must also supply any
additional information required for the application under the new
paragraph.
Different application form needed.
If a different application form is required for your organization,
the IRS will so advise your organization and will provide the
appropriate application form for your convenience in reapplying under
that paragraph, if you wish to do so. Although supporting information
previously furnished need not be duplicated, you must provide any
necessary additional information required for the application. If your
reply is not received within a limited time, your application will be
processed only for the paragraph under which you originally applied.
When a specific application form is needed for the paragraph under
which your organization qualifies, that form is required before a
letter recognizing exemption can be issued. This includes cases in
which an exemption letter is modified to recognize an organization's
exempt status under a paragraph other than the paragraph under which
it originally established exemption.
IRS responses.
Organizations that submit a complete application will receive an
acknowledgment from the IRS. Others will receive a letter requesting
more information or returning an incomplete application. Applicants
also will be notified if the application is forwarded to the
Headquarters of the IRS for consideration. These letters will be sent
out as soon as possible after receipt of the organization's
application.
Withdrawal of application.
An application may be withdrawn at any time before the issuance of
a ruling or determination letter upon the written request of a
principal officer or authorized representative of your organization.
However, the withdrawal will not prevent the information contained in
the application from being used by the IRS in any subsequent
examination of your organization's returns. The information forwarded
with an application will not be returned to your organization and,
generally, when an application is withdrawn, the user fee paid will
not be refunded.
Requests for withholding of information from the public.
The law requires many exempt organizations and private foundations
to make their application forms and annual information returns
available for public inspection. The law also requires the IRS to make
available for public inspection, in accordance with section 6104 of
the Code and the related regulations, your approved application for
recognition of exemption (including any papers submitted in support of
the application) and the ruling or determination letter (discussed
later, under Rulings and Determination Letters).
Any information submitted in the application or in support of it
that relates to any trade secret, patent, process, style of work, or
apparatus, upon request, may be withheld from public inspection if the
Commissioner determines that the disclosure of such information would
adversely affect the organization. Your request must:
- Identify the material to be withheld (the document, page,
paragraph, and line) by clearly marking it, "Not Subject To
Public Inspection,"
- Include the reasons for your organization's position that
the information is of the type that may be withheld from public
inspection, and
- Be filed with the documents in which the material to be
withheld is contained.
Where to file.
Your application for recognition of tax-exempt status must be filed
with the IRS at the address shown on Form 8718.
Your application will be considered by the Manager, EO
Determinations, who will either issue a favorable determination letter
to your organization, issue an adverse determination letter denying
the exempt status claimed in the application, or refer the case to the
Exempt Organizations Technical Office (EO Technical) in the
Headquarters of the IRS for a ruling.
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Requests other than applications. Requests other than
applications for recognition of exemption (for example, requests for
rulings involving feeder organizations, application of excise taxes to
activities of private foundations, taxation of unrelated business
income, etc.) should be sent to:
Exempt Organizations
Internal Revenue Service
Commissioner, TE/GE
Attention: T:EO:RA
P.O. Box 27720, McPherson Station
Washington, DC 20038
These requests, like applications for
recognition of exemption, must be accompanied by the appropriate user
fee. |
Referral to Headquarters.
EO Examinations Area Manager, EO Determinations Area Manager, or
Appeals Area Director, SB/SE - TE/GE, will refer to Headquarters any
exempt organization issue concerning qualification for exemption or
foundation status for which there is no published precedent or for
which there is reason to believe that nonuniformity exists. An EO
Examinations, an EO Determinations, or an Appeals Office may request
technical advice on any technical or procedural question that cannot
be resolved on the basis of law, regulations, or a clearly applicable
revenue ruling or other published precedent. An organization may
request that an issue be referred to EO Technical, Headquarters, for
technical advice if it feels that a lack of uniformity exists as to
the disposition of the issue or if an issue is so unusual or complex
as to warrant consideration by Headquarters. If a determination letter
is issued based on technical advice from Headquarters regarding
qualification for exemption or foundation status, no further
administrative appeal is available on the issue that was the subject
of technical advice.
Power of attorney.
If your organization expects to be represented by an agent or
attorney, whether in person or by correspondence, you must file a
power of attorney with your exemption application specifically
authorizing the agent or attorney to represent your organization.
Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of
Representative, may be used for this purpose.
Reminder.
The law requires payment of a user fee for determination letter
requests. Use Form 8718 to figure the amount and pay the fee. Payment
must accompany each request.
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