New Forms Required To Be Filed By Certain Political Organizations

Form 8871. New Form 8871, Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status, is used by certain political organizations to notify the IRS that the organization is to be treated as a section 527 organization.

Every political organization that is to be treated as a political organization under the rules of section 527 must file Form 8871, except:

• An organization that reasonably expects its annual gross receipts to always be less than $25,000,
• A political committee required to report under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), or
• A tax-exempt organization described in section 501(c) that is treated as having political organization taxable income under section 527(f)(1).

Form 8871 must be filed within 24 hours of the organization's formation. The form must be filed both electronically and in writing. The form is filed electronically at the IRS web site at www.irs.gov/bus_info/ eo/pol-file.html. Before filing Form 8871, the political organization must have its own employer identification number (EIN), even if it does not have any employees. For more information about the filing requirements for political organizations, see Revenue Ruling 2000-49 in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2000-44.

Form 8872. New Form 8872, Political Organization Report of Contributions and Expenditures, is filed by every section 527 political organization that accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure for an exempt function after July 1, 2000, unless it meets one of the following exceptions to filing.

• An organization that reasonably expects its annual gross receipts to always be less than $25,000.
• A political committee required to report under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.).
• A tax-exempt organization described in section 501(c) that is treated as having political organization taxable income under section 527(f)(1).
• A state or local committee of a political party or political committee of a state or local candidate.

See the Form 8872 instructions for various due dates, reporting requirements, and the definition of an "election."

More information. For other tax law changes affecting political organizations, see the 2000 Form 1120-POL, U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Political Organizations.

New Schedule B (Form 990 or 990-EZ) to List Contributors

Organizations that file Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, or Form 990-EZ, Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, may now be required to attach a completed Schedule B, Schedule of Contributors, to their returns. All organizations must file the new Schedule B if they receive contributions, gifts, grants, or any similar amounts of $5,000 or more from any one contributor. Section 501(c)(7), 501(c)(8), or 501(c)(10) organizations must file the new Schedule B if they receive any contribution during the year for certain purposes (for example, charitable or religious) even if the total amount received is less than $5,000.

A Schedule B (Form 990 or 990-EZ) filed for a section 527 political organization is open to public inspection. A Schedule B filed for other organizations is not open to public inspection.

For more information, see the instructions for Schedule B (Form 990 or 990-EZ).

Disclosure Rules for Private Foundations

New disclosure rules for private foundations went into effect in 2000. A private foundation filing an annual return due on or after March 13, 2000, must follow the same disclosure rules as other tax-exempt organizations such as:

• Making copies of its exemption application and its annual information returns available for public inspection without charge at its principal, regional, and district offices during regular business hours, and
• Providing copies to individuals who request them.

A private foundation can also make its documents widely available by posting them on the Internet. The foundation is no longer required to publish a notice in the newspaper stating its annual return is available for public inspection at its principal office. Unlike other tax-exempt organizations, a private foundation must disclose the names and addresses of its contributors.

New Form 8868 to Request Extension of Time to File

An exempt organization can use the new Form 8868, Application for Extension of Time to File an Exempt Organization Return, to request an automatic 3-month extension of time (6 months for Form 990-T corporations) to file its return. Organizations can also use Form 8868 to apply for an additional (not automatic) 3-month extension if the original 3-month extension was not enough time. For more information, see the instructions for Form 8868.

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