Legal Compliance & Transparency

Employer Health Care Arrangements - The IRS released Notice 2015-17 containing long hoped for penalty relief and guidance regarding employer medical reimbursement arrangements.

Understanding a nonprofit’s costs is necessary in order for charitable nonprofits to be financially sustainable. Rather than reporting artificially low costs, or ignoring what it really costs to deliver programs and services, the National Council of Nonprofits is encouraging all nonprofits and board members to model transparency of full costs. (National Council of Nonprofits)

#OwnYourOwnCosts

Annual Filing and Forms - Exempt organizations are required to file annual returns, although there are exceptions. If an organization does not file a required return or files late, the IRS may assess penalties. In addition, if an organization does not file as required for three consecutive years, it automatically loses its tax-exempt status.

Financial Transparency - Earning trust through financial transparency and accountability goes beyond what the law requires, but let’s start there: Nonprofits are required to disclose certain financial information to the public upon request; board members have access to financial information in order to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the nonprofit. (National Council of Nonprofits)

About Form 990 - Tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations file this form to provide the IRS with the information required by section 6033. View the series of IRS documents for Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF, their schedules and instructions: Current Form 990 Series - Forms and Instructions. (IRS)

Four Things Every Nonprofit Contracting with Government Should Do - "The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rules known as the Uniform Guidance went into effect at the end of 2014, streamlining the rules governing administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements on federal awards, removing inconsistencies in the old circulars.

Whether your nonprofit is more like an intimate family or an enormous well-oiled machine, fraud can occur, and when it happens, it can damage your reputation, relationships with funders, and staff morale. In other words, you can't afford it. (Nonprofit Quarterly)

Maximizing Nonprofit Internal Controls: An Essential Guide for Even the Most Pure

With any luck, the dust is beginning to settle after a flurry of development activity during the calendar year end. Now is the time to inventory your organization’s fundraising practices and procedures to ensure that they are not only compelling but also legally compliant.

The National Council of Nonprofits created this Nonprofit Audit Guide to provide charitable nonprofits with the tools they need to make informed decisions about independent audits.

Table of Contents

Certain nonprofit entities are allowed semiannual refunds of sales and use taxes they pay on direct purchases and leases of tangible personal property and services. Learn more about form E-585, "Nonprofit and Governmental Entity Claim For Refund State and County Sales and Use Taxes," and how your organization can request refunds. (N.C. Department of Revenue)

Questions Regarding Form E-585