IR-2002-123, Nov. 21, 2002
WASHINGTON ¨C The Internal Revenue Service today outlined new reporting requirements that exempt many state and local political organizations from filing certain forms.
A new law changes filing requirements for many political organizations that have tax- exempt status under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. It also makes the changes retroactive to July 1, 2000, when the reporting requirements became mandatory.
¡°The new provisions eliminate the need for many political organizations to file certain federal tax reports and returns. We hope this will provide greater clarity for 527 organizations,¡± said Steven T. Miller, Director of IRS¡¯s Exempt Organizations Division.
The new law:
- Exempts state and local candidate and party committees from filing Form 8871 and Form 990 (or 990?EZ);
- Exempts qualified state and local political organizations (QSLPOs) from filing Form 8872;
- Exempts political committees filing with the FEC from filing Form 990 (or 990-EZ);
- Exempts political organizations that are a caucus or association of state or local officials from filing Form 990 (or 990?EZ);
- Requires additional information on Form 8871 and Form 8872;
- Requires the filing of an amended Form 8871 after material changes to maintain tax?exempt status;
- Increases reporting thresholds for certain Form 990 filers;
- Eliminates the requirement to file Form 1120-POL except where an organization has taxable income after taking the $100 specific deduction (returning to pre-July 2000 requirements);
- Reinstates the pre-July 2000 confidentiality requirement for any Form 1120-POL filed after November 2, 2002; and
- Changes the electronic filing requirements by
- Requiring that Form 8871 be filed electronically (as opposed to both in writing and electronically); and
- Requiring that any Form 8872 due after June 30, 2003, be filed electronically if the filing organization has or expects to have contributions or expenditures of more than $50,000 during the calendar year.
A more complete description of filing requirements for political organizations can be found in FS-2002-13. Political organizations can call the IRS Tax Exempt Customer Account Service toll-free number at 1-877-829-5500. Assistance is available 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
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