Politics & Government
IRS Revokes Tax-Exempt Status of 33 Spring Valley Nonprofits
Approximately 275,000 nonprofits throughout the U.S. were affected. The IRS said the revocation was due to organizations failing to file necessary tax forms for three consecutive years.
The Internal Revenue Service has revoked tax-exempt status for approximately 275,000 nonprofit organizations because they had failed to file “legally required annual reports for three consecutive years,” according to an agency press release.
A total of 33 Spring Valley-based nonprofits, including Dictionary Hill Citizens, 24 Carrot Rabbit Club and the Apostolic Singles Association were among those named. Attempts to locate working phone numbers and/or websites for any of the Spring Valley-area organizations were unsuccessful.
“The IRS believes the vast majority of these organizations are defunct,” the agency said in a press release.
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Sara Koslow, manager of communications for the National Council of Nonprofits, said that the revocations will help “give us better data on the sector.”
“Many of these nonprofits are either defunct, have consolidated with a larger chapter or were created around an event that happened 30 years ago,” Koslow said. “There is no Chamber of Commerce for the nonprofit sector, so it’s hard to know how many are here and how many are there. This will only help improve the data and analytics of what’s actually out there.”
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The revocations are directly tied to the Pension Protection Act, which Congress passed in 2006. Prior to that time, Koslow said nonprofits grossing less than $50,000 in annual donations did not have to file form 990, otherwise known as a Return or Organization Exempt from Income Tax form.
IRS representatives said they have been diligent in their effort to reach out to organizations that have not been compliant to let them know the law had changed.
“For several years, the IRS has made an extensive effort to inform organizations of the changes in the law through multiple outreach and education avenues, including mailing more than 1 million notices to organizations that had not filed,” the agency said in a press release.
City of San Diego Business Tax Manager Ricardo Ramos said that his office received notice from the IRS regarding how nonprofits would be affected should they fail to file form 990.
“Municipalities were asked to try to get the word out,” Ramos said. “We posted a sign in our lobby, but nonprofits aren’t required to register with us, and not too many come into our office.”
Koslow said that if an organization was unaware of the need to file form 990, the National Council of Nonprofits has a tip-sheet on how to get their tax exempt status back. The IRS also has a YouTube video further explaining how to start that process. Nonprofits eligible for reinstatement will be required to fill out an application and pay a reinstatement fee.
