By BECKY THOMAS
Staff Reporter
Several small clubs and organizations located on the West Plains will lose their tax-exempt status if they don't file with the IRS by Friday, Oct. 15.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 required small non-profit organizations to file forms with the IRS every year, whether or not they were tax exempt, in an effort to keep records up-to-date.
The IRS provided relief to organizations that failed to file the last three years, but those groups that don't respond will be required to re-apply for tax exempt status, a costly and time-consuming process.
A list of groups that are at risk of losing their status is available online, at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/wa.pdf.
Cheney Historical Museum director Joan Mamanakis said she was informed of the change through larger museum associations, but when she checked the list she said she saw a lot of local groups.
“I started seeing a whole bunch of organizations that are in the Cheney area that I recognized,” she said. “I'm just not sure if those people know or not.”
Mamanakis said she thought most of the West Plains organizations on the list were small and were only required to file an electronic notice, or E-postcard, also available on the IRS website.
Organizations still on the list or at-risk organizations early this week included area granges, fraternal organizations and charities.
“If you don't file and they drop you off the list, you have to reapply from scratch,” Mamanakis said. The application for tax-exempt status involves a long application form and a fee of several hundred dollars.
According to an IRS press release, an extensive outreach effort was conducted, but many organizations have not responded. The filing deadline was extended from April to Oct. 15 following an outcry that the information was not publicized adequately.
More information is available at http://www.irs.gov/charities.
Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)