满年选举后,许多非盈利者对允许与选举相关和游说或倡导活动范围有疑问,根据国税法第501(c)(3)节被确认为免责的组织可参与其中。该职位将是系列讨论这些问题的第一个职位

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As most 501(c)(3) organizations are well aware, they are prohibited from engaging in any electioneering activities.  This prohibition comes from the language of Section 501(c)(3) itself, which describes an organization exempt under that Section as one that "does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."  The general idea is that an organization is not operated exclusively for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) if it engages in activities intended to impact the outcome of an election.  But what does this language really mean in practice?

In simple terms, a 501(c)(3) organization may not directly or indirectly engage in or sponsor any activity that supports or opposes any candidate for public office.  A "candidate" for purposes of this prohibition includes "an individual who offers himself [or herself], or is proposed by others, as a contestant for an elective public office…".  The prohibition applies not only to declared candidates, but also to third-party movements and efforts to encourage or discourage someone from running for office.  "Public office" for these purposes refers to any position that is filled by a vote of the people.  This includes elected offices at the local, state, and federal level, as well as party nominations, and is not limited only to partisan positions.  However, it does not extend to appointed public official positions, such as some judges and executive nominees (although note that activities related to such appointments may constitute lobbying if the appointments are subject to legislative confirmation).

The prohibition on election intervention includes publishing or distributing written statements or making oral statements on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate, including on social media.  It also includes using any of the organization's resources to support or oppose a candidate, such as by making a contribution to a campaign, preparing a research report for the use of only one campaign or certain campaigns, or sharing the organization's mailing list with a specific campaign for free.  However, it generally also includes less obvious activities, such as coordinating activities with a campaign, distributing campaign materials at an organizational event, or using code words in a communication to refer to a candidate other than by name.

确定特定行为是否构成不允许选举时,国税局将查看所有相关事实和情况,虽然没有明确测试使用,但国税局表示,在判定特定通信是否构成禁止选举时可考虑的因素包括:

• 确定公共职务候选人或候选人对通信主题的立场
• 表示赞成或反对候选人职位或行动
• 时间消息贴近选举
• 指选或投
• 目标对象,包括它是否以选民为目标
• 消息如何与候选人和政党通信相关,以及它是否讨论曾被提出为特定职位区分候选人的问题
• 是否是组织就同一问题持续数列通信的一部分,这些通信独立于任何选举时间
• 时间联系和识别候选人是否与选举以外的特定事件相关(如定时立法表决)

If a 501(c)(3) organization engages in any amount of prohibited electioneering, it runs the risk of having its tax-exempt status revoked by the IRS, either permanently or for a specified period during which the activities occurred.  The IRS also has the authority to impose a tax of 10 percent of the expenditure associated with the electioneering activities on the organization and a tax of 2.5 percent on organizational managers who knowingly and willfully approved a prohibited expenditure, up to a total of $5,000.  If the IRS does impose either tax and the expenditure is not corrected within the appropriate period, an additional tax of 100 percent of the prohibited expenditure may be imposed on the organization and an additional tax of 50 percent may be imposed on the individual managers, up to a total of $10,000.

501(c)(3)组织必须小心避免参与被禁止运动干预,但并非所有与选举有关的活动都完全禁止这些组织。 我们将讨论某些允许非党派选举相关活动,这些活动可以(如果仔细做的话)参与,而不会危及组织在本系列附加博客文章中的免责状态

请注意,本类文章意在解决部分联邦税法问题,可能适用于国内税收法第501(c)(3)节确认免税的组织,然而,这些文章并不处理其他可能适用的法律、注册或报告要求,包括但不限于州税法问题、联邦选举法或州选法,目前超出本博客范畴。