Washington (May 6, 2002) -- The Internal Revenue Service says that certain tax-exempt political organizations may file required forms by July 15, 2002. The voluntary compliance program for political organizations that failed to file or filed incorrectly will promote maximum disclosure to the public before upcoming general elections.
"We realize there has been some confusion about the filing requirement imposed on political organizations in the 2000 legislation," said Steven T. Miller, Director of IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division. "Some political organizations may have either failed to file or filed incompletely."
The additional time to file forms applies to any section 527 organization. Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code provides tax-exempt status for political organizations, including political party committees, political action committees (PACs) and federal, state and local candidate committees. Political committees and organizations that receive $25,000 or more in gross receipts and wish to be tax exempt under section 527 must file certain information forms.
After July 15, 2002, the IRS will assert any applicable tax, penalty or interest for late filing against so-called section 527 political organizations that have not complied with the reporting requirements. The IRS also reminds political organizations that their forms must be provided to the public upon request at either their main business location or web site. Many forms also are posted on IRS.gov.
-- Electronic Accountant Newswire staff
