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MSVFA is a registered 501 (c) (6) non-profit corporation

Online Compendium of Federal and State Regulations for U.S. Nonprofit Organizations

Tax-Exempt Organization Reference Chart

Derived from "IRS Publication 557: Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization (1997)"

Note: This table may not include every type of organization that qualifies for some form of federal tax-exemption. It should not be considered legal advice or otherwise used to determine matters of law, and is provided for educational purposes only. Please use official IRS materials to insure your information is completely up-to-date and accurate.

Section of 1986 Tax Code	Description of organization	General nature of activities	Application Form	Annual return required to be filed	Contributions allowable
501(c)(1)	Corporations Organized Under Act of Congress (including Federal Credit Unions)	Instrumentalities of the United States	No Form	None	Yes, if made for exclusively public purposes
501(c)(2)	Title Holding Corporation For Exempt Organization	Holding title to property of an exempt organization	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(3)	Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations	Activities of nature implied by description of class of organization	1023	990¹, 990EZ⁸, or 990-PF	Yes, generally
		All 501(c)(3) organizations are further categorized as one of five types under IRC 509(a):
		Sub-class	Section	Description
		Private foundations	All 501(c)(3) organizations that don't qualify as public charities. Some private foundations are additionally subclassified as private operating foundations or private non-operating foundations, which receive some of the advantages of public charities.
		Public charities	509(a)(1)	Publicly-supported charities.
			509(a)(2)	Exempt purpose activity-supported charities.
			509(a)(3)	Supporting organizations for 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) charities.
			509(a)(4)	Public safety charities.
501(c)(4)	Civic Leagues, Social Welfare Organizations, and Local Associations of Employees	Promotion of community welfare; charitable, educational or recreational	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No, generally ²^,³
501(c)(5)	Labor, Agricultural, and Horticultural Organizations	Educational or instructive, the purpose being to improve conditions of work, and to improve products and efficiency	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(6) (also here)	Business Leagues, Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, Etc.	Improvement of business conditions of one or more lines of business	1024	990 ¹ or 990EZ ⁸	No²
501(c)(7)	Social and Recreation Clubs	Pleasure, recreation, social activities	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(8)	Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and Associations	Lodge providing for payment of life, sickness, accident, or other benefits to members	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes, if for certain Sec. 501(c)(3) purposes
501(c)(9)	Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Associations	Providing for payment of life, sickness, accident or other benefits to members	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(10)	Domestic Fraternal Societies and Associations	Lodge devoting its net earnings to charitable, fraternal, and other specified purposes. No life, sickness, or accident benefits to members	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes, if for certain Sec. 501(c)(3) purposes
501(c)(11)	Teachers’ Retirement Fund Associations	Teachers’ association for payment of retirement benefits	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(12)	Benevolent Life Insurance Associations, Mutual Ditch or Irrigation Companies, Mutual or Cooperative Telephone Companies, Etc.	Activities of a mutually beneficial nature similar to those implied by the description of class of organization	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(13)	Cemetery Companies	Burials and incidental activities	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes, generally
501(c)(14)	State Chartered Credit Unions, Mutual Reserve Funds	Loans to members	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(15)	Mutual Insurance Companies or Associations	Providing insurance to members substantially at cost	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(16)	Cooperative Organizations to Finance Crop Operations	Financing crop operations in conjunction with activities of a marketing or purchasing association	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(17) (also here)	Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Trusts	Provides for payment of supplemental unemployment compensation benefits	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(18)	Employee Funded Pension Trust (created before June 25, 1959)	Payment of benefits under a pension plan funded by employees	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No²
501(c)(19)	Post or Organization of Past or Present Members of the Armed Forces	Activities implied by nature of organization	1024	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No, generally⁷
501(c)(20)	Group Legal Services Plan Organizations	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
501(c)(21)	Black Lung Benefit Trusts	Funded by coal mine operators to satisfy their liability for disability or death due to black lung diseases	No Form⁶	990-BL	No⁴
501(c)(22)	Withdrawal Liability Payment Fund	To provide funds to meet the liability of employers withdrawing from a multi-employer pension fund	No Form⁶	990 or 990EZ⁸	No⁵
501(c)(23)	Veterans Organization (created before 1880)	To provide insurance and other benefits to veterans	No Form⁶	990 or 990EZ⁸	No, generally⁷
501(c)(25)	Title Holding Corporations or Trusts with Multiple Parents	Holding title and paying over income from property to 35 or fewer parents or beneficiaries	1024	990 or 990EZ	No
501(c)(26)	State-Sponsored Organization Providing Health Coverage for High-Risk Individuals	Provides health care coverage to high-risk individuals	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No
501(c)(27)	State-Sponsored Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Organization	Reimburses members for losses under workers’ compensation acts	No Form⁶	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	No
501(d)	Religious and Apostolic Associations	Regular business activities. Communal religious community	No Form	1065⁹	No²
501(e)	Cooperative Hospital Service Organizations	Performs cooperative services for hospitals	1023	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes
501(f)	Cooperative Service Organizations of Operating Educational Organizations	Performs collective investment services for educational organizations	1023	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes
501(k)	Child Care Organization	Provides care for children	1023	990 or 990EZ⁸	Yes
501(n)	Charitable Risk Pools	Pools certain insurance risks of 501(c)(3)	1023	990¹ or 990EZ⁸	Yes
521(a)	Farmers’ Cooperative Associations	Cooperative marketing and purchasing for agricultural producers	1028	990-C	No

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¹ For exceptions to the filing requirement, see Chapter 2 and the Form instructions.

² An organization exempt under a Subsection of Code section 501 other than (c)(3), may establish a charitable fund, contributions to which are deductible. Such a fund must itself meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3) and the related notice requirements of section 508(a).

³ Contributions to volunteer fire companies and similar organizations are deductible, but only if made for exclusively public purposes.

⁴ Deductible as a business expense to the extent allowed by Code section 192.

⁵ Deductible as a business expense to the extent allowed by Code section 194A.

⁶ Application is by letter to the address shown on Form 8718. A copy of the organizing document should be attached and the letter should be signed by an officer.

⁷ Contributions to these organizations are deductible only if 90% or more of the organization's members are war veterans.

⁸ For limits on the use of Form 990EZ, see Chapter 2 and the general instructions for Form 990EZ (or Form 990).

⁹ Although the organization files a partnership return, all distributions are deemed dividends. The members are not entitled to ‘‘pass-through'' treatment of the organization's income or expenses.

Selected IRS Forms

Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax [Instructions]
Form 990EZ: Short Form Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax [Instructions]
Publication 557: Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization [also in Web/HTML format]

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IRS Publication 557

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501(c)(6) -- Business Leagues, Etc.

If your association wants to apply for recognition of exemption from federal income tax as a nonprofit business league, chamber of commerce, real estate board, board of trade, or professional football league (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players), it should file Form 1024. For a discussion of the procedure to follow, see chapter 1.

Your organization must indicate in its application form and attached statements that no part of its net earnings will benefit any private shareholder or individual and that it is not organized for profit or organized to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit (even if the business is operated on a cooperative basis or produces only sufficient income to be self-sustaining).

In addition, your organization must be primarily engaged in activities or functions that are the basis for its exemption. It must be primarily supported by membership dues and other income from activities substantially related to its exempt purpose.

A business league, in general, is an association of persons having some common business interest, the purpose of which is to promote that common interest and not to engage in a regular business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit. Trade associations and professional associations are considered business leagues.

Chamber of commerce. A chamber of commerce usually is composed of the merchants and traders of a city.

Board of trade. A board of trade often consists of persons engaged in similar lines of business. For example, a nonprofit organization formed to regulate the sale of a specified agricultural commodity to assure equal treatment of producers, warehouse workers, and buyers is a board of trade.

Chambers of commerce and boards of trade usually promote the common economic interests of all the commercial enterprises in a given trade community.

Real estate board. A real estate board consists of members interested in improving the business conditions in the real estate field. It is not organized for profit and no part of the net earnings benefits any private shareholder or individual.

General purpose. You must indicate in the material submitted with your application that your organization will be devoted to the improvement of business conditions of one or more lines of business as distinguished from the performance of particular services for individual persons. It must be shown that the conditions of a particular trade or the interests of the community will be advanced. Merely indicating the name of the organization or the object of the local statute under which it is created is not enough to demonstrate the required general purpose.

Line of business. This term generally refers either to an entire industry or to all components of an industry within a geographic area. It does not include a group composed of businesses that market a particular brand within an industry.

Common business interest. A common business interest of all members of the organization must be established by the application documents.

Examples. Activities that would tend to illustrate a common business interest are:

Promotion of higher business standards and better business methods and encouragement of uniformity and cooperation by a retail merchants association,
Education of the public in the use of credit,
Establishment of uniform casualty rates and compilation of statistical information by an insurance rating bureau operated by casualty insurance companies,
Establishment and maintenance of the integrity of a local commercial market,
Operation of a trade publication primarily intended to benefit an entire industry, and
Encouragement of the use of goods and services of an entire industry (such as a lawyer referral service whose main purpose is to introduce individuals to the use of the legal profession in the hope that they will enter into lawyer-client relationships on a paying basis as a result).

Improvement of business conditions Generally, this must be shown to be the purpose of the organization. This is not established by evidence of particular services that provide a convenience or economy to individual members in their businesses, such as advertising that carries the name of members, interest-free loans, assigning exclusive franchise areas, operation of a real estate multiple listing system, or operation of a credit reporting agency.

Stock or commodity exchange. A stock or commodity exchange is not a business league, chamber of commerce, real estate board, or board of trade and is not exempt under section 501(c)(6).

Legislative activity. An organization that is exempt under section 501(c)(6) may work for the enactment of laws to advance the common business interests of the organization's members.

Deduction not allowed for dues used for political or legislative activities. A taxpayer cannot deduct the part of dues or other payments to a business league, trade association, labor union, or similar organization that is for any of the following activities.

Influencing legislation.
Participating or intervening in a political campaign for, or against, any candidate for public office.
Trying to influence the general public, or part of the general public, with respect to elections, legislative matters, or referendums (also known as grassroots lobbying).
Communicating directly with certain executive branch officials to try to influence their official actions or positions.

See Dues Used for Lobbying or Political Activities under Required Disclosures in chapter 2 for more information. (end of page 3 of this document)

Exception for local legislation. Members may deduct dues (or assessments) to an organization that are for expenses of:

Appearing before, submitting statements to, or sending communications to members of a local council or similar governing body with respect to legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to the member, or
Communicating information between the member and the organization with respect to local legislation or proposed legislation of direct interest to the organization or the member.

Legislation or proposed legislation is of direct interest to a taxpayer if it will, or may reasonably be expected to, affect the taxpayer's trade or business.

De minimis exception. In-house expenditures of $2,000 or less for the year for activities (1) - (4) listed earlier will not prevent a deduction for dues, if the dues meet all other tests to be deductible as a business expense.

Grassroots lobbying. A tax-exempt trade association, labor union, or similar organization is considered to be engaging in grassroots lobbying if it contacts prospective members or calls upon its own members to contact their employees and customers for the purpose of urging such persons to communicate with their elected state or Congressional representatives to support the promotion, defeat, or repeal of legislation that is of direct interest to the organization. Any dues or assessments directly related to such activities are not deductible by the taxpayer, since the individuals being contacted, who are not members of the organization, are a segment of the general public.

Tax treatment of donations. Contributions to organizations described in this section are not deductible as charitable contributions on the donor's federal income tax return. They may be deductible as trade or business expenses if ordinary and necessary in the conduct of the taxpayer's business.

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Dues Used for Lobbying or Political Activities

Certain exempt organizations must notify anyone paying dues to the organization whether any part of the dues is not deductible because it is related to lobbying or political activities.

An organization must provide the notice if it is exempt from tax under section 501(a) and is one of the following.

1. A social welfare organization described in section 501(c)(4) that is not a veterans' organization.

2. An agricultural or horticultural organization described in section 501(c)(5).

3. A business league, chamber of commerce, real estate board, or other organization described in section 501(c)(6).

However, an organization described in (1), (2), or (3) does not have to provide the notice if it establishes that substantially all the dues paid to it are not deductible anyway or if certain other conditions are met. For more information, see Revenue Procedure 98–19 in Cumulative Bulletin 1998–1 or later update.

If the organization does not provide the required notice, it may have to pay a tax that is reported on Form 990–T. But the tax does not apply to any amount on which the section 527 tax has been paid on Form 1120–POL. See Political Organization Income Tax Return, earlier.

For more information about nondeductible dues, see Deduction not allowed for dues used for political or legislative activities under 501(c)(6) — Business Leagues, Etc.

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