OIG Authorizes Arrangement to Pay for MRI Services
On November 20, 2015, OIG issued a favorable advisory opinion, Advisory Opinion No. 15-14, regarding a charitable organization’s arrangement to pay for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services for...
View Article"Tips from IRS for Year-End Gifts to Charity"
On November 25, the Internal Revenue Service published "Tips from IRS for Year-End Gifts to Charity." The goal was to remind "individuals and businesses making year-end gifts to charity that several...
View ArticleSupreme Court Agrees to Hear Contraceptive Mandate Cases
As part of its requirement that non-grandfathered group health plans provide benefits for certain preventive care without cost sharing, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) requires these plans to cover at...
View ArticleReceiving a Deduction for Your Charitable Contribution on Giving Tuesday
Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, so ths blog post focuses on ensuring that you are doing everything necessary to receive your charitable deduction, especially in light of a recent court decision....By:...
View ArticleUnderstanding Charities, Foundations, and Tax-Exempt Organizations
On "Giving Tuesday" 2015, Nexsen Pruet attorney Sue Odom shares some insight into the structure and arms of the organizations that touch our lives - and the legal issues involved. These organizations...
View ArticleWealth Management Update - December 2015
December Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - The December § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as...
View ArticleYear-End Checklist for Tax-Exempt Organizations
As the holidays approach and 2015 comes to a close, Officers and Directors are well advised to confirm that important year-end responsibilities have been addressed. Even if your organization has a...
View ArticleLooking Ahead for Tax-Exempt Organizations: IRS Priorities in 2016
Sunita Lough, IRS Commissioner of the Tax-Exempt and Governmental Entities Division (TE/GE), recently released the TE/GE Priority Letter for FY 2016. Rather than focusing on specific tax issues, the...
View ArticleLLCs: A New Horizon for Charitable Giving?
When Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that he was giving away up to 99 percent of his Facebook shares (valued at approximately $45 billion), he was severely criticized for it. Zuckerberg and his wife...
View ArticleCreating a Social Network of Tax Savings: The Use of LLCs in Structuring...
The use of a limited liability company (LLC) by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan as the vehicle for advancing of “philanthropic, public advocacy, and other activities for the public good”...
View ArticleIRS’s New, Optional Donor Form Causes Confusion
On September 16, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations to provide an alternative method for substantiating charitable contribution deductions. In connection with these...
View ArticleThe IRS’ Proposed Regulations to Provide a Substitute to the “Contemporaneous...
If you are a donor who makes a charitable gift of $250 or more, you need to obtain a “contemporaneous written acknowledgment” (CWA) letter from the recipient charitable organization to substantiate...
View ArticleRecent Amendments to the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013
On July 1, 2014, the New York Nonprofit Revitalization Act of 2013 (the Revitalization Act) came into effect and brought about major changes for all New York nonprofit corporations, including education...
View ArticlePooled Special Needs Trust Accused Of Overspending on Legal Fees
An Indiana-based pooled special needs trust has been accused of passing along some $2.4 million in legal fees to the trust beneficiaries without explaining what the fees were actually used for. A...
View ArticleMind the GAAP: Financial Reporting Impact of New Accounting Standards for...
In April of this year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) circulated a series of proposed changes to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applicable to certain...
View ArticleBill Passed to Amend the New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law
On December 11, 2015 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into a law a bill amending New York’s Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (the “NPCL”), Estates Powers and Trusts Law (the “EPTL”) and Religious...
View ArticleOIG Tightens Requirements of Prior Favorable Advisory Opinion on Charity...
On December 7, 2015, OIG posted a modification adding additional strictures to a prior favorable Advisory Opinion (No. 07-11) regarding a charity’s operation of a patient assistance program (PAP) to...
View ArticleCharities and Mission Investing
Private foundations, community foundations, and other public charities and nonprofit organizations are seeking different, and sometimes innovative, ways to further their charitable purposes. One area...
View ArticlePutting Food Donation Liability Protection Laws to Use
Although many of us will share a bountiful table of food with loved ones this holiday season, there are many for whom putting food on the table is a struggle (and not just during the holidays). At the...
View ArticleIRA Charitable Rollover Made Permanent
On December 18, 2015, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the "Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act." Section Q of the Act amends the tax...
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