How to Get 501c3 Tax-Exempt Status for Your Amateur Athletic Organization

So you've decided to form an organization for amateur athletes. Or perhaps you are an amateur athletic organization that has been in existence for a while and has decided to "get into compliance" with IRS rules. Whatever the case, the process is similar.

You'll need to prepare and file IRS Form 1023, Application for Tax Exempt Status. It is a long and complicated form but can be prepared successfully by most anyone willing to invest the time and effort to read the form instructions.

The most important part of the form is the narrative that describes your organization, its purposes and its activities. You have to convince the IRS that the organization actually qualifies for 501(c)(3) status.

You may qualify as an educational organization, or as an organization that promotes national or international sports competition and trains athletes for those competitions. The devil is in the details, as they say.

Fortunately, there is quite a lot of guidance published by the IRS on amateur athletics organizations.

Unfortunately, it can get pretty complicated.

That's where I can help. I've written a guide book and reference that brings all the IRS and Tax Court sources into one handy ebook that distills all the legal gobbledygook into easy-to-read plain English. And I've kept it to fewer than 90 pages.

I've also included in the ebook the descriptive narrative from Form 1023 of a high school booster club that I helped get 501c3 status so you can see exactly how its done. It's almost like having me right there with you giving you guidance. Below is the cover.

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HERE IS THE E-BOOK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction

Important Definitions

Why 501(c)(3)?

Amateur Athletic Organizations: The Big Picture

Characteristics of an Amateur Athletic Organization

The Confounding Problem Confronting the AAO

A Helpful Summary

Qualifying as an Amateur Athletic Organization

Evaluating the Organization

The Educational or Charitable AAO

Defining "Educational" and "Charitable"

IRS Revenue Rulings Useful for Establishing Exempt Status

Organized & Operated Exclusively for Charitable Purposes

Fostering National or International Amateur Sports Competition

The Need for an Amateur Sports Classification

1976: Amateur Athletic Provition

1982: Qualified Amateur Sports Organization Law

Common Problems and Barriers to Tax Exemption

Fundraising Activities of AAOs

Fundraising Profits and Corporate Income Tax

Private Inurement and Private Benefit

Athletic Booster Club Study Cases

Example #1 (This booster would not qualify as a 501c3)

Example #2 (This booster qualifies as a 501c3)

Analysis of Booster Club A and Booster Club B

Scholarships and Allowances to Amateur Athletes

Corporate Sponsorships vs. Advertising Revenue

Advertising Revenue

Qualified Sponsorships

Compensation Paid to Amateur Athletes

Deductibility of Contributions

Fundraising Contributions

Reference Materials

Understanding Internal Revenue Code Citations

Selected Text from the Internal Revenue Code

Section 501(a) Exemption from Taxation

Section 501(c)(3) Charitable Organizations

Section 501(c)(4) Social Welfare Organizations

Section 501(c)(7) Social Clubs

Section 501(j) Qualified Amateur Sports Organization

Treasury Regulations

Treasury Regulation 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(3) Defining Educational

Using Revenue Rulings to Persuade the IRS

Table of Helpful Revenue Rulings

Text of Revenue Rulings

Court Cases

Example Narrative Statement for IRS Form 1023

Your Articles of Incorporation

 

 

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