Is my organization tax-exempt?

This is a different kind of exempt

• Organization-level exemption has nothing to do with your paycheck or your personal return.
• It is about whether an entity itself is exempt from tax on its income.

Exempt status is granted, not assumed

• An organization must be both organized and operated for an exempt purpose the statute lists.
• Exempt status does not mean exempt from everything: employment taxes, unrelated business income, and filing obligations can still apply.

For the donor side

• Whether a gift is deductible is a separate question from whether the organization is exempt, and it has its own rules and paperwork.

What it turns on

• the organization's governing documents and stated purpose
• what it actually does in practice, not only what it says
• whether it applied for and received recognition of exemption
• whether it has unrelated business income

What would make it not apply

• the organization is not operated for a purpose the statute lists
• earnings benefit a private individual in a way the statute forbids
• required annual filings were not made and status was revoked

The law, quoted

Sources: IRC §501 · IRC §170 · Pub 526. Each passage below is copied from the document VALID fetched, with the start of its SHA-256 fingerprint.

(A) organized in the United States or any of its possessions, and (B) no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. (4) In the case of a contribution or gift by an individual, a domestic fraternal society, order, or association, operating under the lodge system, but only if such contribution or gift is to be used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. (5) A cemetery company owned and operated exclusively for the benefit of its members, or any corporation chartered solely for burial purposes as a cemetery corporation and not permitted …

IRC §170 — (A) organized in the United States or any of its possessions, and · law in effect September 29, 2026 · fingerprint c10e61a2c046

(2) A corporation, trust, or community chest, fund, or foundation- (A) created or organized in the United States or in any possession thereof, or under the law of the United States, any State, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States; (B) organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals; (C) no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual; …

IRC §170 — (2) A corporation, trust, or community chest, fund, or foundation- · law in effect September 29, 2026 · fingerprint c10e61a2c046

(13) Cemetery companies owned and operated exclusively for the benefit of their members or which are not operated for profit; and any corporation chartered solely for the purpose of the disposal of bodies by burial or cremation which is not permitted by its charter to engage in any business not necessarily incident to that purpose and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. (14)(A) Credit unions without capital stock organized and operated for mutual purposes and without profit. (B) Corporations or associations without capital stock organized before September 1, 1957, and operated for mutual purposes and without profit for the …

IRC §501 — (I) the calendar year preceding the start-up year, or · law in effect September 29, 2026 · fingerprint 6907d79660ca