More than 5,000 Colorado charities and 275,000 charities nationwide had their tax-exempt status revoked by the Internal Revenue Service.
A list of organizations that have failed to file returns or notices with the IRS for three years and have had their status automatically revoked was posted on the IRS website Wednesday.
Previously, organizations grossing less than $25,000 annually weren’t required to file tax returns. The auto-revocation is part of the 2006 Pension Protection Act, the Denver Business Journal reported Thursday.
Most of the charities on the list are presumed to be defunct, IRS spokeswoman Lea Crusberg said.
According to an IRS statement, there should be little, if any, impact on donors who previously made tax-deductible contributions to any of the auto-revoked organizations.
However, organizations that are on the auto-revocation list that are not reinstated are no longer eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, and any income they receive may be taxable.
“During the past several years, the IRS has gone the extra mile to help make tax-exempt groups aware of their legal filing requirement and allow them additional time to file,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement posted on the IRS website. “Still, we realize there may be some legitimate organizations, especially very small ones, that were unaware of their new filing requirement. We are taking additional steps for these groups to maintain their tax-exempt status without jeopardizing their operations or harming their donors.”
Organizations on the list can apply for reinstatement.
To see the IRS list of Colorado charities that lost tax-exempt status visit: /co.pdf
