What is in Your Church's Public Record?

By Raul Rivera

When it comes to getting good information on the topic of 501(c)(3) status for churches and ministries, the Internet leads the way in creating confusion.  It seems that just about everyone has an opinion that is either in favor of or opposition to it.  What I do not ever hear about or read is how the 501(c)(3) is the church's public record and how it can protect the church from future attack.  I will show later when I share three reasons why you should get your 501(c)(3) before the year ends.

What is 501(c)(3)?

So, what exactly is 501(c)(3) status? Why is there so much talk about it?  501(c)(3) is actually a section of the tax code that is part of the greater section 501 that lists who qualifies to receive tax exempt status, and it includes churches, ministries, schools, hospitals and other organizations.  The (c)(3) part of section 501 lists the requirements that need to be met in order for an organization to be tax exempt.  Are you certain that your ministry operates in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of section 501(c)(3)?  I often hear people say that they believe a church should never get 501(c)(3) status and they even encourage others to either not apply or to turn theirs in.  This belief comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of the law and how it applies to churches.  They are under the false impression that applying for 501(c)(3) status will make their church or ministry subject to the IRS.  It is a matter of settled law that churches and ministries are subject to IRS regulation even in the absence of specific recognition of 501(c)(3) status.  It is cemented by recent court rulings such as JACK LANE TAYLOR, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, and BRANCH MINISTRIES, INC. Petitioner v. CHARLES O. ROSSOTTI.  These two cases establish two things.

1. That there is no provision in the law that grants a church immunity from meeting the requirements of section 501(c)(3) if that church or ministry wants to be tax exempt.  
2. The presumption of tax exempt status does not exist unless the church has been officially recognized by the IRS to meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3). I will explain this one later.

But does that regulation mean that the IRS can invade your church's freedom of religion, speech and doctrinal teachings?  The answer is, "Absolutely NOT."  In fact, there is no law or regulation in existence that limits what ministers can preach from the pulpit.   Even more so, the courts have upheld the church's right to free speech from the pulpit even when the IRS has attempted to regulate it. Despite these facts there are some groups that teach the contrary by saying that any church that gets 501(c)(3) status must sign a waiver to forfeit their 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech rights.  At best, they are mislead and at worst, flat out dishonest. 

Three compelling reasons to get it before the year ends

There are many good reasons to get 501(c)(3) status.  They range from getting preferred postage rates, property tax exemptions, and the ability to apply for sales tax exemption to enabling you to qualify for many grants. 

While these benefits are great to have, let me share three compelling reasons to get 501(c)(3) status before the year ends. 

1. Donors who want to give large gifts will ask for it:  I have always preached that the biggest part of receiving a blessing is being ready for it when it comes.  As the end of the year approaches, high net worth individuals look for places to make large contributions.  Because of the size of the contribution, they want to be sure that their contribution will be tax deductible.  Without the 501(c)(3) you cannot guarantee them that it will be.  As promised earlier, here is the further explanation tax how tax exempt status cannot be presumed without official tax exempt status.  In the case, Branch Ministries v. Rossotti, the court ruled that while a church does not have to apply for 501(c)(3) status in order to be tax exempt, the presumption cannot be established unless the IRS gives a ruling that the church meets all of the 501(c)(3) criteria.  So what does this mean?  The court elaborated by saying that when a taxpayer makes a contribution to a church that has not received 501(c)(3) status, the taxpayer has the burden of proof on him/her to establish before the IRS that the church in fact meets all of the 501(c)(3) criteria.  When the IRS audits a taxpayer's tax return, it looks at the contributions to the church and checks in publication 78 to verify if the church has 501(c)(3) status.  If the church does not appear in that publication, then the taxpayer will have to prove that the church meets all of the 501(c)(3) criteria.  This "burden of proof" that is placed on the taxpayer will discourage high net worth individuals from giving to your church.
    
2. Increased reporting requirement:  The application for 501(c)(3) status requires you to list all of your past, present and future activities.  Therefore, the longer you wait, the more history you will have to report. It's better to spend time reporting the current and future of the church than it's past.

3. It creates your church's public record:  When your church gets its official 501(c)(3) status, it now has a public record that tells the world it is an exclusively religious organization and that it is a church.  Moreover, you are also telling the world your biblical position on certain issues such as member privacy, standard of living, same-sex marriage and your church's form of government.  Your church's biblical position matters because the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference or intrusion.  That is why the content of your church's 501(c)(3) is so important. I have read many 501(c)(3) applications that have been approved.  Many are deficient of the necessary language that could one day protect the church.  Here is what I know.  What you include and exclude and how you say it matters.  It is not enough to take a minimalist approach to just get approved. That is actually a very bad idea.  While this topic is extensive and I could write an entire chapter on it, I will move on for now.  We cover it in extensive detail at our conferences.  

Is one 501(c)(3) better than another?

As you consider your options on the 501(c)(3), keep in mind that the 501(c)(3) is your public record.  It is of utmost importance that your public record accurately reflect your heart, vision, doctrines and most of all contain provisions that protect you from certain public policies that are contrary to God's Word.  Never buy into the concept of quick and easy 501(c)(3) status.  There are groups that teach and promote keeping the 501(c)(3) application simple by taking a cookie cutter approach to getting approved and then making changes to your bylaws and other important corporate documents.  This is not only deceptive, but it is harmful to your ministry because more often than not the changes are not made and even if they are, IRS letter 947 requires your church to submit those changes for further reconsideration.  This is a bad proposition that will cost you more time and money in the long run.