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Do you contribute to a small community nonprofit? In Connecticut, more than 5,000 of these organizations will lose their tax-exempt statuses unless they hustle to file federal tax returns by Oct. 15. You'll find the list of endangered charities here. If you're connected to any of them, give them a call. They may not realize that they're on the chopping block.
Formerly, nonprofits weren't required to file returns if they collected less than $25,000 in nongrant contributions. That changed in 2006. Starting in tax year 2007, all organizations no matter how small have had to report to the Internal Revenue Service. They lose their tax exemptions automatically if they fail to file for three straight years. It's now 2010, and the jig is up.
In Darien, 30 organizations are on the list. Joel Zaremby, president of the West Norwalk Association, said in an e-mail, "We have already taken care of this and refiled. It was simply a matter of not being informed as we should be." Gretchen Brooks, co-president of Darien Advocates for Education of the Gifted Inc., said in an email, "DAEG is aware of this tax matter and is filing under appropriate extensions."
Originally, tax returns were due not later than May 17. The IRS extended the deadline because so many nonprofits hadn't gotten the message. Online filing is easy just look here.
What if you've made a donation to a charity on the at-risk list? It's still tax deductible. The organization won't lose its tax-exempt status until the IRS updates its list of revoked organizations in January. A group that loses its status and wants to restore it will have to apply for a tax exemption all over again, including the application fee.
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