Church EIN

[joanmcq]

TP getting audited for charitable, and one deduction (quite large) is being denied because a) letter from org is not signed
b) the auditor says the EIN is not on their list of churches.

Does anyone know a way of validating an EIN?

[ChEAr$]

well this is interesting

TP getting audited for charitable, and one deduction (quite large) is being denied because a) letter from org is not signed
b) the auditor says the EIN is not on their list of churches.

Does anyone know a way of validating an EIN?

Other than requesting said information from the church itself, no. (Privacy concerns etc)

I've had a case where IRS wanted a letter from the church, yes. But the real question
is whether IRS can insist that the organization in question, typically a small church with
no real treasurer or financial controls, actually be registered.

IMWTK!

[MAMalody]

TP getting audited for charitable, and one deduction (quite large) is being denied because a) letter from org is not signed
b) the auditor says the EIN is not on their list of churches.

Does anyone know a way of validating an EIN?

Is he saying the EIN is not a valid EIN, or that the church is not listed as a 501(c)(3) org? It is not required to be listed to be considered a church. It only has to meet the basic criteria unless the IRS has already investigated it and determined it is not a church...which is very rare.

Has the church filed W-2s or 941s with that EIN? In so, and no comments from the IRS, the EIN is okay.

[Koss]

Church EIN

TP getting audited for charitable, and one deduction (quite large) is being denied because a) letter from org is not signed
b) the auditor says the EIN is not on their list of churches.

Does anyone know a way of validating an EIN?

I would definitely take this up with the auditor's supervisor. Sounds to me like the guy is on another planet. A signature is not required on a receipt for a donation. I'm sure some taxpayers have tried to use fraudulent documents at times, but the presence or absence of a signature is not what determines the adequacy of the documentation, at least with respect to a charitable donation.

As the other posts have observed, there is no "list of churches." The IRS website actually explains that most churches are not registered as 501(c)(3) orgs because they are not required to seek tax-exempt status. They are automatically tax-exempt because they are churches.

If it sounds a bit circular, that's because it is. An organization that defines itself as a church, to some degree, is entitled to a presumption that it IS a church unless the IRS actually rules otherwise. But the auditor is not conducting an audit of the church; I don't think he can go there. If the church is listed in the phone book, and registered with the state, and holds regular services or something, you should be able to win this argument with the auditor's boss...

I ran into this nonsense a few years ago when trying to get a church approved for matching donations by a foundation. The foundation said they weren't on the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations, and when I explained that churches are generally not on that list, they said they wanted a "no record church letter." The treasurer of the church had to call the IRS and request this silly document.

It's a letter that explains that "the IRS has no record of your organization as a tax exempt entity." The letter then goes on to explain the law, i.e., that churches are inherently tax exempt and do not need IRS approval. And then the letter explains that the issuance of the letter does not mean that the IRS has determined that the organization is or is not a church.

So the letter doesn't really mean anything with respect to that particular organization. It's just an explanation of why churches aren't on the list. Somehow, this letter is a requirement for the foundation I was working with, in order for the church to get matching contributions.

Burton M. Koss
koss@usakoss.net