Linda Gabor, CPA, CFE, Partner, leads the firm’s audit practice, Employee Benefits practice, and Peer Review practice.   Her clients include various not-for-profit organizations.   For more information about tax-exempt entities, contact Linda at 315.701.6346 or [email protected].

To qualify as a tax-exempt entity, a not-for-profit organization must comply with certain federal income tax laws. And to prove compliance, you must maintain records. There’s no required record keeping system. In fact, your organization can choose any system that suits its activities and clearly shows your income and expenses.

1. To help monitor programs. Records can show whether programs are successful or improving and what changes an organization may need to make. In fact, good records management can be a contributing factor to the success of a program.

2. To assist in preparing financial statements. It’s essential to maintain revenue and expense statements and balance sheets to prepare accurate financial statements that can be used when working with banks, creditors, contributors and funding organizations.

3. To prepare tax returns. Your organization’s records must substantiate income, expenses, and credits reported on Form 990 series and other tax returns. These are generally the same records needed to monitor programs and prepare financial statements. Also, keep in mind that books and records of exempt organizations must be available for the IRS to inspect. You may be asked to explain items reported or missing from returns. Careful record keeping speeds up IRS examinations and usually results in better outcomes.

4. To identify where receipts came from. Your organization may receive money or property from many sources. To identify these sources, you need good records and need to be able to separate program from non-program receipts, taxable from non-taxable income, and to complete Form 990. Part of that form requires your organization to show how much support you receive from specific contributors.

5. To comply with other non-tax requirements. For example, private schools must keep records that show they’ve complied with requirements relating to racial nondiscrimination. There are a number of employment records that must be maintained.

6. To record deductible expenses for Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) purposes. If you don’t record expenses when they occur, your organization may overlook deductible expenses when it prepares its UBIT return.

ABOUT GROSSMAN ST. AMOUR CPAs PLLC
Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC virtual doors are open and we are assisting clients with audit, accounting, and tax issues as well as matters relating to COVID-19.  As a certified public accounting firm located in central New York, Grossman St. Amour CPAs has been in business for 63 years.

The firm provides businesses and individuals with accounting, audit, taxation, business planning and valuation, financial planning, investment consulting, and fraud examination and deterrence services.  For more information about how Grossman St. Amour CPAs PLLC can be of service to you, contact our professionals.

Grossman St. Amour CPA PLLC provides the information on this website and social media platform for general guidance only.  The firm does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers.

Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation.  Tax articles on this platform are not intended to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding accuracy-related penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided “as is”, with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.