REFRESH: Five Tax Traps for Business Lawyers Advising Nonprofit Organizations

Welcome to EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource. I'm Cynthia Rowland, and this is Episode 161 of the EO Radio Show. This episode is the second refresh of episode 19, titled “Five Tax Traps for Business Lawyers Advising Nonprofit Organizations.” The original episode was released in October 2022 and was first refreshed in June 2025. Since then, the legal landscape has shifted enough to warrant another update. 

The traps themselves have not changed. Rather, recent developments provide new illustrations of why these issues remain important. The original episode continues to serve as an excellent reminder of the issue-spotting skills that are essential to the competent representation of charitable organizations. 

The five major traps covered in the episode are: 

1. Federal taxes that apply to tax-exempt organizations. 

2. Potential liability of volunteer officers and directors when a charity fails to remit employment taxes to the IRS. 

3. Advocacy, lobbying, and political campaign intervention rules. 

4. Insider compensation rules. 

5. Federal Form 990 filing obligations. 

Recent developments provide useful context for understanding how these traps can still catch even careful organizations. 

Show Notes:

EO Radio Show #84: Nonprofit Book Review: ABA Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations

EO Radio Show #107: Nonprofit Basics: Unrelated Business Income Tax: Basic Rules for Charities – Part 1

EO Radio Show #108: Nonprofit Basics: Unrelated Business Income Tax: Modifications and Exceptions – Part 2

EO Radio Show #109: Nonprofit Basics: Unrelated Business Income Tax: Debt Financed Income – Part 3

EO Radio Show YouTube Playlist: Nonprofit Basics

IRS Form 990 and Schedules A through R: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-990

IRS Form 990 EZ: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-990-ez

IRS Form 990-N https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-electronic-filing-requirement-for-small-exempt-organizations-form-990-n-e-postcard

Description of Statutory Employees https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-who-is-a-statutory-employee

EO Radio Show #6: Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 1: Candidate Campaign Intervention

EO Radio Show #7: Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 2: Legislative Lobbying Activities by Public Charities

EO Radio Show #8: Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 3: Private Foundation Approaches to Policy Advocacy Allowed by the Internal Revenue Code

If you have suggestions for topics you would like us to discuss, please email us at [email protected]. Additional episodes can be found at EORadioShowByFarella.com.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, legal advice or opinion.