Every year around this time the IRS releases its t
o-do list for the upcoming year. The IRS calls it the Priority Guidance Plan. Each plan identifies the main issues that the IRS hopes to tackle in the upcoming year. But like any good to-do list, the items on the list are not guaranteed to get done.
So why should you care about this list? Because the list includes items specifically focused on exempt organizations. Thus it gives nonprofits an idea of what regulations, rulings, and other administrative guidance lies ahead.
Among the items on the list, it is not surprising that this year the IRS plans to undertake rethinking the political activity limits of 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. As we told you here, this has become a hot button issue because many see social welfare organizations’ ability to engage in political activity as a loophole that must be closed.
The IRS also plans to provide additional guidance on supporting organizations, final regulations on program-related investments (we discussed the 2012 proposed regulations on PRIs here), and guidance on exempt organization informational returns (i.e., Form 990), among other goals.
Click here to see the whole Priority Guidance Plan for 2013-2014 . If you have any thoughts on the Plan, public comments are invited, including via email. Let us know what you are thinking too by posting below.