Tax Issues (Development)
The Alliance has compiled this set of tax issue resources from amongst its own offerings as well as those throughout the nonprofit and museum sector.
Alliance Resources
Congress Takes a Hard Look at Charitable Giving: How Will Museums Fare?
This recorded, online advocacy program explains the impact of tax reform on museums, explores how other proposals would expand and strengthen charitable giving incentives, and outlines how to be an effective advocate on these issues.
This Museum magazine article shares insight on current proposals to reduce charitable giving tax incentives and the impact it will have on museums. The article also provides a good summary of all of the proposals.
Other Resources
Designing and Documenting Charitable Gifts
The Planned Giving Design Center shares an article that addresses potential problems with designated gifts and suggests ways to craft the charitable gift agreement to avoid practical and tax implications that both the donor and the nonprofit would like to avoid.
The Entrepreneurial Museum: Some Legal, Tax and Practical Perspectives
Hurwit & Associates offers an overview of laws relating to nonprofit commercial ventures. The article was originally published in New England Museum Association News.
Publication 526: Charitable Contributions
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website provides access to several relevant publications and forms (PDF) that can be helpful to donors. Publication 526: Charitable Contributions address contributions of property, insubstantial benefits (e.g., newsletters, free parking, free admission), fair market value, unrelated use, appraisals and bargain sales.
Publication 1771: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website provides access to several relevant publications and forms (PDF) that can be helpful to both institutions and donors. Publication 1771: Charitable Contributions-Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements helps explain, in layman’s terms, the federal tax law for organizations that receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and for taxpayers who make contributions.