To qualify for tax-exempt status, applicants for tax code Section 501(c)(4) status must ensure that 51 percent of their activities and expenditures go toward social welfare causes, Internal Revenue Service training materials say.
The materials, created for employees in the agency’s Exempt Organizations Determinations Unit and released to Bloomberg BNA through the Freedom of Information Act, shed light on what has been a controversial issue. Lawmakers, advocates and practitioners have called for clarity on the amount of political activity a group can engage in and still qualify for Section 501(c)(4) status.