The Ohio Society of Association Executives (OSAE), the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and many other groups continue to press the U.S. Treasury Department to postpone enforcement of provisions in the new tax law exposing tax-exempt organizations to unrelated business income tax (UBIT) liability.
Organizations continue to urge Treasury to delay enforcement of two provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA): the requirement that tax-exempt organizations report unrelated business income for each trade or business separately; and the requirement that tax-exempt organizations pay UBIT on transportation and parking fringe benefits they provide to employees. Both provisions are effective for the 2018 tax year, and the Treasury Department has yet to issue guidance on how groups should comply with these new tax changes.
Last month, more than 200 organizations signed on to ASAE’s letter to Treasury on the parking and transportation benefits issue.
Earlier this week, the National Council of Nonprofits also urged Treasury to delay enforcement of these provisions. The tax-exempt community simply does not have the necessary guidance at this time to fully and accurately report their UBIT liability. Many groups are already filing quarterly estimated taxes absent any guidance from Treasury on these provisions.
Earlier this week, there was some indication from Treasury officials that a delay might be forthcoming.
We are asking our members to urge Treasury to do the right thing on these tax changes and give tax-exempt organizations the time they need to understand and comply with the new law. If your organization has not weighed in yet, please take the opportunity to do so. To simplify this outreach, ASAE is encouraging organizations to use its sign-on letter as a model for their comments and to send a message to U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin.
If you have questions about how these tax changes impact associations, please contact ASAE’s public policy team at publicpolicy@asaecenter.org.