SECTION 3. IRS LISTS AND

DATABASES

To assist the general public, the IRS maintains and updates two different

publicly available compilations of information on organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under § 170. The first compilation lists organizations that are eligible to receive taxdeductible charitable contributions (eligible organization list) and the second compilation is an extract of certain information concerning tax-exempt organizations from the IRS electronic Business Master File (BMF) (the EO BMF Extract).

.01 IRS Searchable Databases .

Historically, the eligible organization list was maintained in IRS Publication 78. In Rev. Proc. 2011–33, the IRS announced that it had discontinued publishing the paper version of Publication 78 and would maintain the eligible organization list solely on an electronic database. The electronic database was then maintained on the IRS website ( www.irs.gov ) as part of Exempt Organizations Select Check (“Select Check”). Select Check consisted of three searchable databases located on the IRS website that contained information about tax-exempt organizations. The first database contains the eligible organization list. This searchable database is the successor to Publication 78, and is described on the website (as of the date of publication of this revenue procedure) as listing organizations that “are eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (Pub. 78 data).” (The remainder of this revenue procedure refers to this eligible organization list as “Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data).”) The second database (Automatic Revocation of Exemption List or AutoRevocation List) contains a list of organizations that have had their tax-exempt status revoked under § 6033(j) for failure to file a required annual return or notice for three consecutive years. The third database contains the information reported in notices (Forms 990–N, commonly referred to as e-Postcards) filed under § 6033(i) by organizations that are not required to file a Form 990 or Form 990–EZ return under § 6033 due to their size. In May 2018, the IRS changed the name of Select Check to Tax Exempt Organization Search and expanded its capabilities. As part of the change to Tax Exempt Organization Search, the IRS re

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tained the three existing databases and added two additional searchable databases to the search tool. The first new database includes images of Form 990 series annual returns filed by tax-exempt organizations on or after January 1, 2018, to the extent that these annual returns are available to the public pursuant to § 6104. The second new database includes images of favorable determination letters issued by the IRS to organizations to recognize the organization’s tax-exempt status. The searchable determination letters include those favorable determination letters issued on or after January 1, 2014. Finally, Tax Exempt Organization Search now allows customers to search interactively across all five databases.

.02 Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 Data) - In General .

Generally, Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) includes organizations that have received a determination letter or ruling stating that contributions to the listed organization (or in the case of a group exemption, to the listed central organization and those subordinate organizations covered by the group exemption letter) may be deductible as provided in § 170. (Note that Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) does not include separate listings for subordinate organizations covered by a group exemption letter.) The information contained in Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) is taken from the BMF, and is generally updated monthly. Each version of Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) contains a posting date.

.03 Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 Data) - Deductibility Codes .

Through the use of a “deductibility code”, Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) indicates the foundation classification under § 509(a) of the listed organization. This classification assists grantors and contributors in determining the appropriate percentage limitations on deductibility of charitable contributions to the organization and also assists private foundations and sponsoring organizations of donor-advised funds making grants to it in determining whether they would be required to exercise expenditure responsi

bility. Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) does not indicate specifically whether an organization is described in § 509(a)(1) or (2) or a particular subparagraph of § 170(b)(1)(A). However, Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) was modified from the format used in Publication 78 in order to indicate whether an organization is a supporting organization described in § 509(a)(3) and whether the organization is a Type III non-functionally integrated supporting organization.

.04 EO BMF Extract .

The EO BMF Extract is available to the public through the Tax Statistics section of the IRS website. The EO BMF Extract contains more information, in a slightly different format, than Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) and includes information on most tax-exempt organizations, rather than just the taxexempt organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under § 170 that are included in Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data). Among the data fields provided for organizations in the EO BMF Extract are an organization’s name and Employer Identification Number (EIN), address, subsection code (the paragraph under § 501(c) under which the organization is recognized as exempt), ruling date, affiliation code (status as an independent, central, or subordinate organization), deductibility code, and foundation code (indicating whether an organization is a private foundation, private operating foundation, or public charity and, if applicable, the appropriate subparagraph of § 170(b)(1)(A)). For determination letters or rulings issued in 2011 and after, the foundation code generally includes an indication whether a § 509(a) (3) supporting organization is a Type I, Type II, or Type III functionally or nonfunctionally integrated supporting organization. Each version of the EO BMF Extract contains a posting date.

.05 Downloading and Viewing the EO BMF Extract .

The EO BMF Extract and its corresponding instructions are available for download directly from the IRS website ( www.irs.gov). Instructions for download

ing the EO BMF Extract are also located on the IRS website. Generally, the EO BMF Extract information is extracted and updated on a monthly basis.

.06 Auto-Revocation List .

When an organization’s tax-exempt status has been automatically revoked pursuant to § 6033(j) (providing for the automatic revocation of the tax-exempt status of organizations that are required to file annual returns or notices pursuant to § 6033(a)(1) or (i) but fail to do so for 3 consecutive years), the name of such organization is removed from Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) and added to the Auto-Revocation List in the next revision cycle. The Auto-Revocation List contains the organization’s name, EIN, city, state, zip code, country, exemption type, effective date of revocation, and the date the organization’s name was posted on the Auto-Revocation List. The Auto-Revocation List is generally updated monthly. An organization whose taxexempt status has been automatically revoked under § 6033(j) that subsequently applies for reinstatement of taxexempt status in accordance with Rev. Proc. 2014–11, 2014–3 I.R.B. 41, (or any successor revenue procedure) and that is recognized by the IRS as taxexempt will appear on Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data). However, its name will remain on the AutoRevocation List because the IRS is statutorily required to maintain and publish a list of organizations whose taxexempt status has been automatically revoked. An organization whose name appears on the Auto-Revocation List in error, however, will be removed from the list. The Auto-Revocation List also provides a column that lists the reinstatement date for organizations that applied for and received reinstatement of their tax-exempt status after it was automatically revoked pursuant to § 6033(j).

.07 Affirmation Letter .

For the convenience of organizations, grantors, and contributors, the IRS will issue an affirmation letter confirming that an organization is currently recognized as taxexempt, and, if a § 501(c)(3) organization, its foundation status. See § 6104(a)(1)(A).

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78 data) or the EO BMF Extract for grants or contributions made after the date of the subsequent listing even if the organization’s tax-exempt status was previously automatically revoked pursuant to § 6033(j) and the organization’s name appears on the Autorevocation List, if the date the organization is posted in Tax Exempt Organization Search (Pub. 78 data) or the EO BMF Extract is after the date of the posting of the organization on the Auto-Revocation List. Grantors and contributors may also rely on a determination letter, ruling, or an affirmation letter for an organization if the effective date of the letter is on or after the date of revocation for the organization listed on the Auto-Revocation List.