Exempt Organizations Technical Guide
TG 62: Excise Taxes on Taxable Expenditures – IRC Section 4945
Publication 5590 — Exempt Organizations Technical Guide TG 62: Excise Taxes on Taxable Expenditures under IRC 4945 · 2026-10-03 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · United States
Sections in this part
- I. Overview
- A. Background / History
- B. Relevant Terms
- C. Law / Authority
- II. Requirements
- A. Attempting to Influence Legislation (Lobbying)
- A.1. Grassroots Lobbying
- A.2. Direct Lobbying
- A.3. Legislation Defined
- A.4. Exceptions to the Prohibition on Lobbying
- A.5. Nonpartisan Analysis, Study, or Research – Defined
- A.6. Presenting Results of Nonpartisan Analysis, Study or Research
- A.7. Examinations and Discussions of Broad Social, Economic and Similar Positions
- A.8. Providing Technical Advice or Assistance to Legislative Bodies
- A.9. Decisions Affecting the Powers and Duties of a Private Foundation
- A.10. Situations that do not Constitute Attempts to Influence Legislation or Lobbying
- A.11. Jointly Funded Projects
- A.12. Grants to Public Charities
- A.13. Certain Expenditures by Program-Related Investment Recipients
- B. Public Elections and Voter Registration Drives
- B.1. Influencing the Outcome of a Specific Election
- B.2. Permitted Voter Registration Drives
- B.3. 85% Support Test
- B.4. Advance Ruling Information
- B.5. Section 4945(d)(2) and Grants to Public Charities
- C. Section 4945(d)(3) Grants to Individuals
- C.1. Section 4945(d)(3) Grants Defined
- C.2. Grants that are not Section 4945(d)(3) Grants
- C.3. Grants to Organizations Subsequently Awarded to Individuals
- C.4. Grants to Public Charities Subsequently Awarded to Individuals
- C.5. Grants to Governmental Agencies Subsequently Awarded to Individuals
- C.6. Renewal of Grants
- C.7. Advance Approval of Section 4945(g)
- C.8. Grants Made on an Objective and Nondiscriminatory Basis
- C.9. Pool of Potential Grantees
- C.10. Selection Criteria
- C.11. Persons Making Selections
- C.12. Grants Designed to Benefit a Specific Racial or Ethnic Minority Group
- C.13. Grant Making Information – Advance Approval
- C.14. Supervision of Scholarships, Fellowships and Other Section 4945(d)(3) Grants
- C.15. Investigation of Jeopardized or Diverted Grants
- C.16. Retention of Records
- C.17. Submission of Request for Approval of Grant-Making Information
- C.18. Employer Related Scholarship Programs and Loan Programs
- C.19. Employer Related Emergency Funds Programs
- C.20. Grants Constituting Scholarship, Prize or Achieving a Specific Objective
- D. Grants to Organizations Section 4945(d)(4)
- D.1. Grants Defined
- D.2. Grants to Public Charities, Exempt Operating Foundations, and Certain Other…
- D.3. Grants to Foreign Organizations
- D.4. Earmarked Grants
- D.5. Expenditure Responsibility
- D.6. Pre-grant Inquiry Requirement Section 4945(h)(1)
- D.7. Terms of Grant Agreements
- D.8. Program-Related Investments
- D.9. Grants to Foreign Organizations
- D.10. Reporting Requirements of the Grantee Organization
- D.11. Reporting Requirements of the Grantor
- D.12. Recordkeeping Requirements of the Grantors
- D.13. Reports Received After the Close of Grantor’s Accounting Year
- D.14. Violations of Expenditure Responsibility Requirements
- D.15. Diversion of Grant by Grantee Organization
- D.16. Grantee Organization’s Failure to Submit Reports
- D.17. Grantor Violations of Section 4945(h)
- E. Expenditures for Noncharitable Purposes Section 4945(d)(5)
- E.1. Prohibited Expenditures
- E.2. Permitted Expenditures
- E.3. Grants to Public Organizations Should Not Be Earmarked for Prohibited Activities
- E.4. Grants to Noncharitable Organizations
- III. Other Considerations
- A. Sanctions Under Section 4945
- A.1. First Tier Tax on Private Foundation
- A.2. First Tier Tax on Foundation Managers
- A.3. Definition of Agreement
- A.4. Definition of Knowing
- A.5. Definition of Willful
- A.6. Due to Reasonable Cause
- A.7. Advice of Counsel
- B. Second Tier Taxes
- B.1. Second Tier Taxes on Private Foundations
- B.2. Second Tier Taxes on Foundation Managers
- B.3. Correction of Taxable Expenditures and Second Tier Taxes
- B.4. Definition and Method of Correction
- B.5. Definition of Taxable Period
- B.6. Joint and Several Liability, and Limits on Liability of Foundation Managers
- B.7. Abatement of First Tier and Second Tier Taxes
- C. Section 507 Termination and Other Sanctions
- IV. Examination Techniques
- A. Introduction
- B. Chapter 42 First Tier Excise Taxes Table
- C. One Act/Failure to Act, Multiple Violations
- D. Information Regarding Correction
- E. Correction Period
- F. Advance Approval of Proposed Correction
- G. All Chapter 42 Second Tier Excise Taxes
- H. Termination Tax
- I. Revocation
- J. Statute of Limitations
- K. Applicable Penalties
- L. Domestic Taxable Private Foundations
- M. Abatement of Excise Taxes
- N. Pre-Examination Considerations
- O. Field/Office Correspondence Exam Information
- P. Exam Case Closing Information
- V. Issue Indicators and Examination Tips
- A. Issue Indicators
- B. Examination Tips
- VI. Example Worksheets / Exhibits
- A. Section 4945 – First Tier Tax Example
- B. Section 4945 – Second Tier Tax and Penalties Example
- C. Thorne Letter
- Section 4945. Consult with Area Counsel when drafting a Thorne letter.
This document is not an official pronouncement of the law or the position of the IRS and cannot be used, cited, or relied upon as such. This guide is current through the revision date. Changes after the revision date may affect the contents of this document and users should consider any subsequent resources to ensure technical accuracy. All references to “Section” in this document refer to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, unless specifically noted otherwise. The taxpayer names and addresses shown in examples within this publication are fictitious.
Technical Guide Revision Date: 8/6/2024
Publication 5590 (Rev. 8-2024) Catalog Number 75131W Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
Table of Contents¶
I. Overview…¶
C.11. Persons Making Selections ................................................ 34…¶
A.4. Definition of Knowing ......................................................... 58…¶
G. All Chapter 42 Second Tier Excise Taxes ................................... 78 H.…¶
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