Exempt Organizations Technical Guide
TG 65: Excise Taxes - Excess Benefit Transactions - IRC Section 4958
0224 Publ 5835 (PDF) · 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. Section 4958: Taxes on Excess Benefit Transations
- A. Applicable Tax-Exempt Organizations
- Special Rules for Churches
- Lookback Period
- Exceptions
- Effect of Non-Recognition or Revocation
- B. Disqualified Persons
- Definition
- Substantial Influence
- Facts and Circumstances
- C. Excess Benefit Transaction
- Definition
- Date of Occurrence
- Indirect Benefits
- Fair Market Value
- Reasonable Compensation
- Intent to Treat Benefit as Compensation
- Economic Benefits Determined by Revenues
- Special Rules for Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
- Special Rules for Supporting Organizations
- D. Specific Excess Benefit Transaction Exceptions
- Initial Contract Rule
- Disregarded Benefits
- Payment under ERISA
- Existing Binding Contracts prior to September 13, 1995
- Existing Arrangements with Supporting Organizations Prior to August 17, 2006
- E. Rebuttable Presumption
- Requirements for Invoking Rebuttable Presumption
- Non-fixed Payments
- F. Taxes on Excess Benefit Transactions
- Initial Tax on Disqualified Persons
- Initial Tax on Organization Managers
- Additional tax on Disqualified Persons
- Statute of Limitations
- G. Correcting an Excess Benefit Transaction
- Forms of Correction
- Correction Amount
- Correction Where the ATEO is No Longer in Existence or Tax- Exempt
- H. Abatement of Tax on Excess Benefit Transactions
- Correction Period
- Abatement of Initial Tax
- Abatement of Additional Tax
- Reasonable Cause and Not Willful Neglect
- I. Revocation and Section 4958 Special Rules
- J. Penalties
- Section 6684 - Assessable Penalties with Respect to Liability for Tax Under Chapter 42
- Section 6651 - Failure to File Tax Return or To Pay Tax
- K. Additional Guidance
- Court Cases
- Non-precedential Guidance
- III. Examination Techniques
- A. Identifying and Developing Section 4958 Issues
- Determining the Value of an Excess Benefit Transaction
- Factors for determining a bona-fide loan
- Other Section 4958 Issues
- B. Required Returns
- C. Practical Example
- Case Facts
- Statute of Limitations Considerations
- Excise Tax Calculations
- Revenue Agent Report
- IV. Exhibits A. Exhibit 1: Form 4720, Return of Certain Excise Taxes on Charities and…
- Completing Form 4720, Specific Instructions
- Section 4958. They must enter the sum of:
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: 2/1/2024
Publication 5835 (Rev. 2-2024) Catalog Number 94186N Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov
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