Newsletter reader Jim Anderson wrote to point out a story that should be of interest to officers and members of all genealogy societies in the US. As of October 15, thousands of small non-profit organizations, including many genealogical and historical societies, may lose their tax exempt status if they don't take advantage of a “one time relief” for missing their filing date.
For instance, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts alone, more than 7,900 non-profit organizations are at risk of losing their tax status. The list includes all sorts of non-profit organizations, not just genealogical and historical societies. Performing a quick scan down the list, I noticed that the Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society Inc., the Adams Historical Society Inc., the Ashburnham Historical Society Inc., the Billerica Historical Preservation Corporation, the Bolton Historical Society, and many others on the list.
You might want to check to see if YOUR organization is on the list at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html
