Earlier this year, we reported on the much-anticipated Supreme Court decision in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta. The case held as unconstitutional, the State Attorney General’s requirement that nonprofits disclose certain donor information to the State Attorney General as a matter of course. As a result of this case, the Attorney General Registry of Charitable Trusts has issued new directives regarding its annual Form RRF-1, which previously required that certain nonprofit organizations submit the entirety of their IRS Form 990, including Schedule B, to the Registry.
Effective July 1, 2021, the Registry no longer requires nonprofit organizations submit their Schedule B. Accordingly, those organizations with an upcoming November 15th filing deadline, should omit the Schedule B, in its entirety, from their RRF-1 submissions. Although the Registry has yet to update the Form RRF-1 instructions, which request “all” Form 990 attachments and schedules, the Registry’s current online instructions direct nonprofit organizations to “exclude all pages of the Schedule B” from their IRS Form 99, Form 990-EZ or Form 990-PF submission to the Registry. The Registry requests that organizations not submit a redacted version of the document, but simply refrain from providing it entirely.
The State Attorney General requirements do not change an organization’s Federal filling obligations. Accordingly, your organization may still be obligated to submit the Schedule B to the IRS.
If your organization has questions about its State or Federal charitable reporting requirements, LCW attorneys are here to help. You may also obtain further information from the Attorney General Registry of Charitable Trusts, online at https://oag.ca.gov/charities/renewals?inf_contact_key=3e392e30f02fdc91d6d55c1812b2a575cc0558ed5d4c28cbfab114022b1ec50d.
This Special Bulletin is published for the benefit of the clients of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. The information in this Special Bulletin should not be acted upon without professional advice.