Registration is now open for the TEGE Exempt Organizations Council’s EO Update on Monday, November 18, 2019, presented in cooperation with D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education and the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. This two-hour program will occur live in Washington DC and Cincinnati, and also be broadcast by webinar. The agenda and registration form are available at eocouncil.org/events.

The program will include an extensive Q&A session with Margaret Von Lienen, Director, Exempt Organizations, during which the speaker will respond to pre-submitted questions. Stephen A. Martin, Director, Rulings & Agreements, Exemption Organizations, is also invited for this Q&A session. Janine Cook, Associate Chief Counsel (EEE), IRS, and Elinor Ramey, Office of Tax Policy, Dept. of Treasury, will then present on IRS and Treasury Regulatory updates and respond to certain pre-submitted questions.

As always, the Council will provide questions in advance to our government speakers and their teams. Please send areas of inquiry, questions, and/or comments (including comments on IRS forms and instructions) to Eve Borenstein (eve@taxexemptlaw.org) and Lori Boyce (lboyce@deloitte.com) no later than October 7. We have also added a new feature to the Council website whereby submissions may be entered at any time at Question-Submission.

At the Council’s last program in June, our government speakers requested practitioner feedback on a number of items. Following are related items we would like specific input on:

1. The IRS has put forth a multi-year plan with their Integrated Modernization Business Plan. Are there any items that you feel are missing? Anything that you feel is not workable?
2. Form 990-T e-filing is around the corner. Practitioners have commented that there is no commercial software available that handles all of the items facing tax exempt organizations—in particular, tax-exempt trusts. Other than the following, are there additional examples where the commercial 990-T software does not handle the necessary items to allow for e-filing?
   1. Foreign tax credits
   2. Passive Activity Loss Limitations
   3. NAICS code fields being limited to only those in the 990-T instructions
   4. Other examples?
3. Proposed rules regarding IRC section 4968 excise tax for certain colleges and universities with respect to their net investment income.
4. The IRS has tried to fix the processing of FUTA payments by 501(c)(3) organizations that are being remitted for compensation of employees related to ineligible organizations. Is the rejection of the payments still occurring?
5. Please comment on ASU 2016-14-related instructional changes that may be needed. [This accounting standard changed the way in which non-profits report expenses in their financial statements. The Form 990 instructions state that the organization should “Use the organization’s normal accounting method to complete Part IX Statement of Functional Expenses.”]​