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Tax 990

Form 990 Schedule C Instructions - Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities

Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities

IRS Form 990 Schedule C Instructions

- Updated August 21, 2024 - 2.00 PM - Admin, Tax990

Organizations that file Form 990 or 990-EZ may be required to attach Schedule C for reporting additional information regarding their activities to the IRS.

Here, you can find more details about Schedule C, its filing requirements, and more.

What is the Purpose of Form 990 Schedule C?

Schedule C is used by certain nonprofit organizations to report additional information about their political campaign activities or lobbying activities to the IRS.

It is also used to provide detailed information on membership dues, assessments, or similar amounts received by the organization.


Who Must File Form 990 Schedule C?

Generally, Schedule C can be filed by the following organizations if they have reported their involvement in political campaign activities and lobbying activities or subjection to section 6033(e) notice and reporting requirements and proxy tax on their Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Section 501(c) organizations

Section 527 organizations


How to Complete Schedule C for Form 990/990-EZ?

There are 4 parts in Schedule C, and some of these parts are divided into multiple sections. Based on the information you report on Form 990-EZ or 990, you are required to complete the applicable sections as described at the top of the form.

Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities

Part I (Political Campaign Activities)

This part requires you to describe your organization’s involvement in political campaign activities directly or indirectly and mention the amount of taxes and expenses incurred if any.

Part I (Political Campaign Activities)

It is split up into three sections, and the requirement for completing each section depends on the type of IRS section that your organization belongs to.

Organization Type Part I-A Part I-B Part I-C
Section 501(c)(3) Organizations N/A
Section 501(c) Organizations N/A
Section 527 Organizations N/A N/A

Part II (Lobbying Activities)

In this part, you are required to provide a detailed description of all lobbying activities carried out by your organization and report all the lobbying expenditures.

This part is split up into two sections, and at least one of them should be completed by section 501(c)(3) organizations.

Part II-A: For 501(c)(3) Organizations that filed Form 5768 (Election under Section 501(h))

Part II-A: For 501(c)(3) Organizations that filed Form 5768 (Election under Section 501(h))

Indicate if your organization belongs to an affiliated group and enter the amount of lobbying expenditures made through direct and grassroots lobbying.

Note:

Attempting to influence legislation through direct communication with any member of a legislative body is called Direct Lobbying. Influencing the general public opinion is called Grassroots lobbying.

Part II-B: For 501(c)(3) Organizations that have not filed Form 5768 (Election under
Section 501(h))

Part II-B: For 501(c)(3) Organizations that have not filed Form 5768 (Election under Section 501(h))

Indicate if your organization has attempted to influence foreign, national, state, or local legislation through volunteers, media advertisements or other activities.

Part III (Section 6033(e) Notice and Reporting Requirements and Proxy Tax)

This part only needs to be completed by section 501(c)(4), section 501(c)(5), and section 501(c)(6) organizations that received membership dues, assessments, or similar amounts.

This part is divided into two sections. The requirement to complete the section may vary based on the answers you provide in the first section.

Part III (Section 6033(e) Notice and Reporting Requirements and Proxy Tax)

Part IV - Supplemental Information

Part IV - Supplemental Information

This part requires you to provide a description for the information you reported on some of the lines in previous parts.

You can also use this space to provide any additional information regarding the answers you provided on the previous parts of Schedule C.


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