Tax Administration:
Tax Law Compliance of Churches and Tax-Exempt Religious Organizations
GGD-88-84: Published: Aug 11, 1988. Publicly Released: Sep 13, 1988.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined: (1) how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reviews tax law compliance for churches and other religious organizations; and (2) the difficulties IRS has in ensuring that churches comply with tax laws.
GAO found that: (1) IRS monitors compliance of tax-exempt religious organizations which are not churches and other charitable tax-exempt organizations by requiring them to apply for tax-exempt status and to file annual information returns; (2) from fiscal years 1981 through 1987, religious organizations other than churches comprised about 2 to 3 percent of all exempt organizations that IRS examined; and (3) IRS does not require churches to file for tax-exempt status or file annual information returns, but requires them to file tax returns if they have income in excess of $1,000 from sources substantially unrelated to their exempt purposes. GAO also found that IRS has difficulty detecting church noncompliance with tax laws because of the: (1) lack of information from churches; (2) special church audit procedures restricting its ability to administer the tax law; and (3) complexity of issues common to all tax-exempt organizations.
Mar 1, 2021
Tax Filing:
Actions Needed to Address Processing Delays and Risks to the 2021 Filing SeasonGAO-21-251: Published: Mar 1, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 1, 2021.
Jan 14, 2021
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Tax Administration:
Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax GapGAO-21-102: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Nov 18, 2020
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IRS Reorganization:
Planning Addressed Key Reform Practices, but Goals and Measures for the Plan Have Not Been FinalizedGAO-21-18: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
Nov 9, 2020
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Opportunity Zones:
Improved Oversight Needed to Evaluate Tax Expenditure PerformanceGAO-21-30: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 9, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
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Tax Administration:
Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Hospitals' Tax-Exempt StatusGAO-20-679: Published: Sep 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Sep 23, 2020
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Taxpayer Service:
IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance MeasuresGAO-20-656: Published: Sep 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 23, 2020.
Aug 31, 2020
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Abusive Tax Schemes:
Offshore Insurance Products and Associated Compliance RisksGAO-20-589: Published: Jul 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020.
Jun 29, 2020
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Taxpayer Compliance:
More Income Reporting Needed for Taxpayers Working through Online PlatformsGAO-20-366: Published: May 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
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Tax Exempt Organizations:
IRS Increasingly Uses Data in Examination Selection, but Could Further Improve Selection ProcessesGAO-20-454: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
May 1, 2020
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Management Report:
Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Control over Financial ReportingGAO-20-480R: Published: May 1, 2020. Publicly Released: May 1, 2020.
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