Lobbying Expenses

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on tax-exempt organizations' reporting of lobbying expenses on tax returns. GAO found that: (1) there were various types of tax-exempt organizations that filed tax returns claiming lobbying expenses; (2) most tax-exempt organizations except churches, integrated auxiliaries of churches, and conventions or associations of churches were required to report lobbying expenses on their tax returns; (3) of the 517,857 tax-exempt organizations that filed returns from February 1991 through September 1992, less than 1 percent reported lobbying expenses; and (4) the amount of lobbying expenses reported from February 1991 through September 1992 totalled approximately $49 million.