Arizona corporation commission nonprofit forms: the good and the bad regarding them. We’re here to keep you covered.
Recently, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) released all new forms for entity filings. This includes new forms for nonprofit corporations. Depending on your goals, this could either help you or hurt you.
Nonprofit corporations that wish to be tax exempt must include specific language in their Articles of Incorporation. Specifically, a nonprofit corporation that wishes to obtain tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code must show in their Articles that the organization is organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes under Section 501(c)(3) and that none of the company’s earnings inure to the benefit of any private individual. For more information on this, please read my article Can My Nonprofit Corporation Be Tax Exempt?
Before the ACC revised their forms, the old nonprofit corporation Articles of Incorporation gave the option to include the required language to be tax exempt. Sadly, the new forms do not. While it’s great that the ACC has made their new forms pdf fillable and more user friendly, unfortunately any nonprofit organization that uses this form and wishes to be tax exempt will ultimately have to amend and restate its Articles before submitting its IRS Form 1023 (Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code). And, when the nonprofit amends and restates its Articles to comply with these requirements, it will have to pay another filing fee to the ACC (either $25 non-expedited or $60 expedited) and republish their Amended Articles which usually costs $100 or more. Since most new nonprofits aren’t operating with giant budgets, using this form if you want to be tax exempt could ultimately cost you $200 or more.
A better option is to contact a nonprofit attorney who is well versed in nonprofit corporation and tax exempt law and have the attorney help you form your corporation. Arizona nonprofit attorney Abigail Neal has formed dozens of nonprofit corporations and helped many of them obtain their tax exempt status from the IRS. Call Abigail today at (480) 699-7992 to get started.
