Readings- UBIT | Maximum Impact Media, Inc. 3 2 2

Introduction

An exempt organization isn’t taxed on its income from an activity substantially related to the charitable, educational, or other purpose that is the basis for the organization's exemption. Such income is exempt even if the activity is a trade or business. However, if an exempt organization regularly carries on a trade or business not substantially related to its exempt purpose, except that it provides funds to carry out that purpose, the organization is subject to tax on its income from that unrelated trade or business.

This publication covers the rules for the tax on unrelated business income of exempt organizations. It explains:

Which organizations are subject to the tax (chapter 1)

The tax on unrelated business income applies to most organizations exempt from tax under section 501(a). These organizations include charitable, religious, scientific, and other organizations described in section 501(c), as well as employees' trusts forming part of pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans described in section 401(a).

What the requirements are for filing a tax return (chapter 2)
What an unrelated trade or business is (chapter 3)
How to figure unrelated business taxable income (chapter 4).

Unrelated Business Income

Trade or business. The term “trade or business” generally includes any activity conducted for the production of income from selling goods or performing services.

An activity must be conducted with intent to make a profit to constitute a trade or business. An activity doesn’t lose its identity as a trade or business merely because it is conducted within a larger group of similar activities that may or may not be related to the exempt purposes of the organization.

For example, the regular sale of pharmaceutical supplies to the general public by a hospital pharmacy doesn’t lose its identity as a trade or business, even though the pharmacy also furnishes supplies to the hospital and patients of the hospital in accordance with its exempt purpose. Similarly, soliciting, selling, and publishing commercial advertising is a trade or business even though the advertising is published in an exempt organization's periodical that contains editorial matter

Regularly conducted. Business activities of an exempt organization ordinarily are considered regularly conducted if they show a frequency and continuity, and are pursued in a manner similar to comparable commercial activities of nonexempt organizations.

For example, a hospital auxiliary's operation of a sandwich stand for 2 weeks at a state fair would not be the regular conduct of a trade or business. The stand would not compete with similar facilities that a nonexempt organization would ordinarily operate year-round. However, operating a commercial parking lot every Saturday, year-round, would be the regular conduct of a trade or business.

Not substantially related. A business activity isn’t substantially related to an organization's exempt purpose if it doesn’t contribute importantly to accomplishing that purpose (other than through the production of funds). Whether an activity contributes importantly depends in each case on the facts involved.

In determining whether activities contribute importantly to the accomplishment of an exempt purpose, the size and extent of the activities involved must be considered in relation to the nature and extent of the exempt function that they intend to serve.

For example, to the extent an activity is conducted on a scale larger than is reasonably necessary to perform an exempt purpose, it doesn’t contribute importantly to the accomplishment of the exempt purpose. The part of the activity that is more than needed to accomplish the exempt purpose is an unrelated trade or business.

Selling of products of exempt functions.Ordinarily, selling products that result from the performance of exempt functions isn’t an unrelated trade or business if the product is sold in substantially the same state it is in when the exempt functions are completed. Thus, for an exempt organization engaged in rehabilitating handicapped persons (its exempt function), selling articles made by these persons as part of their rehabilitation training is not an unrelated trade or business.

However, if a completed product resulting from an exempt function is used or exploited in further business activity beyond what is reason-ably appropriate or necessary to dispose of it as is, the activity is an unrelated trade or business. For example, if an exempt organization maintains an experimental dairy herd for scientific purposes, the sale of milk and cream produced in the ordinary course of operation of the project isn’t an unrelated trade or business. But if the organization uses the milk and cream in the further manufacture of food items such as ice cream, pastries, etc., the sale of these products is an unrelated trade or business unless the manufacturing activities themselves contribute importantly to the accomplishment of an exempt purpose of the organization.

Dual use of assets or facilities. If an asset or facility necessary to the conduct of exempt functions is also used in commercial activities, its use for exempt functions doesn’t, by itself, make the commercial activities a related trade or business. The test, as discussed earlier, is whether the activities contribute importantly to the accomplishment of exempt purposes.

For example, a museum has a theater auditorium designed for showing educational films in connection with its program of public education in the arts and sciences. The theater is a principal feature of the museum and operates continuously while the museum is open to the public. If the organization also operates the theater as a motion picture theater for the public when the museum is closed, the activity is an unrelated trade or business.

Exploitation of exempt functions. Exempt activities sometimes create goodwill or other intangibles that can be exploited in a commercial way. When an organization exploits such an intangible in commercial activities, the fact that the income depends in part upon an exempt function of the organization doesn’t make the commercial activities a related trade or business. Unless the commercial exploitation contributes importantly to the accomplishment of the exempt purpose, the commercial activites are an unrelated trade or business.

https://www.accountingweb.com/aa/law-and-enforcement/ubit-when-a-nonprofit-is-profitable

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-much-unrelated-earned-income-can-a-nonprofit-receive-2501873

http://charitylawyerblog.com/2011/08/01/nonprofit-law-jargon-buster-what-is-unrelated-business-income/

https://www.claconnect.com/resources/videos/cla-talks-video-nonprofits-and-unrelated-business-income

https://www.cohencpa.com/insights/articles/is-your-nonprofit-generating-business-income

https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/unrelated-business-income-taxation

https://cullinanelaw.com/what-is-ubit/

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/taxes-nonprofit-corporation-earnings-30284.html

Nonprofitlawblog:

http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/category/ubit/

http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/irs-guidance-on-ubit-silos-512a6-parti/

http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/irs-guidance-on-ubit-silos-512a6-part-ii/

http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/ubit-advertisements-vs-qualified-sponsorship-payments/

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2011/12/25/does-my-nonprofit-need-to-pay-tax-understanding-unrelated-business-income-tax/

https://www.wegnercpas.com/taxable-activities-nonprofits-basic-guide-ubit/

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