H.R. 9772: Foreign Funding Transparency Act

This bill would require many tax-exempt organizations to report more information about money they receive from foreign sources.

What organizations would be covered

The new reporting rule would apply to specified tax-exempt organizations, meaning most organizations described in section 501(c) of the tax code if, in the prior year, they either:

• had gross receipts of at least $200,000, or
• had assets of at least $500,000.

What they would have to report

Covered organizations would have to include, on their annual tax return, information about contributions received from foreign nationals during the year, including:

• the total amount of contributions from foreign nationals, and
• the amount of such contributions broken out separately by each foreign country of concern.

How the bill defines foreign sources

For this reporting rule:

• If the donor is an individual, the relevant foreign country is each country of which the person is a citizen.
• If the donor is not an individual, the relevant foreign country is the country under whose laws the donor was created or organized.

Donor information and verification

The organization would be allowed to rely on a donor’s statement about their nationality unless the organization knows, or reasonably should know, that the statement is false.

IRS authority

The bill would also let the Treasury Department set rules requiring these organizations to collect the needed information from foreign donors in the way Treasury decides is appropriate.

When it would take effect

The new requirements would apply to tax returns filed for taxable years that begin more than one year after the bill becomes law.

Relevant Companies

None found