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State and federal tax policy toward nonprofit organizations

In: Handbook of Research on Nonprofit Economics and Management

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  • James Alm
  • Daniel Teles

Abstract

State and federal tax policy in the United States generally favors nonprofit organizations, and particularly nonprofits classified as 501(c)3 nonprofit charities. This favorable tax treatment comes from two types of tax policies. First, nonprofits are exempt from paying a variety of taxes, including the federal corporate income tax (CIT) and many state and local taxes. Second, individuals are encouraged to donate to nonprofit charities through favorable policies in the federal income tax, state income taxes, and the inheritance tax. In this chapter we present some basic material on the tax treatment of nonprofit organizations and then examine what we know and what we do not know about state and federal tax policy toward nonprofit organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • James Alm & Daniel Teles, 2018. "State and federal tax policy toward nonprofit organizations," Chapters, in: Bruce A. Seaman & Dennis R. Young (ed.), Handbook of Research on Nonprofit Economics and Management, chapter 19, pages 370-385, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:eechap:16909_19
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business and Management; Economics and Finance;

    JEL classification:

    • L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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