Are you looking to start a non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia? If so, you need to be aware of the legal requirements that must be met in order to do so. This article will provide an overview of the steps you need to take to ensure that your non-profit organization is legally compliant. The first step is to name your organization. This should be done carefully, as it will be used for all official documents and communications.
Once you have chosen a name, you must prepare and file the deeds of incorporation with the Corporation Division of the Georgia Secretary of State. You will also need to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Georgia requires that non-profit organizations have a minimum of one director, although the federal government rarely offers tax exemption to organizations with fewer than three unrelated board members. Board directors must be at least 18 years old, but there are no residency or membership requirements.
Your Georgia nonprofit organization needs two documents in order to apply for 501 (c) (tax-exempt) status. These are the Bylaws and the Conflict of Interest Policy. All nonprofit corporations in Georgia must file their statutes with the Corporation Division of the Georgia Secretary of State. This must be done to establish your limited company and ensure that you meet the requirements to apply for the 501 (c) () tax exemption.
In addition, your non-profit organization must include certain specific terms in the statutes to receive 501 (c) (tax-exempt) status from the Internal Revenue Service. You should note that the model form does not include the three clauses required by the IRS. Therefore, tax-exempt language should be included in the article you create, as it is mandatory and will affect your 501 (c) state. To apply for your EIN, you must file Form SS-4 online.
Once these conditions are met, you can go ahead and apply for federal tax exemption using Form 1023 under the Internal Revenue Code. The annual reports of Georgia nonprofit organizations are due between January 1 and April 1 of each year. See the Georgia Division of Companies annual registration page for instructions on how to file your annual report. While the state of Georgia allows non-profit organizations to have at least one board member or director, you may have some problems with the IRS. This is because the Internal Revenue Service rarely provides tax exemptions to non-profit organizations with a member of the board of directors.
Therefore, it's best to have at least three to 25 board members to ensure that your federal tax exemption is granted smoothly. The state of Georgia only requires that non-profit organizations have one board member, but the IRS rarely grants tax exemption to fewer than three unrelated board members. In addition, nonprofit organizations in Georgia can apply for public and private grant donations. Under Georgia state law, all nonprofit corporations in Georgia must file an annual Georgia registry each year with the Corporation Division of the Georgia Secretary of State. Charitable organization registrations in Georgia are valid for twenty-four (2) months from the date they are approved. Georgia law states that a charitable organization will submit copies of any federal or state tax exemption determination letter it receives after initial registration within thirty (30) days of receiving it within thirty (30) days of receiving it. If the charitable organization was recently created and has not received charitable contributions, attach a signed statement from an organization official attesting that fact in place of the financial statements.
New organizations in Georgia must publish their intention to establish within one business day of the submission of their articles of incorporation. If the organization filed an IRS Form 990-N (postcard), it must complete and file the Georgia Form C200 for the applicable tax year. All existing federally tax-exempt organizations in Georgia are automatically exempt from corporate tax, meaning it is an exempt organization. If the organization filed a Form 990-N (postcard), you must complete and submit Georgia's Form C200 for the previous tax year. If the organization filed an IRS Form 990-N (postcard), it must instead complete and file the Georgia Form C200 for each of the two previous (fiscal) years, unless it was filed earlier. You must prepare statutes that comply with Georgia law and that contain the rules and procedures that your corporation will follow to hold meetings, elect officers and directors, and carry out other corporate procedures required in Georgia. Organizations that intend to apply for tax exemption with the IRS must include specific language in their organizational documents (i). State laws generally determine how to create an organization correctly, so the requirements for these documents vary depending on the form of organization and the state of origin. For example, an organization seeking tax exemption under section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) must limit itself in its organizational documents to the exempt purposes set out in that section; in addition, it must indicate how its assets are permanently dedicated to these exempt purposes, so that, should the organization dissolve, its assets are distributed for a qualified exempt purpose in the same section of the code.
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