Religious Institutions Update: November 2013

Nathan A. Adams IV is a Partner in our Tallahassee office.

Timely Topics

Diminished donations have led many faith-based organizations to become more creative about increasing revenue. Sometimes these organizations look beyond ordinary ministry functions to supplement income with unrelated activities. For example, parochial schools may lease property to communications companies for cell towers, churches may lease parking lots, and other religious organizations may offer advertising in publications and on signage. Unwittingly, the institutions may create unrelated business taxable income, which is "the gross income derived by any organization from an unrelated trade or business regularly carried on by it" less certain deductions.