In Revenue Procedure 2018-38 the IRS announced that tax exempt organizations, other than §501(c)(3) organizations, will no longer be required be required to report the names and addresses of certain donors on Schedule B of Form 990, but will be required to have such information available should the IRS request it. The new rules will take effect for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 2018.

The procedure begins by describing the regulations that provide both for the reporting on certain donors by exempt organizations and that grant the IRS the authority to waive the requirement in certain cases without having to revise the regulations:

Although the statute does not address contributor reporting by tax-exempt organizations other than those described in § 501(c)(3), the implementing regulations under § 6033(a) generally require all types of tax-exempt organizations to report the names and addresses of all persons who contribute $5,000 or more in a year under § 1.6033-2(a)(2)(ii)(f). Section 1.6033-2(a)(2)(iii)(d) also requires organizations described in § 501(c)(7) (generally, social clubs), (8) (generally, fraternal beneficiary societies), or (10) (generally, domestic fraternal societies) to report the name of each person who contributed more than $1,000 during the taxable year to be used exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

The regulation that extends contributor reporting requirements to all types of tax-exempt organizations also authorizes the Commissioner to grant relief from those requirements. Specifically, § 1.6033-2(g)(6) authorizes the Commissioner to “relieve any organization or class of organizations (other than an organization described in § 509(a)(3)) from filing, in whole or in part the annual return required by this section where [the Commissioner] determines that such returns are not necessary for the efficient administration of the internal revenue laws.” The Commissioner has exercised this authority in the past through revenue procedures. See, e.g., Rev. Proc. 2011-15, 2011-3 I.R.B. 322, and Rev. Proc. 2003-21, 2003-1 C.B. 448.

Under existing rules, the names and addresses of contributors for all types of organizations are reported on Schedule B, “Schedule of Contributors,” filed with Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF, or, with respect to organizations described in § 501(c)(21), in Part IV of Form 990-BL.

The IRS is exercising the ability to waive the filing requirement for most organizations other than §501(c)(3) organizations. The procedure provides:

…[T]ax-exempt organizations required to file the Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, other than those described in § 501(c)(3), will no longer be required to provide names and addresses of contributors on their Forms 990 or Forms 990-EZ and thus will not be required to complete these portions of their Schedules B (or complete the similar portions of Part IV of the Form 990-BL). Similarly, organizations described in § 501(c)(7), (8), or (10) will no longer be required to provide on Forms 990 or Forms 990-EZ the names and addresses of persons who contributed more than $1,000 during the taxable year to be used for exclusively charitable purposes. This revenue procedure does not affect the information required to be reported on Forms 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF by organizations described in § 501(c)(3) (which for purposes of § 6033 include nonexempt charitable trusts described in § 4947(a)(1) and nonexempt private foundations described in § 6033(d)) or political organizations described in § 527.

The procedure cautions that other contribution relating information reporting requirements are not impacted by this new procedure:

This revenue procedure does not affect the reporting of contribution information, other than the names and addresses of contributors, required to be reported on Schedule B of Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Part IV of the Form 990-BL. This revenue procedure does not affect the disclosure requirements under § 6104(b) or (d) of any information reported on the Schedule B of Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Part IV of the Form 990-BL. As a result, this revenue procedure will have no effect on the reporting of Schedule B information that is currently open to public inspection. Organizations relieved of the obligation to report contributors’ names and addresses must continue to keep this information in their books and records in order to permit the IRS to efficiently administer the internal revenue laws through examinations of specific taxpayers.