Nonprofit Resources

IRS Examination of Churches

In a recent court case (U.S. v. Bible Study Time, Inc.), a U.S. District Court in South Carolina ruled that the Director, Exempt Organizations does not have the authority to approve an IRS examination of a church under section 7611, but that individual’s supervisor, the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division Commissioner, does.

The church had challenged a summons issued by the IRS on the grounds that the official who signed the Inquiry Notice (the Director, Exempt Organizations) was not “an appropriate high-level Treasury official” as required in section 7611.

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