Fact Check: You Can Challenge Heritage Foundation's Tax-Exempt Status with This Form?

In reaction to Project 2025 , a compendium of conservative policy goals published by The Heritage Foundation, several internet users argued that due to its political activities, the nonprofit organization's tax-exempt status could be challenged:

The claims in this video, which had garnered 1.5 million views, 264,000 likes and 6,800 comments as of this writing, appeared a week later on Facebook , gaining 5,000 reactions and 21,000 shares:

Internet users rallied around the idea that they could send complaint Form 13909 to the IRS to challenge The Heritage Foundation 's tax-exempt status based on the 887-page policy document it produced for what it hoped would be Donald Trump's second presidential term. In comments, users shared the organization's address, the direct link to the Internal Revenue Service form and tips on how to file it. Another TikTok video shared The Heritage Foundation's Employer Identification Number .

The reality was a bit more complicated. While it's true there are several conditions to obtaining and maintaining a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status , and while The Heritage Foundation enjoys that status , advocating for policies does not, per se, constitute a violation of the rules .

What Can't 501(c)(3) Organizations Do?

There are five rules such organizations cannot break:

1. The organization cannot "serve the private benefit" or interest of an individual or organization more than others. It cannot use its revenue to "benefit insiders" (which can include board members, officers, directors or employees).

2. The organization cannot lobby. Lobbying here is understood as contacting or enjoining others to contact elected officials with the power to legislate in order to push for or against a piece of legislation. It is not a strict prohibition because it can do it as an "insubstantial part of its activities," but lobbying too much can result in the loss of the tax-exempt status.

3. The organization cannot participate in any political campaign in favor of or in opposition to any candidate, " directly or indirectly ," in local, state or federal elections, and it cannot contribute campaign funds to candidates, parties or political action committees. According to the IRS website , " a written or oral endorsement of a candidate is strictly forbidden. The rating of candidates, even on a nonpartisan basis, is also prohibited."

4. The organization cannot earn too much income from unrelated business activities, though there are exceptions.

5. The organization must report to the IRS every year. If an organization fails to report for three years, it automatically loses its tax-exempt status.

6. The organization must operate in accord with its stated activity when it applied for the tax-exempt status.

The internet activists believed they could file complaints against The Heritage Foundation based on the second and third rules.

The reason for this, some argued, was because the name Trump appeared 312 times in the Project 2025 document, which they thought constituted an endorsement of the former president. Further, Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance wrote the foreword to a book written by Kevin Roberts , president of The Heritage Foundation and head of Project 2025. For activists, this was evidence enough that The Heritage Foundation was intervening in the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in favor of the Republican ticket.

In addition, Roberts said early in July 2024 on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast that Republicans were "in the process of taking this country back" and that the U.S. was "in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be," Politico reported . Internet users took this as further proof that The Heritage Foundation was engaged in political activity, intervening on behalf of Republicans in the 2024 presidential elections.

Advocacy Is Allowed

The truth is, a tax-exempt status is not a ban on advocacy. Advocacy is understood as education of the wider public, but also the education of elected officials , on the issues an organizations takes on. The Heritage Foundation has told Newsweek that it had not violated the rules of tax exemption. As to the accusations that mentioning Trump in the Project 2025 document constituted an endorsement, it replied that the foundation "has not, and will not, endorse, support, or oppose a political candidate. We provide nonpartisan expertise to policymakers and remain dedicated to advancing conservative principles through comprehensive research."

It suggested that the mentions of Trump were a result of the fact that the organization thought Trump would become president, as opposed to an endorsement. "It is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement," the foundation told Newsweek.

By falling short of lobbying or making an explicit candidate and party endorsement, The Heritage Foundation may be able to insulate itself from challenges of its tax-exempt status. It would be the IRS' actions following the complaints that would determine the outcome.

We contacted the IRS media relations office by phone, who responded that federal law protects information on cases resulting from complaints filed against an organization. As a result, the agency was not able to comment on IRS decisions following such complaints.

We contacted The Heritage Foundation to ask about its reaction to the movement to have its 501(c)(3) status removed. We will update this story if it responds.

Sources:

EO Operational Requirements: Endorsing Candidates for Public Office | Internal Revenue Service . https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/eo-operational-requirements-endorsing-candidates-for-public-office. Accessed 26 July 2024. Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) | Internal Revenue Service . https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/exempt-purposes-internal-revenue-code-section-501c3. Accessed 26 July 2024. Frequently Asked Questions About the Ban on Political Campaign Intervention by 501(c)(3) Organizations: Contributions to Political Organizations | Internal Revenue Service . https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/frequently-asked-questions-about-the-ban-on-political-campaign-intervention-by-501c3-organizations-contributions-to-political-organizations. Accessed 26 July 2024. How to Lose Your 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status (without Really Trying) . Internal Revenue Service, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/How%20to%20Lose%20Your%20Tax%20Exempt%20Status.pdf. Knowing the Rule for Nonprofit Lobbying . endhomelessness.org, https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/knowing-the-rules-of-nonprofit-lobbying.pdf. 'Leader of the Pro-Trump Project 2025 Suggests There Will Be a New American Revolution'. Associated Press | Politico , 4 July 2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/04/leader-of-the-pro-trump-project-2025-suggests-there-will-be-a-new-american-revolution-00166583. Roberts, Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon. 'Heritage Foundation - Nonprofit Explorer'. ProPublica , 9 May 2013, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237327730. Roberts, Kevin. Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America . Harper Collins, https://www.harpercollins.com/products/dawns-early-light-kevin-roberts?variant=41585944526882. 'The Heritage Foundation'. The Heritage Foundation , https://www.heritage.org/. Accessed 26 July 2024. The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations | Internal Revenue Service . https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/the-restriction-of-political-campaign-intervention-by-section-501c3-tax-exempt-organizations. Accessed 26 July 2024.