Association of churches

For articles about organized groups of Christian congregations, see Christian denomination.
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An association of churches is primarily a term used in U.S. tax law to describe a cooperative endeavor among churches that is entitled to tax status similar or identical to the tax status of the churches themselves.

Under U.S. law, an association of churches is usually exempt from taxes. It is normally treated as a public charitable organization for tax purposes, as distinguished from being treated less favorably as a private foundation.[1]

In 1974, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated that, "Neither the Code nor the regulations thereunder define what constitutes a convention or association of churches."[2][3] Thus, the meaning of the term has not always been crystal clear.[3] While initially defined as a "cooperative undertaking by churches of the same denomination",[4] the definition has been expanded by the IRS to include churches of different denominations.[5][6]

In parts of the United States Code, the word "church" is defined so as to include not just a church in the ordinary narrow sense of the word, but additionally such things as an "association of churches".[7][8] Like any church, an association of churches must satisfy specific requirements in order to become and remain tax exempt.[9] For example, an association of churches may have to pay an Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) if it gets income by using its property for non-exempt purposes.[9]

The phrase "association of churches" is used in several federal statutes, as well as in court opinions that interpret federal statutes. For instance, in St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church v. South Dakota (1981), the United States Supreme Court decided (among other things) that the Northwestern Lutheran Academy of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod was run by a "convention or association of churches" and was therefore exempt from unemployment compensation taxes under the applicable statute.[10]

  1. ^ Hopkins, Bruce R. (2010). The Tax Law of Charitable Giving. Wiley. p. 109. ISBN 9780470591239.
  2. ^ IRS ruling 74–224 (1974).
  3. ^ a b Dean, Jacob. "'Do You Have That New Church App For Your iPhone?' – Making the Case for a Clearer and Broader Definition of Church Under the Internal Revenue Code", Creighton Law Review, Vol. 46, pp. 173, 185 n. 68 (2013).
  4. ^ Hopkins, Bruce R. (2015). Hopkins' Nonprofit Law Dictionary. Wiley. p. 35. ISBN 9781119057116.
  5. ^ U.S. Master Tax Guide 2009. CCH. 2008. p. 218. ISBN 9780808019039.
  6. ^ Mancino, Douglas M. (2015). Taxation of Hospitals and Health Care Organizations. LexisNexis. p. 557. ISBN 9780327167891.
  7. ^ McDonough, John. "Contraceptive Coverage and Massachusetts Law", The Boston Globe (February 7, 2012).
  8. ^ "26 U.S. Code § 3121 – Definitions", Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: "For purposes of this subsection, the term 'church' means a church, a convention or association of churches, or an elementary or secondary school which is controlled, operated, or principally supported by a church or by a convention or association of churches."
  9. ^ a b "Tax guide for churches and religious organizations" (PDF). 26 USC 501(c)(3). Internal Revenue Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  10. ^ St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church v. South Dakota, 451 U.S. 772 (1981).