Unrelated Business Income Screen.

Screen the money you earn to catch income that may be taxable, because income from activities unrelated to your mission can be taxed and, in large amounts, can threaten your status.

In Protect Your Tax-Exempt Standing, after the threats checklist, and whenever you start a new way of earning money.

List every way you bring in money that is not a gift or a grant. For each, run the three questions: is the activity part of how you carry out your mission, or a separate business? Do you run it regularly, like a business? Is it done mostly by volunteers, or by selling donated goods (often treated differently)?

Earned-income source

Mission-related or a separate business?

Clear / Flag for accountant

Take the flags to your accountant. For every flagged source, their determination on whether it is taxable and whether it must be reported, and any required filing added to your calendar

This tool tells you what to look at, not what the answer is. Whether a given source is taxable is your accountant’s call, because the rules are specific and have exceptions.

Your answers stay in your browser on this page and are never sent anywhere. Use Save or print to keep your copy.

Back to Protect Your Tax-Exempt Standing, or start over from the welcome page.