On January 7, 2016 the U.S Treasury Department and IRS announced that it is withdrawing the proposed Gift Substantiation regulation that nonprofits across the nation worked so hard to defeat!

The proposed regulation would have required nonprofits, on a voluntary basis initially, to collect donors' Social Security numbers for each contribution of $250 or more. In addition, nonprofits would have been required to file a new information return to the IRS by February 28th as well as provide a copy back to the donor. 

Both the U.S Treasury and IRS received approximately 38,000 comments during the rulemaking period which ended on December 16 - virtually all of them hostile to the proposal. NAO, working with other national groups, submitted comments on behalf of the nonprofit community making the case that the collection of Social Security numbers would "expose the public to increased risk from identity theft, impose significant costs and burdens on nonprofit organizations, and create public confusion and disincentives for donors to support the work of nonprofits." Significantly, the community comments closed with this statement: 

"The federal government must take action to remove the confusion created by the pending rulemaking. In closing, the undersigned organizations call on the IRS and Treasury to withdraw the proposed regulations."

See the official notice in today's Federal Register, and news release of the National Council of Nonprofit.

The Nonprofit Association of Oregon would like to thank our members, partners, and other nonprofit leaders across the sector who took action and raised our concerns to the IRS and lawmakers about the potential impact of this proposed rule. It is our mission to strengthen the collective voice, leadership, and capacity to enrich the lives of all Oregonians. Our members' actions around this issue has helped ensure Oregon nonprofits are visible and valued as essential contributors to our society.

Sources: