Читать книгу Nonprofit Kit For Dummies - Stan Hutton, Beverly A. Browning - Страница 38

Although nonprofit employees have no dollar limit on the amount of compensation they can earn, the IRS does have the authority to penalize individuals (and organizations) who receive (or pay) excessive compensation. Whether the IRS considers benefits excessive depends on the situation. For instance, a staff member earning $100,000 annually from an organization with a budget of $125,000 may need to worry, but someone earning $100,000 from a nonprofit with a $5 million budget probably doesn’t.

An employee who’s found to be receiving excessive compensation may be required to return a portion of his compensation and to pay an excise tax, and, in dire cases, the nonprofit organization may lose its tax-exempt status. Chapter 6 offers more information on excessive compensation.

So, when setting your nonprofit’s executive director’s salary (or your own), make sure the amount of compensation is justified by salary surveys of similar organizations. Also factor in the local cost of living, the size of the nonprofit’s budget, and the type of services being provided. Community foundations and nonprofit consulting firms can offer salary guidelines to aid in the compensation decision. Also, many states have a statewide nonprofit organization that collects information about, and provides information to, other nonprofits.

Federal law also requires nonprofits to make their three most recent 990 reports, as well as their application for tax exemption and supporting documents, available for public inspection. State and local laws in your area may require additional disclosures. Posting your 990 reports and other required documents on the web is an acceptable way to meet disclosure requirements.

To become familiar with the 990 report, download a copy of it from the IRS website at www.irs.gov. You also can view completed 990 forms from other nonprofit organizations at GuideStar by Candid (www.guidestar.org).