Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
501(c) Organization
Practical Law Glossary Item 8-507-8508 (Approx. 4 pages)
Glossary
501(c) Organization
Non-profit organizations are generally exempt from certain federal income taxes. These types of tax-exempt organizations are listed in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
The most common types of tax-exempt organizations are corporations organized and operated exclusively for:
- Religious, educational, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, or literary purposes.
- Fostering national or international amateur sports competition.
- Preventing cruelty to children or animals.
The various types of 501(c) organizations are:
- Corporations organized under Act of Congress (including federal credit unions) (IRC § 501(c)(1)).
- Title holding corporations for exempt organizations (IRC § 501(c)(2)).
- Religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, to foster national or international amateur sports competition, or prevention of cruelty to children or animals organizations (IRC § 501(c)(3)).
- Civic leagues, social welfare organizations, and local associations of employees (IRC § 501(c)(4)).
- Labor, agricultural, and horticultural organizations (IRC § 501(c)(5)).
- Business leagues, chambers of commerce, and real estate boards (IRC § 501(c)(6)).
- Social and recreational clubs (IRC § 501(c)(7)).
- Fraternal beneficiary societies and associations (IRC § 501(c)(8)).
- Domestic fraternal societies and associations (IRC § 501(c)(10)).
- Teachers' retirement fund associations (IRC § 501(c)(11)).
- Benevolent life insurance associations, mutual ditch or irrigation companies, and mutual or cooperative telephone companies (IRC § 501(c)(12)).
- Cemetery companies (IRC § 501(c)(13)).
- State-chartered credit unions and mutual reserve funds (IRC § 501(c)(14)).
- Mutual insurance companies or associations (IRC § 501(c)(15)).
- Cooperative organizations to finance crop operations (IRC § 501(c)(16)).
- Supplemental unemployment benefit trusts (IRC § 501(c)(17)).
- Employee-funded pension trusts created before June 25, 1959 (IRC § 501(c)(18)).
- Posts or organizations of past or present members of the armed forces (IRC § 501(c)(19)).
- Black lung benefit trusts (IRC § 501(c)(21)).
- Withdrawal liability payment funds (IRC § 501(c)(22)).
- Supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB) trusts (IRC § 501(c)(23); see Article, Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plans and COVID-19).
- Title-holding corporations or trusts with multiple parents (IRC § 501(c)(25)).
- State-sponsored organizations providing health coverage for high-risk individuals (IRC § 501(c)(26)).
- State-sponsored workers' compensation reinsurance organizations (IRC § 501(c)(27)).
- National railroad retirement investment trusts (IRC § 501(c)(28)).