The IRS and the Internet: new issues for tax-exempt organizations

Tax-exempt healthcare organizations increasingly are using the Internet to provide an inexpensive, easily accessible forum for information exchange, organization publicity, and community-relations programs. A tax-exempt organization that engages in certain activities on its Web site, however, risks losing its tax-exempt status. Such activities may include political messages and lobbying, substantial advertising and other revenue-generating programs, and inappropriate solicitation of charitable contributions. Therefore, providers should carefully monitor all information on their Web sites, including hyperlinks to other Web sites, chat-room and bulletin-board content, and advertisements, to make certain they comply with IRS rules.