Cohousing-L Mailing List: Tax on donations/gifts to cohousing?

[Edwin Simmers (edwinsimmers]

Does anyone have experience with the tax consequences of donations/gifts to 
your community? Donations for an Eco Fund, a hardship fund,  or even someone 
contemplating the donation of their unit to the community after their death?

Bellingham Cohousing is considering an Eco Fund to receive voluntary donations 
that could be used to buy solar panels, gas-free upgrades to our heating 
systems, electric vehicle chargers, and electric hot water heat pumps, for 
example. We’re wondering if the IRS will consider these gifts to be income to 
the association or whether, as with gifts to individuals, they are not subject 
to federal income tax and do not need to be reported to the Internal Revenue 
Service as income.

And we’re also wondering, if the donations are considered income, whether they 
can be considered non-taxable “exempt function income.”

We’re having difficulty finding a tax professional who is familiar with 
condominiums that file federal tax returns using Form 1120-H and who can help 
us with answers to our questions. If you’ve had experience with these issues or 
can refer us to someone else who can advise us, please let us know.

Thanks

Edwin Simmers
Bellingham Cohousing
edwinsimmers [at] bellcoho.com