IRS Guidance for Religious Organizations on Politics

Religious organizations in the U.S. with tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) are strictly prohibited from engaging in political campaigning. Violations of these rules can lead to severe consequences, including loss of tax-exempt status and financial penalties. Here's what you need to know:

• Prohibited Activities: Religious groups cannot endorse or oppose political candidates, contribute to campaigns, or distribute partisan materials.
• Permitted Activities: Non-partisan efforts like voter registration drives, educational forums, and publishing neutral voter guides are allowed.
• Key Rule: Intent doesn’t matter - any activity that appears to favor or oppose a candidate is a violation.
• Recent Updates: The IRS now allows certain political speech during religious services under specific conditions. New rules also impact group exemptions for religious organizations.

Staying compliant involves clear policies, careful review of communications, such as donor welcome series, and using IRS resources like Revenue Ruling 2007-41. Non-compliance risks are high, so religious organizations must tread carefully to maintain their tax-exempt status.

Major IRS Changes For Nonprofits | Churches Need to Know THIS!

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The Johnson Amendment: Political Activity Rules for Religious Organizations

The Johnson Amendment, part of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, lays out clear restrictions for religious organizations. According to recent IRS guidance, this amendment prohibits all tax-exempt organizations - including churches and other religious groups - from participating in political campaigns. This means they cannot directly or indirectly support or oppose any candidate running for public office. The rule is strict: even minor violations can put an organization's tax-exempt status at risk.

If a religious organization violates these rules, it faces serious consequences, including the loss of tax-exempt status and the imposition of excise taxes. The IRS, through its committee of career civil servants, actively investigates allegations of improper political involvement.

Activities Religious Organizations Must Avoid

Religious organizations are required to avoid any behavior that could be seen as endorsing or opposing a political candidate. Prohibited actions include contributing to political campaign funds and making public statements - whether written or spoken - that support or criticize a candidate. This prohibition also covers indirect actions, like hosting fundraising events, distributing partisan materials, or making statements designed to sway voters.

The IRS has made it clear that intent does not matter. If an activity appears to favor or harm a candidate, it is considered a violation of the Johnson Amendment.

Activities Religious Organizations Can Conduct

Despite these restrictions, religious organizations are allowed to participate in certain civic activities, as long as they remain non-partisan. Acceptable activities include voter registration drives, get-out-the-vote efforts, hosting forums open to all candidates, and publishing voter education guides. The critical requirement is that these efforts must not show favoritism toward any candidate or group of candidates.

To help organizations comply, the IRS has issued detailed guidance. Revenue Ruling 2007-41 provides 21 examples that clarify what constitutes prohibited political activity. Additional rulings confirm that some voter education activities - such as publishing voting records of Congressional incumbents on legislative matters - are allowed, provided they do not cross the line into campaign intervention. These guidelines help religious organizations navigate the rules while ensuring their activities remain within legal boundaries.

IRS Compliance Guidelines for Religious Organizations

Religious organizations must have a solid plan to ensure they comply with IRS rules regarding political activities. Violations carry severe penalties, including the loss of tax-exempt status and excise taxes. To help navigate these limits, this guide provides practical steps for implementing internal measures to avoid unintentional violations.

Creating Internal Policies

Establishing written policies is crucial for clarifying what activities are acceptable for staff and volunteers. These policies should clearly differentiate between prohibited political intervention and permissible non-partisan efforts, like voter registration drives or public forums. The goal is to define these boundaries in straightforward terms that everyone can understand and follow.

Use Revenue Ruling 2007-41 as a benchmark to identify prohibited activities. Before approving any activity with potential political implications, compare it to scenarios outlined by the IRS to see if guidance already exists. Organizations should also keep in mind that actions by individual members can sometimes reflect on the organization as a whole, so policies need to address staff and volunteer behavior both during and outside official events.

Importantly, intentions don’t matter. According to the IRS, even well-meaning activities that qualify as campaign intervention are prohibited. Therefore, policies must focus strictly on the nature of the activity, not the reasons behind it.

Reviewing Public Statements and Communications

Once internal policies are set, ensure all external communications align with them. This includes sermons, newsletters, social media posts, and website content. Every public statement should be reviewed to remove any bias toward specific candidates. Even content that appears educational can be classified as prohibited campaign intervention if it favors or opposes a candidate.

When creating voter guides or publishing voting records, follow the nonpartisan guidelines in Revenue Ruling 78-248 and Revenue Ruling 80-282. Presentation matters: even factual information can cross the line if it’s framed in a way that reveals candidate preference. Avoid focusing solely on issues important to the organization if doing so signals support for a particular candidate.

Using IRS Resources

The IRS provides free tools to help organizations maintain compliance. The "Small to Mid-Size Tax Exempt Organization Workshop" is an online program offering 10 courses on the benefits and restrictions of tax-exempt status. This training equips staff with essential knowledge to stay compliant.

For quick answers, refer to the IRS FAQ on Political Campaign Intervention, which addresses 14 common scenarios, such as inviting candidates to speak, linking to candidate websites, and conducting voter registration drives. Additionally, bookmark the IRS page titled "Resources for charities, churches, and educational organizations", which compiles all relevant compliance materials in one place.

Here’s a quick summary of key IRS resources and their applications:

The IRS last updated its primary resources for religious organizations in August 2025. To stay current, organizations should regularly check for new guidance. For focused training, consider completing the IRS mini-course, "Political Campaigns and Charities: The Ban on Campaign Intervention".

Recent Policy Changes and Their Effects

Two major updates in 2025 and early 2026 have reshaped compliance rules for religious organizations. One focuses on clarifying protected religious speech during services, while the other revises how group exemptions are managed. These changes bring new compliance pathways and operational guidance for religious groups.

The 2025 IRS-NRB Consent Decree

In July 2025, the IRS reached a settlement in a lawsuit involving several religious organizations. The resulting consent decree allows houses of worship to endorse or oppose political candidates during services without risking their tax-exempt status - provided they meet specific conditions.

The IRS now treats such endorsements as protected internal communications, likening them to "family discussions", rather than categorizing them as political campaigning. To fall under this safe harbor, endorsements must meet three criteria: they must be authentic, delivered through customary channels like sermons, and grounded in a religious context. Israel Tannenbaum, Partner at Withum, explained:

If a rabbi, pastor or religious leader endorses a candidate from the pulpit as part of a sermon or faith-based message to their own congregation, the IRS will treat that as an internal, private matter, 'like a family discussion,' rather than as political campaigning.

However, this change comes with boundaries. Houses of worship are still prohibited from funding political campaigns, running ads, or distributing campaign materials to the public. The safe harbor applies strictly to congregational settings and does not extend to religious charities or educational institutions. While the decree formally applies only to the lawsuit's plaintiffs, experts anticipate the IRS will adopt this interpretation for similar cases moving forward.

This decision represents a shift in how internal religious speech is viewed within the tax-exempt landscape.

Revenue Procedure 2026-08

On January 20, 2026, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2026-08, ending a five-year freeze on new group exemption applications. This update directly impacts denominations and religious associations that oversee tax-exempt status for multiple subordinate organizations, such as member churches or regional chapters.

Under the new rules, central organizations must annually educate their subordinate groups on tax-exempt requirements, typically using IRS Publication 1828. Any new subordinate organizations must include a standardized purpose statement in their governing documents. Additionally, central organizations are now limited to holding one exemption letter and must oversee at least five subordinate entities.

While churches are not required to submit annual financial reviews, doing so voluntarily can help with donor verification by ensuring subordinate organizations are listed on the IRS Exempt Organization Master List. Central organizations need to meet these new standards by January 22, 2027 .

These updates aim to streamline compliance and reinforce accountability within group exemption structures.

Practical Steps for Religious Organizations

Working with Legal and Tax Advisors

Religious organizations should collaborate with legal and tax advisors familiar with Revenue Ruling 2007-41 to navigate the IRS's "facts and circumstances" test. This test helps determine whether certain activities cross the line into prohibited political intervention, as the IRS enforces these rules regardless of an organization's intent.

Advisors rely on the 21 factual scenarios outlined in Revenue Ruling 2007-41 to assess compliance. To further assist organizations, the IRS offers a Small to Mid-Size Tax Exempt Organization Workshop. One of its courses, "Political Campaigns and Charities: The Ban on Campaign Intervention", educates leaders on how individual members' actions could potentially be attributed to the organization itself.

In addition to legal guidance, managing digital communications effectively is key to staying compliant.

Using Marketing and Fundraising Solutions

Managing digital platforms requires careful planning to ensure non-partisan communication. Emails, social media updates, and website content must steer clear of any appearance of political campaign involvement. Share Services specializes in providing tools and strategies tailored for religious organizations to maintain compliance.

Their digital solutions allow organizations to engage in issue advocacy without overlapping with election cycles, ensuring communications remain neutral. Share Services also offers branding and messaging services to ensure that automated communications, like newsletters and social media posts, do not veer into partisan territory. For activities like voter registration or get-out-the-vote efforts, their fundraising platforms support outreach while adhering to non-partisan guidelines, helping organizations safeguard their tax-exempt status.

The IRS has reported that about 33% of organizations contacted for alleged political intervention violations were churches. To address this, Share Services provides comprehensive support. Their monthly project budget of $3,000 covers branding, graphic design, and content creation. Additionally, a $3,500 monthly strategy retainer gives organizations access to nonprofit strategists who ensure that digital tools - like websites and email lists - are used in a way that avoids favoring any political candidate.

Conclusion

Religious organizations are strictly barred from participating in political campaigns, whether for or against any candidate running for public office. The Internal Revenue Code enforces this rule, and breaking it could lead to losing tax-exempt status and facing excise taxes on political expenditures.

"Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office." - IRS

That said, these organizations can still fulfill their mission while following the rules. They’re allowed to advocate for important issues, organize non-partisan voter registration drives, and host forums where all candidates are given equal opportunities to speak. The critical factor is staying neutral and avoiding any endorsement or opposition to specific candidates.

Intentions don’t shield organizations from penalties. The IRS evaluates potential violations based on the actual facts and circumstances surrounding an activity, regardless of the organization’s stated purpose. Even actions labeled as "educational" can cross the line if they display favoritism toward a candidate. To avoid missteps, it’s crucial to review all public communications, provide proper training to leadership, and seek guidance from experienced advisors.

FAQs

What counts as an “endorsement” under IRS rules?

Under IRS rules, an "endorsement" refers to any statement that explicitly or indirectly supports or opposes a candidate running for public office. This can include naming a candidate, showing approval or disapproval of their actions, or mentioning elections in a way that signals a stance. Tax-exempt organizations must steer clear of public comments, campaign donations, or distributing materials that could be interpreted as taking sides in a political campaign. Doing so could risk their 501(c)(3) status if the IRS determines it qualifies as political campaign activity.

Can our church livestream sermons that mention candidates?

Your church is allowed to livestream sermons that mention candidates, but it’s crucial to remain neutral. To stay within IRS rules for 501(c)(3) organizations, avoid making any statements that could be seen as supporting or opposing a political candidate.

How can we run voter registration without seeming partisan?

To conduct voter registration activities while staying neutral, prioritize encouraging civic participation without showing favoritism toward any candidate or political party. Stick to actions like organizing voter registration drives, sharing unbiased voter guides, or hosting candidate forums that present factual and impartial information. Steer clear of displaying materials or making comments that could be seen as endorsing or opposing any political figure or group.

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