Political organizations

A political organization shall be subject to taxation under this subtitle only to the extent provided in this section. A political organization shall be considered an organization exempt from income taxes for the purpose of any law which refers to organizations exempt from income taxes. A tax is hereby imposed for each taxable year on the political organization taxable income of every political organization. Such tax shall be computed by multiplying the political organization taxable income by the highest rate of tax specified in section 11(b). For purposes of this section, the political organization taxable income of any organization for any taxable year is an amount equal to the excess (if any) of— For purposes of this subsection— For purposes of this subsection, the term “exempt function income” means any amount received as— For purposes of this title, if any political organization— For purposes of this section— The term “political organization” means a party, committee, association, fund, or other organization (whether or not incorporated) organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly or indirectly accepting contributions or making expenditures, or both, for an exempt function. The term “exempt function” means the function of influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any Federal, State, or local public office or office in a political organization, or the election of Presidential or Vice-Presidential electors, whether or not such individual or electors are selected, nominated, elected, or appointed. Such term includes the making of expenditures relating to an office described in the preceding sentence which, if incurred by the individual, would be allowable as a deduction under section 162(a). The term “contributions” has the meaning given to such term by section 271(b)(2). The term “expenditures” has the meaning given to such term by section 271(b)(3). The term “qualified State or local political organization” means a political organization— which is subject to State law that requires the organization to report (and it so reports)— An organization shall not be treated as failing to meet the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii) solely by reason of 1 or more of the following: The State law does not require the organization to identify 1 or more of the following: An organization shall not fail to be treated as a qualified State or local political organization solely because such organization makes de minimis errors in complying with the State reporting requirements and the public inspection requirements described in subparagraph (A) as long as the organization corrects such errors within a reasonable period after the organization becomes aware of such errors. The term “qualified State or local political organization” shall not include any organization otherwise described in subparagraph (A) if a candidate for nomination or election to Federal elective public office or an individual who holds such office— If an organization described in section 501(c) which is exempt from tax under section 501(a) expends any amount during the taxable year directly (or through another organization) for an exempt function (within the meaning of subsection (e)(2)), then, notwithstanding any other provision of law, there shall be included in the gross income of such organization for the taxable year, and shall be subject to tax under subsection (b) as if it constituted political organization taxable income, an amount equal to the lesser of— For purposes of this subsection, the term “net investment income” means the excess of— For purposes of this subsection and subsection (e)(1), a separate segregated fund (within the meaning of section 610 of title 18 or of any similar State statute, or within the meaning of any State statute which permits the segregation of dues moneys for exempt functions (within the meaning of subsection (e)(2))) which is maintained by an organization described in section 501(c) which is exempt from tax under section 501(a) shall be treated as a separate organization. For purposes of this section, a fund established and maintained by an individual who holds, has been elected to, or is a candidate (within the meaning of paragraph (3)) for nomination or election to, any Federal, State, or local elective public office, for use by such individual exclusively for the preparation and circulation of such individual’s newsletter shall, except as provided in paragraph (2), be treated as if such fund constituted a political organization. In the case of any fund described in paragraph (1)— For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “candidate” means, with respect to any Federal, State, or local elective public office, an individual who— In the case of a political organization, which is a principal campaign committee, paragraph (1) of subsection (b) shall be applied by substituting “the appropriate rates” for “the highest rate”. For purposes of this subsection, the term “principal campaign committee” means the political committee designated by a candidate for Congress as his principal campaign committee for purposes of— A candidate may have only 1 designation in effect under subparagraph (A)(ii) at any time and such designation— Except as provided in paragraph (5), an organization shall not be treated as an organization described in this section— The notice required under paragraph (1) shall be transmitted not later than 24 hours after the date on which the organization is established or, in the case of any material change in the information required under paragraph (3), not later than 30 days after such material change. The notice required under paragraph (1) shall include information regarding— In the case of an organization failing to meet the requirements of paragraph (1) for any period, the taxable income of such organization shall be computed by taking into account any exempt function income (and any deductions directly connected with the production of such income) or, in the case of a failure relating to a material change, by taking into account such income and deductions only during the period beginning on the date on which the material change occurs and ending on the date on which notice is given under this subsection. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “exempt function income” means any amount described in a subparagraph of subsection (c)(3), whether or not segregated for use for an exempt function. This subsection shall not apply to any organization— This subsection shall not apply to any person required (without regard to this subsection) to report under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) as a political committee. In the case of— A political organization which accepts a contribution, or makes an expenditure, for an exempt function during any calendar year shall file with the Secretary either— in the case of a calendar year in which a regularly scheduled election is held— A report required under paragraph (2) shall contain the following information: For purposes of this subsection, a person shall be treated as having made an expenditure or contribution if the person has contracted or is otherwise obligated to make the expenditure or contribution. This subsection shall not apply— For purposes of this subsection, the term “election” means— Any report required under paragraph (2) with respect to any calendar year shall be filed in electronic form. The Secretary shall make any notice described in subsection (i)(1) or report described in subsection (j)(7) available for public inspection on the Internet not later than 48 hours after such notice or report has been filed (in addition to such public availability as may be made under section 6104(d)(7)). The Secretary shall make the entire database of notices and reports which are made available to the public under paragraph (1) searchable by the following items (to the extent the items are required to be included in the notices and reports): The Secretary may waive all or any portion of the—