Religious Use Law in South Florida
On July 7, 2025, in National Religious Broadcasters, et al. v. Billy Long, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Services, et al., Docket no: 6:24-cv-00311-JCB (E.D. Texas) (“NRB”), the IRS entered into a consent decree in...more
The Internal Revenue Service has reached a settlement, subject to court approval, that would permit political speech in houses of worship. Background - Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code defines an organization...more
On July 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) overturned an over 70-year-old interpretation of the Internal Revenue Code via a federal court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which now...more
IRS Inquiries and Examinations, Generally – Sections 6201 and 7602. Generally, the IRS is authorized and required by 26 U.S.C. § 6201(a) “to make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes” imposed by the...more
Key Cases - Covert Surveillance Due to Religious Identity is Actionable - Government surveillance of individuals due to their religious identity is actionable under federal law. In Fazaga v. Federal Bureau of...more
Last year, in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a special type of “church plan,” intended to be exempt from Title I of ERISA and many Internal Revenue Code requirements, does not...more
The IRS has once again confirmed that an employee benefit plan maintained by a church or church-affiliated organization is not subject to ERISA unless the plan sponsor makes an affirmative written election to have ERISA apply...more
On November 2, 2017, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced H.R. 1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “Bill”). At over four hundred pages, the Bill promises substantial changes to the Internal...more
When was the last time your organization reviewed your insurance policies? Not all policies are equal. Many religious organizations are underinsured. Most should have general liability, property, professional liability,...more
Editor's Overview - In this month's Newsletter, Robert Rachal discusses recent "church plan" rulings where some federal judges have declined to give deference to long-standing, consistent guidance from the Internal...more
If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had a moratorium on enforcing §501(c)(3) electioneering restrictions against churches and religious organizations, the IRS states that it has been lifted incident to the settlement and...more
"Church plans" are pension plans (including defined benefit or defined contribution plans) exempt (without an irrevocable election) from many of the legal requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)...more