If you desire official recognition of your tax-exempt status as a church, you will need to complete an IRS 501c3 church application, or the Form 1023. What is this documentation, and why is it necessary?  What is the point of being registered as a 501c3? These are legitimate questions to which you need honest answers.

Completing the form is not an easy task.  It will require concentration and a determination to get through it completely and accurately. This is one of those things in life for which there is no easy way.  You should everything you can to attempt to make its completion as easy and understandable as possible.

There are not many places where you can find the most up-to-date information about how to best complete the IRS 501c3 church application, or Form 1023. Much of the information out there is cobbled together by non-professionals who hire secular lawyers to do it for them, then they copy it and sell it to you. That's not what I consider expertise borne out of training or many years of experience.

The bottom line is that you need the right information before launching into the form. The right expert help will help to “get your arms around" the form, so to speak, before “sinking your teeth into it.”

In reviewing the form, you will notice that many of the questions require such lengthy answers that they cannot fit into the space provided in the form. My recommendation is that you utilize attachments for the main form and for Schedule A, as well.  Schedule A is the form that is meant specifically for churches. The IRS uses Schedule A to determine if the applicant is a bona fide church, based on its church criteria. The IRS's church criteria are not a religious test, but rather, a test for the purposes of tax law.

In constructing an attachment to the IRS 501c3 church application, make sure that you include the following information in the attachment header:

1. Name of your organization;
2. Complete address of your organization;
3. F.E.I.N

In addition, you should indicate on each attachment that it relates to Form 1023. Then, restate a question fully on the attachment before responding to it. In my experience, this makes it easier for the IRS to review your responses and will make it less likely that your application will be held up because of questions.

Also, in reviewing the form before inserting your answers, keep in mind that it will require that you attach certain documents. Therefore, prepare and set aside all the documents called for, such as: articles of incorporation, bylaws, and any lease agreements you may have on the facility you will be meeting in. You may have to refer to them in answering some questions on the form.

Above all, do not allow the IRS 501c3 church application to intimidate you. Remember that with the right guidance at hand, there is no one more qualified and better prepared to complete this form than you. To get more information about the gold standard in use today by hundreds of churches in America, take a close look at this amazing resource written by Abe Hernandez, Esq., a devoted Christian and church law expert. It's called Building On Faith: Everything You Need To Know About Starting Your Own Church.