IRS says churches can endorse political candidates without losing tax-exempt status [View all]
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Source: CNBC
Published Tue, Jul 8 2025 10:20 AM EDT Updated 43 Min Ago
The IRS said in a new federal court filing that churches can endorse political candidates to their congregations without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status. The move upends a 70-year-old interpretation of the U.S. tax code, whose Johnson Amendment has barred certain non-profit groups, including churches, from endorsing political candidates without putting their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.
President Donald Trump has long called for Johnson Amendment to be repealed.
“Communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the IRS said in the joint filing Monday with the National Religious Broadcasters group in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
“When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither ‘participate[s]” nor ‘intervene[s]’ in a ‘political campaign,’ within the ordinary meaning of those words,” the filing said.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/08/irs-church-candidates-tax-politics.html
Link to FILING (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.232590/gov.uscourts.txed.232590.35.0.pdf
This apparently happened (quietly) yesterday and was intentionally buried. A CBS article referenced a report by the NYT that was published yesterday.
Article updated.
Previous article -
The IRS said in a new federal court filing that churches can endorse political candidates without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status. The move upends a 70-year interpretation of the U.S. tax code, whose Johnson Amendment has barred non-profit groups, including churches, from endorsing political candidates without putting their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.
"Communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted," the IRS said in the joint filing with the National Religious Broadcasters group in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
"When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither 'participate[s]" nor 'intervene[s]' in a 'political campaign,' within the ordinary meaning of those words," the filing said.
The filing was part of a joint motion by the IRS, the National Religious Broadcasters, and two churches, Sand Springs Church and First Baptist Church Waksom to resolve a lawsuit through a consent judgment.
Original article -
The IRS in a new federal court filing says that churches can endorse political candidates without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status.
The move upends a 70-year interpretation of the U.S. tax code, whose Johnson Amendment has barred non-profit groups, including churches, from endorsing political candidates without putting their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.
"When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither "participate[s]" nor "intervene[s]" in a "political campaign," within the ordinary meaning of those words," the lawyers for the IRS and the National Religious Broadcasters said in filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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