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Treasury Regulations · 26 CFR

§ 56.4911-1. Tax on excess lobbying expenditures.

In effect eCFR current as of October 15, 2026

Regulation text, no changes From the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026. The eCFR is an authoritative but unofficial editorial compilation of the Code of Federal Regulations; the official text is the annual CFR on govinfo. Compare it with this section on ecfr.gov (external site) or the official annual CFR on govinfo (external site).

Regulation under 26 U.S.C. § 4911

Cite as 26 CFR § 56.4911-1

At a glance

Read from the text and its source citation. Not part of the regulation.

Status
In the current eCFR
Source
T.D. 8308, 55 FR 35598, Aug. 31, 1990, unless otherwise noted.
Issued under
26 U.S.C. § 4911
Length
388 words · about 2 min to read
Cross-references
cites 2 Code sections and 5 regulations; cited by 5
(a) In general. Section 4911(a) imposes an excise tax of 25 percent on the excess lobbying expenditures (as defined in paragraph (b) of this section) for a taxable year of an organization for which the expenditure test election under section 501(h) is in effect (an “electing public charity”). An electing public charity's annual limit on expenditures for influencing legislation (i.e., the amount of lobbying expenditures on which no tax is due) is the lobbying nontaxable amount or, on expenditures for influencing legislation through grass roots lobbying, the grass roots nontaxable amount (see paragraph (c) of this section). For rules concerning the application of the excise tax imposed by section 4911(a) to the members of an affiliated group of organizations (as defined in § 56.4911-7(e)), see § 56.4911-8.
(b) Excess lobbying expenditures. For any taxable year for which the expenditure test election under section 501(h) is in effect, the amount of an electing public charity's excess lobbying expenditures is the greater of—
(1) The amount by which the organization's lobbying expenditures (within the meaning of § 56.4911-2(a)) exceed the organization's lobbying nontaxable amount, or
(2) The amount by which the organization's grass roots expenditures (within the meaning of §§ 56.4911-2(a)) exceed the organization's grass roots nontaxable amount.
(c) Nontaxable amounts—
(1) Lobbying nontaxable amount. Under section 4911(c)(2), the lobbying nontaxable amount for any taxable year for which the expenditure test election is in effect is the lesser of—
(i) $1,000,000, or
(ii) To the extent of the electing public charity's exempt purpose expenditures (within the meaning of § 56.4911-4) for that year, the sum of 20 percent of the first $500,000 of such expenditures, plus 15 percent of the second $500,000 of such expenditures, plus 10 percent of the third $500,000 of such expenditures, plus 5 percent of the remainder of such expenditures.
(2) Grass roots nontaxable amount. Under section 4911(c)(4), an electing public charity's grass roots nontaxable amount for any taxable year is 25 percent of its lobbying nontaxable amount for that year.
(d) Examples. The provisions of this section are illustrated by the examples in § 1.501(h)-3.

Other regulations under § 4911

Cross-references

Computed from the citations in the text of 26 CFR.

Code sections it cites

Regulations it cites

Cited by 5 other regulations

Where it sits in 26 CFR

  1. Subchapter D Miscellaneous excise taxes
  2. Part 56 Public charity excise taxes

Nearby sections