Charities gain broad new power to spend on political campaigns

What it does

This bill amends the tax code to allow 501(c)(3) charitable organizations to make statements about political campaigns without losing their tax-exempt status, provided the statements are made in the ordinary course of their exempt work and cost only de minimis incremental expenses. Currently, the tax code prohibits charities from participating in or intervening in political campaigns; this bill carves out an exception for campaign-related speech that flows naturally from the charity's mission.

Why we flagged it

The bill functionally deregulates political speech by 501(c)(3) organizations, removing a longstanding prohibition in exchange for a vague 'ordinary course' and 'de minimis cost' standard. It is not a ban or restriction; it is a permission-granting amendment that loosens existing campaign-finance guardrails.

What the text implies

• The 'ordinary course' and 'de minimis incremental expenses' standards are undefined in the bill and will require IRS guidance or litigation to clarify. A charity could argue that campaign advocacy is 'ordinary' if its mission touches politics, creating enforcement uncertainty.
• Tax-deductible donations to charities could now fund political speech without the donor or charity disclosing the electoral intent, potentially converting charitable giving into a tax-advantaged campaign-finance channel.
• The bill does not require charities to disclose campaign spending or track incremental costs, leaving no audit trail for the IRS to verify compliance with the 'de minimis' threshold.
• Charities aligned with particular candidates or parties could use this safe harbor to conduct sustained campaign advocacy while retaining tax-exempt status, effectively converting nonprofit infrastructure into electoral machinery.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens benefit from expanded charitable speech on matters of public concern, potentially amplifying nonprofit advocacy on issues tied to their missions (e.g., a civil-rights charity commenting on candidates' positions). However, the bill risks converting tax-deductible donations into de facto campaign spending, blurring the line between charitable work and electoral activity, and potentially allowing wealthy donors to route political spending through tax-advantaged vehicles.

Who stands to gain

• 501(c)(3) charitable organizations (especially those with political missions)
• wealthy donors seeking tax-advantaged vehicles for political spending

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 501(c)(3) organizations, IRC Section 501, IRC Section 170(c)(2), IRC Section 2055, IRC Section 2106, IRC Section 2522, IRC Section 4955

Where it stands

38 cosponsors: 38 Republicans.

• Mar 31, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 31, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Mar 2026. Those filings disclosed $232,684 in lobbying spend. A filing names 5 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Mark Harris, the sponsor, reported $190,505 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Council of Nonprofits (formerly Known As the National Council of Nonpro — $232,684 on 3 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jun 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.