The New Nonprofit Tax Laws for Dummies, Part 1

Okay, it’s confession time —I’ll go first. I consider myself to be a pretty bright guy; not Bill Nye the Science Guy smart, but more like Mr. Rogers smart (and not because I talk to puppets—I don’t). The thing that I struggle with though, to put it lightly, is a very challenged attention span.

You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that when you’re having a conversation with me, I deeply care about what you’re telling me, I really do, but my wayward mind can’t help but drift to the “Great Beyond.” You can be talking directly at me, but I’m thinking about how if I sell one of my lesser needed organs and get my nephew to lend me his bar mitzvah money, I can finally buy the new Tesla Model 3 I’ve been ogling for the better part of the last three years.

Despite the reality of how cool that would be—and how I could totally make it happen—I have to continually remind myself to remain focused on both simple and complicated topics, the latter, of course, to a greater extent. With that challenge, however, comes a great opportunity... mastering the skill of simplification.

Understanding the New Tax Code

Which brings me to one of the most difficult concepts that nonprofit leaders have been trying to comprehend in the last few months, yup, you guessed it: the massive mess that is the new tax code. As such, if you’re like me, then this article is perfect for you. I’m going to be breaking it down so that even an 8-year old would be able to understand it. I apologize if there are any 7-year olds that feel discriminated against upon reading this—I value all my readers and their impeccable taste in nonprofit authors.

Before I get into nitty-gritty and confusing terminology, I’ll lay it all out with an easy and relatable 8-year old analogy. I want you to think back to your childhood days real quick for this one: what is the best way for a kid to make money during a particularly sweltering summer? Why, running a lemonade stand, of course!