Lesson series

How to Establish a Tax-Exempt
508(c)(1)(A) Compliant Faith-Based Organization:

A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up a Tax-Exempt 508(c)(1)(A) Compliant Faith-Based Organization: Your Comprehensive Guide


Welcome to our website, your ultimate destination for comprehensive guidance on setting up a tax-exempt 508(c)(1)(A) compliant faith-based organization. Our mission is to assist individuals and groups interested in establishing religious organizations that are exempt from federal income tax.


Our step-by-step guide is designed with simplicity in mind, ensuring that you can effortlessly navigate the process of setting up your faith-based organization. We cover all aspects, including legal requirements, tax-exempt status, and compliance with IRS regulations. Our detailed instructions will walk you through obtaining tax-exempt status, drafting articles of association and bylaws, and establishing a board of directors.

But that's not all—we go beyond the basics. Our guide offers invaluable insights on organization structure, program development, and effective fundraising strategies. We provide tips and best practices to help you build a successful faith-based organization that positively impacts your community.

Whether you're an individual embarking on a small ministry or a group aiming to establish a larger religious organization, our guide equips you with the knowledge and tools to set up and manage a tax-exempt 508(c)(1)(A) compliant faith-based organization.

We pride ourselves on keeping our guide up to date, aligning with the latest tax laws and regulations. Moreover, we offer ongoing support to assist you throughout the intricate process of establishing and managing your faith-based organization. Your success is our priority, and we're committed to helping you make a difference in the world through your faith-based organization.

Ready to elevate your unincorporated faith-based organization or ministry to new heights? Look no further! Our comprehensive package of templates is here to provide unwavering support at every stage of your journey. From formation documents to employment forms, donation templates to governance resources, we've meticulously curated a collection to streamline your processes, enhance operations, and ensure compliance effortlessly.

Seize this incredible opportunity today! Enroll in our course and gain access to the sought-after UNINCORPORATED CHURCH ASSOCIATION (UCA) PACKAGE. With these invaluable resources at your fingertips, you'll have the tools to drive significant impact within your organization.

Join our vibrant community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about establishing tax-exempt unincorporated faith-based organizations/ministries. We foster an environment of support and collaboration, empowering you to thrive and achieve your goals.

The time for action is now! Enroll in the course, access the templates, and embark on a transformative journey of success. Your unincorporated faith-based organization is poised to flourish, and we're here to guide you every step of the way.

Don't hesitate! Enroll in the course. Together, let's make a lasting impact and create a difference with your unincorporated faith-based organization or ministry. Your journey towards success starts now.
An incredibly helpful and detailed guide for anyone looking to establish a tax-exempt faith-based organization. Highly recommended!
— Sarah Johnson
This guide made the process of setting up a tax-exempt religious organization a breeze. The step-by-step instructions were easy to follow and saved me a lot of time and headaches.
— Michael Lee
If you're looking to start a faith-based organization and want to ensure it is compliant with tax laws, look no further. This guide has everything you need to know and more.
— Olivia Davis

Course Objective: 

Establishing an unincorporated, unregistered faith-based organization that is not-for-profit can be a powerful way to safeguard your private assets and offer essential aid to those in need in your community. Starting a not-for-profit entity is comparable to starting any other type of business..

Create and Manage a Lawful Tax-Exempt Self-Supported 508(c)(1)(A) Faith Based Organization

This course guides you in creating and managing a tax-exempt self-supported 508(c)(1)(A) faith-based organization. Learn how to establish your organization as a not-for-profit entity and comply with 508(c)(1)(A) requirements. Gain the knowledge and tools to effectively run your faith-based organization with tax-exempt status.

Establish Control and Operation of Your Faith Based Organization as a Not-for-Profit Entity

Gain control and operate your faith-based organization as a not-for-profit entity. This course provides the guidance you need to establish and manage your organization while ensuring compliance with not-for-profit regulations. Learn the essential steps to take control and effectively run your faith-based organization for the greater good.

Understand the Procedures for Maintaining 508(c)(1)(A) Compliance

Get familiar with the procedures for maintaining 508(c)(1)(A) compliance. This course will provide you with the necessary knowledge and insights to ensure your faith-based organization remains in compliance with the requirements. Learn how to navigate the regulations and effectively manage your organization's compliance to maintain its tax-exempt status.

Gain Independence from Government Regulation and Expand Advocacy Opportunities

Gain independence and maximize advocacy opportunities for your organization. This course equips you with the knowledge and strategies to navigate the legal landscape, enabling your faith-based organization to operate autonomously and engage in impactful advocacy. Learn how to leverage 508(c)(1)(A) status to expand your advocacy efforts and advocate for your cause without limitations.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, WE NOW OFFER COMPLETED SAMPLE FORMS.

  • The Completed Sample Forms clearly illustrates how the form might be prepared and serves as a useful guide when you are unsure about the information required to complete your form.

  • Speed up your document preparation and avoid costly mistakes by referring to the Completed Sample Forms whenever you have a question.

  • Completed Sample Forms are available in pdf format.

  • What do our Members say?

    "The sample forms allowed me to complete the form in minutes and was an invaluable reference. Thank you for making it available."

    Join Today by enrolling!

What are the benefits of creating your own 508(c)(1)(A) compliant 

faith-based organization/church/ministry?



If you're wondering, "what is a Self-Supported Faith-Based Organization/Ministry?" and "how can it benefit you?" Let us explain:

  • IT IS NOT TAXABLE! There is no law requiring the SSM to file ANY tax return, as far as we can tell.

  • Accept all types of assets as donations or gifts. All types of assets may be donated to your SSM. (This includes real estate, stocks, vehicles, boats, planes, clothing, furniture, and money.)

  • Take advantage of a tax break. All donations to your SSM from yourself, friends, relatives, clients, patients, and fund raising events are fully deductible from the donor's taxes, as allowed by law.

  • Reduce your business's tax liability. Your business's tax liability will be reduced if you make the SSM the lawful owner of the majority of the stock or ownership in an existing business.

  • Establish bank accounts all over the world. There is no need for a "off-shore" trust or corporation because SSMs can exist anywhere in the world. However, it is possible that you will need to physically open the account in another country and provide the bank with a local address for your SSM. 

  • Gifting to other Countries. Gifts to overseas charitable projects cannot be deducted by US taxpayers unless they are made through another charitable entity, such as the SSM.

  • Personal remuneration for your labors. A SSM has the authority to pay anyone who works for it. This can be accomplished by utilizing the "Workers Contract" that is provided in all Self-Supported Ministries. Because FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes) are used as "payment" (exchange), the transaction should not be a taxable event under US law. FRNs are referred to as "Obligations of the United States." Unless you or your entity is a corporation or a public organization, "obligations" are not taxable. Not regulated by the Government. Do you remember the Amish? They are free to construct whatever they want on their property without fear of government "code enforcement." They do not require any permits to operate. The government has abandoned them. The SSM should be operated in the same manner as their "work." If they can do "it," then so can the SSM.

  • Allow your SSM to pay for all of your expenses. All expenses necessary for the SSM's operation and growth are permitted. Yes, you can request that the SSM pay for all of your transportation, clothing, food, and lodging. (Remember, you're now working for God.) Bank accounts are personal. The SSM's checking account does not have a social security number associated with it. The bank, on the other hand, may want to check your own social security number for personal identification purposes only. Every bank should open an account without a "DBA" attached to it. Remember that the SSM is not a commercial enterprise.

  • Attorneys will have a difficult time collecting any judgments against you personally if you place all of your assets in an SSM. (That is, if they are able to collect anything at all.) "You can't get blood out of a turnip," as the saying goes.


Unlike a 501(c)(3) organization, A 508(c)(1)(A) Faith Based Organization (FBO), more commonly referred to as a not-for-profit, unincorporated, unregistered, non-privileged, non-denominational religious fellowship and ministry, simply put, is a religious organization of two or more people who get together for a shared purpose: Matthew 18:20 “For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, here am I in the midst of them.”

Anyone, including you, can construct or form a legal fiction with two or more others. And you do not need permission from the State to do it. Meaning, you do not have to incorporate your organization for it to qualify as a legitimate business.

A church or ministry isn’t always a building or even a congregation. The church/ministry may or may not have buildings, ceremonies, a creed, robes, and/or vestments. You are not required to disclose this information to anyone. Section 508(c)(1) exempts in subsection (A) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

There are numerous different ways to form a faith based organization, a church, integrated auxiliary, or association of churches, just as there are many different ways to form a corporation.

A STATE or the federal government cannot enact legislation that favors one religious practice over another. The courts will not praise or condemn a religion, no matter how good, zealous, or absurd it appears to be. It would be a violation of the First Amendment guarantee if the courts did so.

It is an established legal principle that “the power to tax is the power to destroy”. The government only has the power to destroy that which it has created. IRS publication 557 states, that you do not have to register with the IRS, and that a church/ministry is “exempt automatically”. Therefore, if a church or ministry forms a 501(c)(3) Church corporation with the STATE, they “sign away” in a “legal contract” the rights of their organization.

According to Norton v. Shelby Co., a 501(c)(3) organization/corporation is a “creature” of the legislature, created by the state and therefore controlled by the state. It has no constitutional rights except for a limited first amendment right to advertise; (Va. State Board of Pharmacy v. Va. Citizen’s Council or the “Ashwander Doctrine”). In other words, this fictional “person” has no rights. It only has privileges - which can be taken away at any time by the state. However, a private organization such as the “Self-Supported Ministry” or "Faith Based Organization if it is not a 501(c) (3) corporation, may also have the same rights as a man. This type of organization is not public, it is private.

Many have advocated and advertised the 501(c)(3) Church corporation from its inception in 1954 with the Johnson Amendment as the only choice for forming a Faith Based Organization/Church/Ministry. This is inaccurate and misleading. A church could be organized as a 508(c)(1)(a), 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), a 501(d), and even a for profit corporation. The rights and protections of the 508 (c)(1)(a) Faith Based Organization are confirmed and established by federal law, IRS publications, and numerous court cases. It is tax exempt and donations given to it are tax deductible for donors.

Everson vs. Board of Education, 330 US 203.91, LEd 2nd 71. “Neither this court nor any branch of this government will consider the merits or fallacies of a religion. Nor will the court compare the beliefs, dogmas, and practices of a newly organized religion with those of an older, more established religion. Nor will the court praise or condemn a religion, however excellent or fanatical or preposterous it may seem. Were the court to do so, it would impinge upon the guarantee of the First Amendment”.

Universal Life Church. Inc., vs. United States, Judge Brattin for the Eastern District of California, found in 372F. Supp. 770, 776 (E.D. Cal 1974) “Neither this court nor any branch of this government will consider the merits or fallacies of a religion. Nor will the court compare the beliefs, dogmas, and practices of a newly organized religion with those of an older, more established religion. Nor will the court praise or condemn a religion, however excellent or fanatical or preposterous it may seem. Were the court to do so, it would impinge upon the guarantee of the First Amendment”.

Universal Life Church. Inc., vs. United States, Judge Brattin for the Eastern District of California, found in 372 F. Supp. 770, 776 (E.D. Cal 1974) “Religion is not confined to a sect of a ritual. The symbols of a religion to one are anathema to another. “The term ‘religion’ or ‘religious’ in tax exemption laws should not include any reference to whether the beliefs involved are theistic or non theistic. Religion simply includes: (1) a belief, not necessarily referring to supernatural powers; (2) a cult, involving a gregarious association openly expressing the belief; (3) a system of moral practice directly resulting from adherence to the belief; and (4) an organization within the cult designed to observe the tenets of belief. The content of the belief is of no moment”. Fellowship of Humanity vs. Alameda County, 153 Cal. A. 2nd 673, 315 P. 2nd 394, (1957).

We may now be certain that we can form our church or self-supporting ministry and operate it without incurring any liability to any government agency (in terms of establishing recognition for Tax exempt status); and that we are also legally exempt from filing any return with any government agency for whatever reason. The tax code applies to profit-making corporations operating within the federal zone. The IRS does not have jurisdiction over the Kingdom of Heaven. No law is, no law!

Creating a Tax-Exempt Faith-Based Organization: A Comprehensive Guide

Unlocking the Benefits of Tax-Exempt Status for Faith-Based Organizations: A Comprehensive Guide

Maximizing Your Savings: Let Us Guide You in Establishing a Tax-Exempt 508(c)(1)(A) Compliant Faith-Based Organization

Let Us Guide You Through the Process and Save Thousands of Dollars on Legal Fees

Creating a Tax-Exempt Faith-Based Organization: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Compliance and Legal Recognition

Everything You Need to Know to Establish a Tax-Exempt Faith-Based Organization: A One-Stop Guide

Include a certificate of ordination!

An ordination certificate is the official proof that you are licensed to serve as a minister and qualified to perform specific ceremonies and activities.

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All individuals have the right to freely practice their faith, but when religion becomes entwined with the government, the foundations of liberty begin to crumble. Separation of church and state is essential for preserving true freedom. ― Dynamo Jakk

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