Should a church formally apply to the internal revenue service for tax exempt recognition?

A church is considered tax exempt by its very existence as a church. Churches are not required to apply for tax exempt recognition by the IRS. Other nonprofit organizations are required to apply for tax exempt recognition and they do that by completing and filing a Form 1023 with the IRS and wait for the IRS to approve it. A church may choose to complete Form 1023 and seek formal recognition from the IRS as being tax exempt. Usually they do this for the reason that large donors typically will request a copy of the church's tax exempt recognition letter to provide to their tax preparers so that it can evidence the deductibility of their donation. Many churches go ahead and complete the tax exempt application process in order to be prepared should a [inaudible] donor request such a document in the future.