No. Under federal tax law, churches recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code cannot donate to political campaigns or otherwise support or oppose a candidate for public office. The rule, known as the Johnson Amendment, has been in place since 1954 and applies to every elected office from local school board to president.1Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations A church that violates it can face excise taxes and, in serious cases, lose its tax-exempt status entirely. There is no small-dollar exception and no safe harbor for a one-time contribution.
The ban is a condition of the tax benefits churches receive. In exchange for staying out of campaigns, a church is automatically treated as tax-exempt without filing an application, is not required to file annual returns, and can accept contributions that donors deduct on their own taxes.2Internal Revenue Service. Churches, Integrated Auxiliaries and Conventions or Associations of Churches Campaign giving forfeits that arrangement.
What Counts as a Prohibited Donation
A church cannot use tithes, offerings, investment income, or any other revenue to give money to a candidate or campaign. That covers direct checks to a campaign, purchasing campaign advertising, and contributions to a political action committee that supports or opposes a candidate.1Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations
The prohibition reaches well beyond cash. Anything of value provided to a campaign counts as an in-kind donation and is equally off-limits. Common examples include letting a candidate use the church building for a rally or fundraiser at no charge, sharing the church’s donor or membership list with a campaign, directing paid church employees to do campaign work on paid time, and letting a candidate use church-owned copiers, computers, or audio-visual equipment for campaign purposes.
Indirect support is treated the same way. If a church covers a candidate’s travel on a church credit card, or pays for event space where a campaign appearance occurs, those expenditures are campaign intervention.3Internal Revenue Service. Election Year Activities and the Prohibition on Political Campaign Intervention for Section 501(c)(3) Organizations
Endorsements and Public Statements Count Too
The rule is not limited to money moving out the door. Any public statement made on behalf of the church that favors or opposes a candidate violates the ban.1Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations That includes endorsements from the pulpit, statements in a church bulletin or newsletter, and posts on the church’s website or social media accounts.
A statement does not have to say “vote for” to count. The IRS looks at whether the communication names a candidate, expresses approval or disapproval of a candidate’s positions, is delivered close to an election, or references voting.3Internal Revenue Service. Election Year Activities and the Prohibition on Political Campaign Intervention for Section 501(c)(3) Organizations Linking to a candidate’s campaign site from the church’s site, distributing a voter guide that highlights only one candidate’s positions, or endorsing a candidate through another organization’s materials all qualify as prohibited activity.1Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations
What a Church Can Still Do
Churches are barred from partisan campaign activity, not from civic engagement. Voter registration tables and get-out-the-vote drives are permitted, provided they are open to all voters and do not steer people toward a candidate or slate. A church can distribute a voter guide if it is genuinely nonpartisan — a broad range of issues, all candidates included, positions presented on a consistent and neutral basis.4Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2007-41 A guide that picks issues designed to favor one candidate, or that only covers one side of a race, is not.
Preaching about policy is also permitted. A pastor can address poverty, immigration, abortion, or any other issue without violating the ban, as long as the message does not shift into supporting or opposing a specific candidate.1Internal Revenue Service. Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations The line is between the policy and the politician.
Clergy Acting Personally
Individual pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders keep their personal free-speech rights. A minister can endorse a candidate, donate personal funds to a campaign, attend rallies, and volunteer, all outside of any official church role.5Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Ban on Political Campaign Intervention by 501(c)(3) Organizations What matters is separation from the institution. The same partisan statement made during an official church service or in an official church publication becomes a prohibited institutional act. Using church-owned equipment, staff time, or mailing lists for campaign work crosses the line regardless of whose idea it was.
Penalties If a Church Donates Anyway
Consequences come in tiers, starting with targeted taxes and ending with the loss of exempt status.
Excise Taxes on the Church
Section 4955 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes an initial excise tax equal to 10 percent of any political expenditure made by a 501(c)(3). If the church does not correct the violation within the taxable period, a second-tier tax of 100 percent of the expenditure applies.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4955 – Taxes on Political Expenditures of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations
Excise Taxes on Church Leaders Personally
Any organization manager who knowingly agrees to a political expenditure faces a personal excise tax of 2.5 percent of the amount, capped at $5,000 per expenditure. A manager who then refuses to help correct the violation owes an additional tax of 50 percent of the expenditure, capped at $10,000.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4955 – Taxes on Political Expenditures of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations
Correcting the Expenditure
To avoid the 100 percent second-tier tax, the church must recover as much of the political expenditure as possible and put safeguards in place to prevent a repeat. The IRS decides whether those safeguards are adequate. If full recovery is not practical — for example, when a legal action to reclaim the funds would almost certainly fail — the church is not required to pursue it, but may still need to take additional corrective steps the IRS prescribes.7eCFR. 26 CFR 53.4955-1 Tax on Political Expenditures
Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status
The most serious penalty is losing 501(c)(3) status. The IRS has authority to revoke a church’s tax exemption for campaign intervention.8Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Ban on Political Campaign Intervention by 501(c)(3) Organizations – Consequences of Prohibited Activity Once revoked, the church becomes subject to federal income tax on its revenue, and donors lose the ability to deduct their contributions, because Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code specifically disqualifies organizations that engage in campaign intervention.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts
How Violations Get Reported
Anyone can report a suspected violation by filing IRS Form 13909, the Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint form, with names, dates, amounts, and supporting documentation.10Internal Revenue Service. Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form 13909 Churches receive extra procedural protection during any resulting investigation. Under Section 7611 of the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS cannot simply open an audit; a high-level Treasury official must first document a reasonable belief, based on specific facts, that the church may have violated the rules, and the church must receive written notice and the opportunity for a conference before records are examined.11Internal Revenue Service. Special Rules Limiting IRS Authority to Audit a Church Enforcement moves more slowly against churches than against other tax-exempt organizations, but the underlying prohibition is the same.
Where the Rule Stands Now
As of 2026, the ban described above remains the governing law, but its future is uncertain. The current administration and congressional leaders have called for its elimination, and the IRS has pursued a legal settlement that would declare the Johnson Amendment unconstitutional and unenforceable. Some states have begun introducing their own legislation to preserve the nonpartisan character of tax-exempt organizations regardless of what happens federally.
Until a formal repeal, court ruling, or regulatory change takes effect, the prohibition stays in force. A church that donates to a campaign now, betting on future changes, still risks excise taxes and loss of exempt status if the law is upheld or enforcement resumes. Any church considering political activity should watch IRS announcements and consult a tax attorney familiar with nonprofit law before acting.