To run a 501(c)(3) lookup in Michigan, use two free online tools together: the Michigan Attorney General’s Charitable Trust database at ag.state.mi.us and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) at irs.gov. The state search confirms whether a charity is legally registered to solicit donations in Michigan. The federal search confirms whether your contribution qualifies for an income tax deduction. They answer different questions, and the gap between them is often where problems show up.
What to Have Ready Before You Search
The most reliable identifier is the organization’s Employer Identification Number (EIN), a nine-digit number that works like a Social Security number for the entity. You’ll find it on fundraising receipts, acknowledgment letters, and the charity’s own tax filings. Using the EIN avoids confusion between organizations with similar names.
If you don’t have the EIN, look on the charity’s website, letterhead, or a prior donation receipt. Note that the legal name used for registration often differs from the trade name or brand the charity uses in marketing. A search by nickname or abbreviation may return nothing even when the organization is properly registered.
One caveat for local chapters: some operate under a parent organization’s Group Exemption Number rather than holding their own individual 501(c)(3) determination.1Internal Revenue Service. Group Exemption Rulings and Group Returns If the local chapter you want to support doesn’t appear individually in the IRS database, ask the chapter for documentation showing it falls under its parent’s group exemption letter.
Searching the Michigan Attorney General Database
The Charitable Trust Section’s portal asks you to accept a brief disclaimer, then lets you search by organization name or registration number. Michigan requires most charitable organizations to register with the Attorney General before soliciting the public for money.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Act 169 of 1975 – Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act
Results come back with a status label. Three labels cover almost everything you’ll see:
- Registered. The charity has met its annual filing obligations and may legally solicit in Michigan. The state charges no registration fee, so this reflects compliance with reporting rules rather than payment of dues.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.273 – Registration Requirements
- Expired. Registration has lapsed. Soliciting donations without a current registration violates the Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act. Penalties can reach a $5,000 fine and six months in jail for a misdemeanor, or a $20,000 fine and five years in prison for fraud and other serious offenses.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.293 – Penalties
- Exempt. The organization falls under a statutory exception and does not need to register.
The exempt category is broader than most donors expect. Charities that take in less than $25,000 a year using only unpaid fundraisers are exempt. So are educational institutions certified by the state board of education, veterans’ organizations incorporated under federal law, licensed hospitals and hospital foundations, and organizations that solicit only their own members.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.283 – Exemptions An “Exempt” label here does not mean the organization lacks 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. It only means Michigan does not require this particular group to register before fundraising. You still need to run the federal check.
Searching the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
TEOS is the federal tool that confirms whether a donation qualifies for an income tax deduction.6Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search State registration and federal tax-exempt status are separate questions, and an organization can be in one database without being in the other.
TEOS lets you query several datasets individually or together. For donor verification, four are useful:
- Publication 78 Data. The core list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, updated monthly. If the organization appears here, donors can rely on the listing when claiming deductions.7Internal Revenue Service. Search for Tax Exempt Organizations
- Determination Letters. The formal letter the IRS issued when it granted tax-exempt status. It identifies the subsection the organization qualifies under and the effective date.
- Automatic Revocation List. Organizations whose tax-exempt status was automatically revoked for failing to file a required annual return for three consecutive years.8Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption
- Form 990 Series Returns. Annual financial disclosures showing how the organization spends its money.
Enter the EIN and filter results to Michigan to narrow the list. If you’re making a large contribution and want backup documentation, download the Determination Letter and keep a copy with your tax records. It helps substantiate the deduction if the IRS questions it later.
Public Charity or Private Foundation
TEOS results and the Determination Letter also indicate whether the organization is a public charity or a private foundation. Both are 501(c)(3) entities, but the distinction affects how much you can deduct. Cash gifts to a public charity are deductible up to 60 percent of your adjusted gross income; cash gifts to a private foundation are capped at 30 percent.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 170 – Charitable, Etc., Contributions and Gifts For large gifts, which classification applies determines how much comes off this year’s return versus carrying forward.
Reading the Two Results Together
A clean verification looks like this: the organization appears in TEOS Publication 78 as a current 501(c)(3), and it appears in the Michigan AG database as “Registered” (or legitimately “Exempt” under one of the statutory categories above). If both line up, you can give with confidence.
A mismatch calls for a pause. An organization listed as 501(c)(3) by the IRS but missing or “Expired” in the Michigan database may be soliciting illegally in the state, even if a federal deduction is technically still available. An organization registered with the Attorney General but absent from TEOS, or sitting on the Automatic Revocation List, cannot deliver the deduction you expect. Ask the charity to explain the gap before you donate.
Why Timing Matters
An organization that fails to file a required annual return for three consecutive years automatically loses its tax-exempt status. There is no warning and no grace period; the revocation happens by operation of law.8Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption Once the IRS posts the name to the Automatic Revocation List, the organization is removed from Publication 78 and can no longer receive tax-deductible contributions.
For donors, the posting date is the dividing line. Contributions made before the organization’s name appears on the revocation list remain deductible. Contributions made after are not.8Internal Revenue Service. Automatic Revocation of Exemption That’s the strongest argument for running a fresh TEOS search close to the time you plan to give, rather than relying on a check you did months or years earlier.
If a charity you’ve supported before shows up on the revocation list, ask whether it has applied for reinstatement, and hold off on further donations until TEOS confirms the status is back.
Documenting Your Deduction
Confirming 501(c)(3) status protects the deduction only if your paperwork meets IRS rules. For any single contribution of $250 or more, you need a written acknowledgment from the organization that includes the cash amount, a description of any property donated, and a statement about whether you received anything in return. If the charity gave you something in exchange, such as a dinner or event tickets, the acknowledgment must include a good-faith estimate of that item’s value, and your deductible amount is reduced by it.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 506, Charitable Contributions
You need the acknowledgment in hand before you file your return for that year. Getting it later, after the IRS asks, is too late. For smaller cash gifts, a bank record or a receipt from the charity showing the date, amount, and organization name will do.
Reporting a Problem Charity
If a lookup turns up serious red flags, such as an unregistered solicitation, a claim of 501(c)(3) status that TEOS doesn’t support, or misrepresentation about how funds will be used, you have two reporting routes.
For state violations like unregistered solicitation or misleading fundraising, file a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General’s Consumer Protection division. The Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act gives the Attorney General authority to bring civil enforcement actions against violators.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 400.293 – Penalties
For suspected violations of federal rules, such as political campaign activity, insider enrichment, or operations outside the stated mission, file IRS Form 13909 (Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint). You can mail the form to the IRS TEGE Classification office in Dallas or email it to eoclass@irs.gov. Anonymous submissions are allowed.11Internal Revenue Service. Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral) Form 13909 Federal law bars the IRS from telling you what it does with the complaint, but the filing creates a formal record that can trigger an examination.