There is only a few items you need to start a local political committee. The first one is to open a bank account. (Hint: If this campaign is going to be a short-term event, don’t bother ordering printed checks. Start by asking for 25 counter checks. They will MICR encode them for you to use. If you decide to stay the course in your political battle (even after your first victory) and keep the bank account open, you can order more counter checks as needed.) The bank will require the committee to have an IRS EIN number assigned to the committee. You can start the application process by clicking here. It shouldn’t take more than 3 to 5 minutes. (At two places in the IRS questionnaire you will want to click on “Political Organization” and then on another prompt click on “For Banking Purposes”. ) A few seconds after submitting on-line the IRS will process the application and Email you the form to print off. It will include your new EIN and your committee treasurer should take this to the bank to open their account.
There are often good political reasons not to dissolve your committee too soon after your victory. But if you decide to do it and your committee has properly liquidated your bank account to a zero balance, then you wlll need to make one last filing with the IRS to cancel your EIN number. A past client did significant research on this with the IRS and sent us his helpful findings. This is not a legal opinion nor tax advice, but the successful experience of one past client. See his helpful report here. Also see the IRS Form 1120 POL (2013) (partially filled out per his instructions) he refers to 2013 here. You can find 2014 here. And the same Form for 2015 here. And the same Form for 2021 here. (We suggest you print off this report and the IRS form for the relevant tax year and then follow along on the IRS form as you are reading his suggestions.) Again, we are not tax preparation professionals, so if your committee treasurer has any questions please seek local professional advice. Hope this helps!