1) If you have any gift annuity agreements in force (from any state) when you FILE for a NY State Permit in 2006, you will have to file an annual Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) Fund Activity Report (using the forms for reporting 2005 activity), or ... once you have your NY Permit (when the Reserve Account within your CGA Fund reaches $500,000 or more), you will be REQUIRED to file an Annual Report of the Activity of your entire Gift Annuity Fund as of every December 31st. The forms for your 2005 Fund activity are now available.
2) Note: The Annual Report for December 31 is due by March 1st the following year. You could be fined $250 a day for being late. March 2, 2006 is considered to be *late*.
3) The forms and instructions for the year 2005 are different than the 2004 and earlier forms. Use the NEW [2005] forms. You can download the forms and instructions from the NY State Insurance Dept. web site: [Print on LEGAL (8-1/2 x 14) size paper.] See page http://www.ins.state.ny.us/blanks05.htm or Click here for NEW (Revised) year 2005 Annual Reporting forms (due by 3-1-06).
The website above… Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader ... Click for details.
4) Alert: That is only TWO MONTHS to get your December 31 activity reports from your banks, custodians, mutual funds and money managers and complete a very extensive (19 page) Report. Most states give you until April first, but NY (and WA and WI) insist on a March 1st filing date, a difficult, if not almost impossible task for most charities to meet.) The threatened fine for filing LATE is $250 per day.
5) Note: While the filing deadline (March 1st) is a statutory requirement and cannot be changed, because the NEW (now 19 page) Annual Statement Reporting Form (and its 16 plus pages of instructions) was NOT posted on the NY State Insurance Dept.’s web site until January 13, 2005, NO extension for a date later than March 1, 2006 is contemplated by the NY State Insurance Dept.
6) Note: A $250 a day fine for late filing (starting March 2, 2006) totals $7,500 a month.
7) This NEW Annual Statement FORM may be changing each year, over time. This is the second or third annual update of this form in the last 20 plus years. The new item for 2005 reporting is the reporting of “real property,” found at the end of the new [2005] Report Form. See the “Instructions” for completing the form. Be sure to read the instructions carefully.
8) WARNING: Do NOT begin looking at the requirements on January 1. As soon as you decide to file for a Permit or as soon as you receive your Permit, download the form and instructions for completing it and give it to those who will handle this reporting for you. Also arrange for them to receive a copy of the monthly activity report form EACH of your vendors (custodians, money managers, mutual funds, banks, etc.) that are handling the various parts of your "segregated" Gift Annuity Fund. All of those reports added together, is the "activity" of your "Gift Annuity Fund." Be sure you issue your gift annuity checks from a separate "segregated" checking account that is used only for your gift annuity activity, so that your entire CGA Fund can be considered to be “segregated”.
9) The link labeled as “INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS PACKET” (for 2005) is a self-extracting zipped file which includes five items (4 as PDF files, and 1 as an Excel Spreadsheet, which download for printing (on 8-1/2x11 and 8-1/2x14 paper). The Statement MUST be printed and submitted on 8-1/2x 14 paper.
1. Annual Statement for 2005 (19 pages – including cover … print out on 8-1/2x14 paper);
2. Special Annual Statement page to be emailed (Excel Spreadsheet);
3. Instructions for 2005: (print on 8-1/2x11 paper);
4. Bar Code Instructions (4 pages – print on 8-1/2x11 paper).
5. For 2005 forms and Instructions, first download these instructions ... http://www.ins.state.ny.us/nysinstr.htm, and then click on ... http://www.ins.state.ny.us/ny05char.htm
10) The link labeled as “Charitable Companies List” lists the names of 176 charities who must file an Annual Report by March 1st for the previous calendar year’s activity. Any ”annuity society” holding a permit or receiving its permit in the year 2005 is required to file this Annual Statement by March 1, 2006.
Go to: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/acrobat/lscha05.pdf
11) NOTE: For help in calculating Annuity Reserves for 2005 …
… go to: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/charanrs.htm
12) NOTE: For filing guidance for recent CHANGES in NY State Insurance Law [Section 1110-(a)]:
… go to: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/ilif1110.htm
13) Forms and instructions for FILING for a NY State Permit: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/ilife.htm#cas
