What is a 527?

A tax-exempt group organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities including voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy and the like. If the 527 group is a political party or political action committee (PAC) that engages in activities that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate, then it must file regular disclosure reports with the Federal Election Commission. Otherwise, it must file either with the government of the state in which it is located or the Internal Revenue Service. Many 527s run by special interest groups raise unlimited “soft money,” which they use for voter mobilization and certain types of issue advocacy but not for efforts that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate.

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