Today, a couple of great presenters spoke to those of us at the HOA Luncheon which is put on by the Utah Chapter of Community Associations Institute each month at the Cottonwood Country Club (these are not exclusive events, all are invited). Chuck Balacy of Mutual of Omaha Bank / Community Association Banc, and TD Croshaw of Huber, Erickson & Bowman (HEB) presented some good information. Chuck talked about reserve investment options, maximizing interest rates and HOA loans. TD talked about HOA tax filing options and options to lower HOA taxes.
The high points were:
Reserve Investment Options and HOA Loans: 1. Bank loans are a good option for obtaining funding for an association in certain circumstances and the bank doesn’t even lien the property; the bank’s security is the future assessment payments received from the owners. 2. However, always use a bank specializing in HOA loans, as it is a unique area of lending. 3. A good bank with an HOA focus will have a representative (such as Chuck Balacy) come out to a board meeting and discuss investment and banking options at no charge so the board can maximize the return on their investment of reserves with the absolute minimum of risk (we’re not talking about investing in technology company IPOs or even the stock market in general).
Taxes: 1. HOAs can choose to file under either Section 528 or Section 277 of the tax code, with potentially very different ramifications.
2. Section 528 was set up specifically for HOAs and Form 1120H is a simple one page form and all income is taxed at a flat 32%. The HOA must meet the 60% exempt function revenue test, the 90% exempt function expense test, and 85% of the sq footage of all the units must be for residential use. Taxable income is calculated from “nonexempt function income.” All “exempt function income” is non-taxable. Under 528, HOAs are not entitled to net operating loss deductions and there is a possibility of more income being taxed compared to electing 277.
3. Under Section 277, the HOA is taxed like a regular corporation and Form 1120 is more complex and has a tiered tax rate. Additionally, compliance risks are much higher. Risks include reserves being taxed, excess member income being taxed, and prepaids are income in the year paid and therefore contribute to the excess member income. Taxable income is calculated from nonmember income, all member income is considered non-taxable.
4. Neither method is a “one size fits all” and the best option may change from year to year. A good HOA specialist tax accountant, like HEB, will compute the taxable income under both options and consider the risks versus the value of filing under each option to ensure the HOA pays the least amount of taxes while avoiding the risk of audit, penalties and back taxes.
5. Are HOAs audited by the IRS? Yes. I don’t have any official figures, but TD Croshaw of HEB has personally seen three HOA audits recently.
(This is not an advertisement or endorsement for HEB or Mutual of Omaha Bank, my only intent is to provide simple, straightforward value to HOA boards, and that includes pointing out specialists in given areas from time to time without bias).
Utah HOA Law Blog 
Most HOAs will file form 1120-H under section 528. It is just an easier form and less audit risk. Filing form1120 can make sense if the HOA has a large loss to carryover or is they are making an 70-604 election