Tax Information

Section 1: Tax Exempt Status

Question: Is the University of Houston (the "University" or "UH") a tax exempt organization in accordance with Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)3?

Answer: No. See IRS Letter on the UH Tax Department. The university is exempt from federal income tax because it is an instrumentality of the state of Texas and is described in section 115(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC).
Tax

Section 2. Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)

Question: What type of activity is subject to Unrelated Business Income Tax ("UBIT")?

Answer: UBIT is intended to ensure that exempt organizations pay their share of taxes on income derived from business activities that are unrelated to their exempt purpose. Three elements must be present in order for an activity conducted by a college or university to be treated as a UBIT activity. The activity must be (1) a trade or business, (2) regularly carried on, and (3) not substantially related to the school's exempt educational purposes. Colleges and universities undertake numerous activities that are subject to UBIT. Examples include coaches' summer camps, renting performance halls and providing related services to non-university users, dormitory rentals to non-university users, renting a Religion Center to non-university users, rental of recreational facilities to non-university users, providing travel tours to alumni, etc….

Question: Since the University is not required to file Form 990, who can provide me with a copy of the University's most recent Form 990-T(Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return)?

Answer: The UH Tax Director, Keith Gernold at (713) 743-8710.