Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-251_p86b.pdf
Page Number: 46

Cite as:  594 U. S. ____ (2021) 

17 

SOTOMAYOR, J., dissenting 

sure “helps” combat fraud, even if it is not the least restric-
tive method of doing so).  The IRS Schedule B form requires 
organizations to disclose the names and addresses of their
major donors, the total amount of their contributions, and
whether  the  donation  was  cash  or  in-kind.  See  26  CFR 
§§1.6033–2(a)(2)(ii), (iii).  If the gift is in-kind, Schedule B 
requires  a  description  of  the  property  and  its  fair  market
value. 

Schedule B and other parts of Form 990 help attorneys in
the Charitable Trusts Section of the California Department 
of Justice (Section) uncover whether an officer or director of
a  charity  is  engaged  in  self-dealing,  or  whether  a  charity 
has diverted donors’ charitable contributions for improper 
use.  Appellant-Cross-Appellee’s Excerpts of Record in No.
16–55727 etc. (CA9), pp. 575, 716–718 (16–55727 ER).  It 
helps them determine whether a donor is using the charity 
as a pass-through entity, including as a source of improper
loans that the donor repays as a contribution.  Id., at 577– 
578, 716–718.  It helps them identify red flags, such as dis-
crepancies  in  reporting  contributions  across  different
schedules.  Id., at 578–579, 716–718.  And it helps them de-
termine  whether  a  charity  has  inflated  the  value  of  a  do-
nor’s in-kind contribution in order, for instance, to overstate 
how efficiently the charity expends resources.  Id., at 721– 
727. 

As a former head of the Section described it, Schedule B 
combined with the rest of Form 990 provides “[a] roadmap
to  the  rest  of  the  investigation  that  follows.”  Id.,  at  717. 
Indeed, having Schedule Bs on hand is important to attor-
neys’ decisions regarding whether to advance an investiga-
tion at all.  One of the first things an auditor or lawyer does 
upon receiving a complaint is review the entire Form 990,
including  Schedule  B.  Id.,  at  969–970,  996–997,  1062– 
1063.  One Section leader testified that she used Schedule 
Bs “[a]ll the time” for this purpose.  App. in No. 19–251, p. 
413.