Meghan R. Biss

Meghan Biss counsels tax-exempt and nonprofit organizations at every stage of their lifecycle, advising on tax planning, compliance and audit matters. As a former senior advisor in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Exempt Organizations division, Meghan leverages over 10 years of government experience to guide clients through interactions with the IRS, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other government agencies.

Meghan represents a diverse array of organizations, including private foundations, national and foreign charities, social welfare organizations, colleges and universities, lobbying and political organizations, and trade associations.

Meghan utilizes her experience at the IRS to guide clients through applications for tax-exempt status, private letter ruling requests and other IRS submissions; advise private foundations on excise tax issues; and support the development of compliant programmatic activities. She also draws on her experience advising clients on IRS audits to conduct mock audits and compliance reviews that help organizations identify issues and strengthen their positions in advance of examinations.

Meghan also advises clients in tax controversy matters, including audits and investigations, litigation involving tax-exempt status and public charity classification, and represents organizations before the U.S. Tax Court. In addition, she works with clients on regulatory and guidance projects, coordinating with government officials to present proposed changes to Treasury regulations or IRS guidance in a compliant manner.

During her time at the IRS, Meghan served as senior technical advisor to the director of exempt organizations, where she advised on all matters related to nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations and collaborated with the IRS Chief Counsel and the Treasury Department. She also worked closely with the IRS Division Counsel and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on exempt organization litigation.

Prior to her position as senior technical advisor, Meghan accumulated a wide range of experience within the public sector, addressing issues such as disaster relief, unrelated business income tax (UBIT) and excess benefit transactions. As a presidential management fellow, she also served as a special attorney in the Civil Appellate Section of the Tax Division at the DOJ, handling a variety of appellate tax litigation issues.

Meghan is a frequent speaker at national industry institutes, seminars and conferences on legal issues concerning nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations.