# 501(c)(6) A **501(c)(6) organization** is a tax-exempt **business league, chamber of commerce, real-estate board, or trade association** organized to promote the common business interests of its members. Contributions to a (c)(6) are **not** tax-deductible as charitable gifts (though members may deduct dues as business expenses), and like the [[501(c)(4)]] it is **not required to disclose its donors**. That donor-secrecy feature makes the (c)(6) a third dark-money channel alongside the (c)(4). The most prominent example is the **U.S. Chamber of Commerce**, which has functioned as one of the largest single political-spending organizations in the country while shielding the corporations funding its campaigns. Because a (c)(6) can accept unlimited, undisclosed corporate dues and then spend on issue advocacy and lobbying, it lets companies fund political activity collectively without any individual company's name appearing. A (c)(6) operates under the same "primary purpose" limit as a (c)(4): political campaign activity cannot be its primary purpose, but it may engage in substantial lobbying and issue advocacy related to its members' business interests. ## In the Stack The (c)(6) is the **trade-association dark-money** route: where a (c)(4) lets ideological donors give anonymously, a (c)(6) lets *businesses* give anonymously through their industry association. Money can flow (c)(6) → [[Super PACs]] the same way (c)(4) money does, with the original corporate funders hidden behind the association's name. ## See Also - [[501(c)(4)]] — the social-welfare dark-money sibling - [[501(c)(3)]] — the deductible charitable category - [[501(c)(5)]] — the labor/agricultural counterpart - [[Dark Money]] — the broader phenomenon - [[Tax Code Hub]] — folder reader map