Legal & Tax Status of the Templar Order

As full transparency for all potential Members and Donors, this page provides short summaries and verified statements of law, proving the legitimacy, tax exempt status, and tax deductibility of donations to the Templar Order:

Legitimacy of the Order

This is the direct lineal continuation, with canonical and legal succession, of the original Order of the Temple of Solomon of the medieval “Knights Templar”, restored to full legal legitimacy in the modern era, returned to its former status as a Sovereign Principality:

The Order of the Temple of Solomon, the historical institution of the “Knights Templar”, was established in 1118 AD, made Sovereign by the Kingdom of Jerusalem Council of Nablus of 1120 AD, legalized as a Principality by its constitutional Temple Rule of 1129 AD (Rules 1, 9), and confirmed as a Sovereign “Princely house” by the Vatican Papal Bull Omne Datum Optimum of 1139 AD. 

The Templar Order survived through the Anglican Franciscan Order of 1212 AD since 1307 AD, by a lineage of succession (Code of Canon Law, Canon 120 §2) carrying Fons Honorum rights (Canon 121) of the original founders (Canon 123).  It was restored by the Ancient Pontificate of the Old Catholic Movement by the Charter of Reestablishment of 2013, signed by 5 Vatican Bishops from the Anglican Franciscan Order, establishing its Sovereign Constitution in 2015.

Legal Status of the Order

Statehood – The Order of the Temple of Solomon is a Non-territorial (international) State, exercising diplomatic status without need for any territory (1961 Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Articles 1(i), 23.1, 30.1).  It is classified as a “State” as a sovereign “Subject of international law”, because its sovereignty is established by effect of law, not by holding territory (1969 Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 3).  This status as an historical State is thus “binding upon” all countries as a “customary rule” of international law (1969 Law of Treaties, Article 38).

Recognition – The Order is recognized in diplomatic relations as an official Member State of the Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGO) Ignita Veritas United (IVU) and the Royal Alliance of Independent States (RAIS).  It holds multiple Letters Patent decrees of Sovereign Recognition from diverse historical Kingdoms (Black’s Law Dictionary 2^nd 1910: “Patent: English Law”, p.880; “Royal grants”, p.1046).

Operation – For banking and finance operations, the Order may operate through subsidiary registered or incorporated legal entities in various countries, as its State “property” as “instrumentalities” to “exercise [its] sovereign authority” (2004 Convention on Immunities of States, Article 2.1(b)(iii)).  The Order may also operate through affiliate unregistered Non-Profit Trusts in Common Law jurisdiction (1948 Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 17.1, 20.1; 1985 Convention on Law of Trusts, Preamble, Article 11).

The Templar Foundation

The “Order of the Temple of Solomon Foundation” is a not-for-profit (“non-profit”) Inter-Governmental Organization (IGO), incorporated in the United States, as a subsidiary under Crown Patronage of its founding Member State, the Order of the Temple of Solomon (“Templar Order”).

All payments through the official Membership Platform of the Templar Order (both Subscription Donations by members, and Voluntary Donations by members and the general public), as well as most direct bank wire transfers for larger donations, are currently processed through the American registered Templar Foundation.

Tax Status of the Order

Not for Profit – The Order of the Temple of Solomon is a “State” as a sovereign “subject of international law” (1969 Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 3), thus inherently not-for-profit (“non-profit”) as a public governmental institution.

Tax Exemption – The Templar Order as a sovereign State, and thus any subsidiary Foundation or Trust, is universally Tax Exempt under international law (1974 Charter of Economic Rights of States, Article 2.1; 2004 Convention on Immunities of States, Articles 1, 2.1(b)(iii)), which is “binding upon” all countries (1969 Convention on Law of Treaties, Article 38; US Constitution, Article 6 ¶2).  Any American not-for-profit subsidiary is Tax Exempt by automatic statutory “501(a) Status” as a humanitarian “civic organization for social welfare” and “society for educational purposes” (US Tax Code: 26 USC §501(a)).

Tax Deductible – All donations should be Tax Deductible by universal standards of customary international law, evidenced by the American rule:  All donations “exclusively for charitable or educational purposes”, to a domestic subsidiary (US Tax Code: 26 USC §170(a)(1); §170(c)(2)), or from individuals to foreign branches (26 USC §170(c)(4)), are automatically Tax Deductible, including donations through an affiliate trustee entity “for the use of” the Templar Order (26 USC §170(c)).

Other Deduction – For countries which severely restrict deducting donations, there is an alternative deduction:  As a public government, all revenues of the Templar Order support its humanitarian missions.  Donation is a form of payment for its services of “facilitating business development by international government contracting and partnership opportunities”, as an inherent result of its charitable projects, which is legally Tax Deductible as “business expenses”.  In Australia, this allows an automatic “general deduction” of expenses for “producing assessable income” (1997 Tax Act, Section 8-1(1)).

Documenting Tax Deductions

Donors contributing to the Templar Order are solely responsible for their own tax filing strategies and documentation.  As universally Tax Exempt by its sovereign immunity, the Order is also exempt from all tax filing and reporting requirements. 

Accordingly, the Order does not provide any tax legal advice nor tax documents for any particular country.  It does provide the above verified statements of law, to assist Donors in documenting rightful and lawful deductions of their donations.

For all donations through the Membership Platform “Donate” page, the payment system provides automatic Invoice and Receipt emails, which contain short legal summaries proving deductibility, and thus can be used as documentation.

For large “grant” or “endowment” level donations, upon request, the Order can also provide an official Receipt on its Templar letterhead, containing the above statements of law, as formal documentation of the Tax Deductible contribution.