Kelly L. Hellmuth
Partner

Overview
Kelly Hellmuth is a private wealth services attorney based in Holland & Knight's Jacksonville office, where she focuses on charitable and nonprofit issues on a national scale. She represents public charities, private foundations, trustees of charitable trusts, religious institutions, trade associations and other tax-exempt organizations, in addition to donors. Since 2019, The Florida Bar has certified Ms. Hellmuth as a Board Certified Specialist in Tax.
Ms. Hellmuth guides her clients through all aspects of the complex world of nonprofit law and tax exemption. She assists with structuring tax-exempt entities, obtaining exemption from federal income tax, complying with tax rules, adopting good governance principles and best practices, and planning and substantiating gifts. She has significant experience with issues including unrelated business taxable income, private inurement and private benefit, excess benefit transactions, self-dealing, excess business holdings, taxable expenditures, minimum distributions, fundraising regulations and endowments.
Ms. Hellmuth also provides advice regarding charitable gift planning and the charitable aspects of estate planning, probate administration and trust administration, including through the traditional use of charitable trusts, bargain sales, charitable gift annuities and conservation easements, as well as innovative tax strategies.
In addition, as a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Taxation, Ms. Hellmuth served on a committee that submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its Notice 2021-56 on the ability of LLCs to qualify as 501(c)(3) organizations. In this role, she shared principal responsibility for preparing the comments.
Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Hellmuth served as a legislative assistant for the late U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.).
Representative Experience
Credentials
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S.
- California
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Virginia
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow; Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Committee
- Chapter 617 Task Force (Corporations Not For Profit Statute), The Florida Bar
- Tax Law Certification Committee of the Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education
- The Florida Bar, Tax Section, Tax-Exempt Organizations Subcommittee, Co-Chair, 2018-2023; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Committee, Co-Vice Chair, 2021-2023
- American Bar Association, Section of Taxation, Exempt Organizations Committee; Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section, Charitable Planning and Organizations Group
- Virginia State Bar, Trusts and Estates Section
- The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, Downtown Professional Advisory Council
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Nonprofit/Charities Law, 2025
- The Legal 500 USA, Tax – Not-For-Profit (Fortune 1000 Private Foundations, National Trade Associations and Charities), 2024
- Florida Fellows Institute of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Graduate of Class II
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020, 2021