Can corporate board members be family members?

For IRS purposes, board member relationships are narrowly defined as family, marriage, or business connections:

• Family: Parents, children, siblings, grandparents — not aunts, uncles, or cousins.
• Marriage: Spouse, in-laws (parents or children).
• Business: Partners owning 35%+ of a company or supervisor/subordinate co-workers.
• Former spouses are not considered related.

The IRS views related members as not fully independent, and strict rules apply—especially for nonprofits with potential conflicts of interest.