soccermom428 - there are no dumb questions. Most of us have all been at that stage where we didn't even know what the questions were, much less the answers.
However, it tends to work best if you post a question only one place in the Forum. You'll typically get better information as we can see who said what and contribute accordinglingly. Otherwise the answers are scattered among different places. I replied in the other thread you posted, so why don't we let this one die out and folks can respond over there?
Learning the customs of a new place always takes a little time, so don't worry about the multiple postings. We're here to help each other.
I have a dumb question, I was reading some of the messages posted and see something about filing taxes. We are suppose to do that? I was never told anything. Two years ago all the board members left the school and I was asked by the principal if I wanted to be president, I accepted but knew nothing and worked my tail off to build a good relationship with the school and parents. So, needless to say we haven't filed anything for a few years, but I didn't know about it wither. I do remember asking someone once and they said pto didn't have to do any taxes. So, can you help me?
Busy Treasurer in Florida: if you haven't finished your 990EZ yet, the PTO Today Treasurer's Toolkit has a step by step guide to filing the 990EZ specifically for a PTO. You can order one from this site.
Although our group has been operating informally for years, we are going to take the "clean slate" approach as we have no good paper trail for the past years. In JHB's 7-28-07 post, it was suggested getting a new EIN and then incorporating. What if the name you get your EIN under does not satisfy the rules of your state in naming the new entity? Do the 2 names need to be identical? Do you need the EIN when you apply for incorporation? We are in NJ.
Thanks.
No, you don't need a new EIN. (But make sure it is indeed an EIN and not some past officer's social security number.)
Some PTOs that have been around for a long time and feel they might should have done this years earlier (as far the IRS views it) opt for a clean slate and begin as a new organization - on paper, anyway - and therefore apply for a new EIN.
But I think we've seen from others in the same boat that they haven't had any problem when they started the process and candidly told the IRS they had been around for X years already.
When I did it, we had no good records for previous years and I just didn't know what might pop up later, so went the clean slate approach and formed a brand new organization.
We are an existing PTO (operating as an unicorporated, basic group of parents and teachers!) looking to incorporate and file for 501C3 status. Is it correct that we need a new EIN in order to start the process? Is using the old number on our current bank account an incorrect move? Thanks.
