I am going to have to disagree with the posters who said that it should be the treasurer's job and not yours. I will be the President next year and I feel like everything that goes on in our PTA is my responsibility. I can get in trouble if the treasurer does not do her job correctly. I don't micromanage, but I am making sure that everybody is held accountable and doing things correctly.
Stacy: Thank you for sharing the information for Texas. I have just taken over as our PTO treasurer and from what I have seen, we are not incorporated, and have used the school's Tax ID # for years, we have not filed taxes or held any audits. I am a bit worried and really want to do things correctly from now on.
Our school is currently in the similar situation - - we are a 501 (3)(c), and have this separate number which we thought we could use as a tax exempt number and have found that all it is is a type of incorporation number.
I'd like to apply for a tax exempt number - - but to convince the powers at be that this is actually an issue is very difficult since they consider me "obsessed" with bylaws and such matters.
But, since we are in TN and have such strict finance laws surrounding PTO's - I'm a little concerned about the outcome of an audit.
If you are applying for a separate EIN number, do a little research and see if there is a waiver for the fee for obtaining one. It was missed when it was applied for - -and cost us $100 we didn't need to spend.