Like Critter said rest assure, get the forms and then come here for help. I did it for our group two and half years ago and the help that I got from Critter, Jhb, and all of the "pros" made it go so smooth. It sounds worse than it is...

Rest assured that a typical PTO (or whatever name you give it), qualifies for 501c3 (non-profit charity) status. The IRS publications are more generic, referring to "charitable" and "educational" organizations, but many, many parent groups have successfully earned their 501c3 designation.

You might want to start by requesting the Form 1023 application packet from the IRS 1-877-829-5500. Form 1023 is the application for federal non-profit status, also referred to as "501c3". In many (most?) states, earning your federal non-profit status also qualifies you for exemption from sales tax. However, sales tax laws vary from state to state so you will also need to do some research for your state.

PTO Today has information about applying for 501c3 in their Getting Started expert guide. It's a very useful resouce if you are going to file the application. You can order it from this website.

We are a relatively new group of officers. In doing some research on tax expempt status we found out that the EIN # attached to our checking account was not ours. We have obtained a new one but I am worried about our tax status. We would like to be tax exempt in order to purchase new playground equipment but all of the publications I have read on tax exempt org. do not name or describe a PTO org. Can anybody help me?