I hear you girl!!! Our school's PTO was disbanded a couple of years ago because apparently nobody new what they were doing. I've now been asked to start PTO back up and I'm at a loss. I'm afraid parents won't want to volunteer because of the past. Any suggestions?
You can still raise money even if you're not 501c3. Donors should not write off their donations (but it's their problem, not yours, if they do -- unless you've told them they can).
I would start working on your 501c3 application -- how long has the PTO been around? If it's less than 27 months, I think the IRS will still consider you in the start-up phase.
Our PTO has been around for 20 years, and we (I) just filed for 501c3 last March. We did not pay taxes on what we earned. I did file 3 back-years of form 990EZ (the tax return for non-profits), indicating that our 501c3 application was pending; we were assessed $11,000 in penalties for late filing ($10/day for 3 years adds up...), but word is the IRS will waive the penalties for "reasonable cause."
Does the PTO have its own EIN (tax id number)? And is that the number on the bank account, as opposed to someone's SSN? A few people on this site have found personal SSNs of early officers. In our case, we had an old EIN on the bank account that the IRS said they had no record of it ever being issued, and they had given us a new one which we hadn't communicated to the bank (until last March).
I was new to the PTO last year and this year I am president. We only have 3 to 4 people for the whole PTO. So everyone thought that the way that was being ran was the correct way and I'm starting to realize that things may not been being done correctly. I need to know if our PTO has not filed for 501c3 status then what can we legally do to raise money? Can we still take donations? Can our donors still write their donations off as a tax deduction? Can we still take in revenue from fundraisers? Do we need to pay taxes on what we earn from fundraisers even though we will use the money to benefit the school? If so what advice can you all give our group because I want to make sure that I do not break the law.
:confused:
