In the long term, most people think it saves money to be an independent organization vs. affiliated with the National PTA. It is true that if you join the PTA, you do not have to do a separate filing with the IRS to be tax exempt. You end up being included in the PTA's exemption. The $4/member is a per member per year cost (that per member cost varies by state, so I'm just going to assume that what you were told was correct) that needs to be remitted to local/state/National PTA. So, this $500 you are calculating to the PTA is an annual expense, NOT a one time expense.

Once you pay the $850 to the IRS to file for your tax exemption--that's it. There is no annual refiling fee of $300 or any other amount--not sure where that is coming from. Also, it is not necessary to hire an attorney to file for 501(c)3 exemption or anything else. PTOToday sells a start up tool kit for about $40 that gives you all the information you need to set up your corporation and file for tax exemption. Plus, people here on the message boards will help you out.

Hello,
My kids attend a new charter school. A group of us are trying to put together a PTO. Since nobody volunteered to be president I said I would. After our officers met we had concerns about setting up a 501c3 and EIN for our PTO. We called the local PTA office and they said it would cost us $4 per member and we wold not have to apply for a 501c3. That saves us about $850. We also never have to refile, which costs $300 to refile every year. Our school is small, 270 students. If we had about half the parents sign up we would pay $500 to the PTA. We were told to hire an attorney to set up the 501c3 account. This will cost us more money. My question is what is the advantage of being a PVO vs. PTA? I am already regretting volunteering to be president:(