I'm taking over for our group. We were a Junior High group until the 2009-10 school year when we became a middle school. NO ONE in the group believes that we need to audit, become established as a non-profit, file taxes. NOTHING. "We never had to do that in the past, why now?" I need to find us a lawyer, we need to totally revamp our by-laws, we need a real audit.
To top things off, even the principal and the school administration don't believe we need to do anything. Should I walk (run?) away???
Another new PTO person
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12 years 2 months ago#160168by Another new PTO person
We had a similar situation. We filed articles of organization and got a new EIN number and want to start fresh. What about any money that was raised prior to incorporation? Should that be included or just revenue from the date of incorporation forward? I am glad to hear that someone has spoken to IRS personnel about this--are they really that helpful?
We had an issue for 2 years in a row about not filing taxes and then getting a letterr 2 years in a row from the IRS that we were getting fined for the late taxes. After sending several pleading letters and many hours on the phone to the IRS, they did waive the fines and fees. We now have binders for each of the board members with the job descriptions and duties in there. We have also requested from our CPA to put it in her schedule for the next year so she can call us for a reminder. Needless to say that our taxes were done on time.
You can be held liable if it happens on your watch. You also need to make sure that you have a bond posted to cover and mistakes or theft. Many school districts PTO/A's will band together and get 1 bond that they split the cost of. Ie. elementary, Middle and high schools PTO's. You need to make sure you have 1 of these to make sure that you are not held personally responsible for theft or mistakes.
You should check with the Tresurer of your School district to see what other PTO's have posted and with who they posted the bond with. You can also check with the bank that the PTO deals with to see what help and direction they can give you.
