Tips for the Treasurer
Fourth District PTA Treasurer send email
| Employer Identification Number also known as EIN or FEIN also known as Tax ID Number | · Internal Revenue Service number assigned when a PTA is first organized. (Like a Social Security Number for the organization) · The EIN is used to file the Federal Tax Return (990). · The EIN is used to open a bank account. · The EIN is listed in your bylaws toward the back. · You may supply your EIN to donors who have donated cash or "in-kind" items to your PTA and wish to claim their charitable donation as a deduction on their federal tax return. · The EIN is a nine-digit number. |
| Franchise Tax Board Number also known as FTB# also known as Corporate/Organization Number also known as Entity ID Number | · California State Franchise Tax Board issued these numbers for all PTAs in 2011. · Your council has your unit's FTB number. · The FTB# is used to file the state tax return (Form 199). · The FTB# is used to register for your Charitable Trust Number and for the annual Registration Renewal Fee Report (RRF-1), but is called a Corporate or Organization Number on those forms. · The FTB# is a seven digit number. |
| Charitable Trust Number also known as CT Number | · A number issued by the California Attorney General's Office once application is received. · Previously only councils (and units doing raffles) needed to have a CT#. Now all units need to apply for one. · The CT# is used when you register a raffle or gaming activity with the CA Attorney General. · The CT# is a seven-digit number. |
| California State PTA Identification Number also known as State Unit ID | · Issued by California State PTA when a PTA is first chartered. · Used to identify your unit on CA State PTA forms like the historian's annual report and scholarship applications. · Appears in your bylaws on the front cover and again on a page toward the back. · The State ID# is a three to four digit number, sometimes eight digits starting with zeros. |
| National PTA Identification Number also known as Unit ID number | · Issued by National PTA when a PTA is first chartered. · Goes on all membership cards issued by your unit. · Used to identify your unit for the Reflections program, Just Between Friends, and other National PTA forms. · Appears in your bylaws on the front cover and again on a page toward the back. · The National ID# is an eight digit number. It can include zeros. |
Tax Tips for your Treasurer
Welcome to a new school year! As Fourth District PTA Treasurer, I will be monitoring or collecting all of the reports related to the financial aspects of each PTA. We have several new financial requirements that must be met in order to maintain our non-profit tax status.
Ideally, everyone is working hard to complete all of the necessary requirements to obtain your organization’s Charitable Trust Number from the state of California. Please go to http://ag.ca.gov/charities/forms.php to begin the process. You are also now required to file a RRF-1 form annually. You will need to attach a copy of your federal tax re-turn (Form 990). Do not file the RRF-1 until you have received your CT number from the Attorney General.
In addition, everyone should have received their Franchise Tax Board number ( this is not the same as the EIN number that you have been using for your Form 990). If you haven’t received it yet and you are a unit, contact your council (out of council units, please contact me . Councils– you will need to contact me.
Starting with the 2010 tax year (fiscal year beginning in 2010 and ending in 2011), you are now required to file a California Form 199 (for PTA gross receipts normally greater than $25,000) or Form 199N (for PTA gross receipts equal to or less than $25,000). For Form 199 there is a $10 filing fee. The 199N has no fee.
You are required to file Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service. If you have gross receipts equal to or less than $50,000 – file form 990N. For gross receipts that are equal to or more than $50,000 and less than $200,000 and total assets less than $500,000 – file form 990EZ. Finally, if your gross receipts are equal to or more than $200,000 and total assets are equal to or more than $500,000 – file Form 990.
Fortunately, all of the reports have the same deadline date. Depending on your fiscal year, all of these reports must be filed four (4) months and fifteen (15) days after the end of your fiscal year (November 15th).
Please be sure to file all of the necessary reports. The IRS is cracking down on nonprofit organizations and if you have not filed your tax returns for the last several years, you are in danger of having your non-profit status revoked. Contact me if you have any questions.
Click here for a CT1 instructions guide
Click here for a Charitable Trust 1 form
Click here for a Charitable Trust Checklist
How To’s for Treasurers
- Make sure you have a budget.
The California State PTA Toolkit says that you should have presented the “proposed budget to the current executive board and the membership at the last PTA meeting of the year. (This allows the board-elect the ability to cover routine summer expenses as outlined in the bylaws.)”“But that’s not the way we used to do it!” you might say.What do you do now if your budget committee only met in the summer and is ready to present the proposed budget to the membership at your fall meeting?First, be certain that your proposed budget has been approved by your executive board. Then, present the proposed budget at your fall meeting to your membership for adoption as planned.
And finally, move up your timeline for next year. Ask your board-elect to meet, develop and adopt the preliminary budget for the upcoming year as soon as the board is elected. Present the proposed budget to the outgoing executive board and the membership at the last PTA meeting of the year so that you can cover routine expenses in the summer.
- Be sure to send financial reports through PTA channels.Send your approved audit, year-end financial report, and current year budget to your council, as directed, after your fall meeting. Contact your unit president or council treasurer to find out how these documents should be sent.
- Remit membership dues through channels.Speak with your membership chairperson and president and coordinate the first submission of membership dues (sometimes referred to as per capita dues) through channels.
- Definition of “channels.”
This is the route of communication in PTA, typically from unit to council, council to district, district to state.
Motions Needed at Each Meeting
Fourth District PTA Financial Secretary. Send email
As a financial officer of the PTA, have you ever wondered if you are making the correct motions or if you should be making any motions at all?
Actually, there are two motions that need to be made at every meeting of the executive board and again at the association meetings. The first is a motion “to allow payment of ordinary and necessary bills during the period from the meeting you are at and the next regularly scheduled meeting, not to exceed budget.” You quote this sentence by inserting the correct dates. This motion allows the treasurer to pay the bills as they come in, as long as amounts don’t go over budget and the events have been approved as being a part of your PTA program.
The second motion is to ratify the bills/checks that you have already written. The treasurer should have a printed list of all checks that have been written since the last meeting. The list should show who was paid, what the payment was for, the amount, the check number and the date.The motion is this: “I move to ratify paid bills, check numberto check number Y, in the total amount of $000.00.”
These motions will ensure that all members are aware of the bills coming up, what has been spent, and who still needs to be paid.
The treasurer’s report and the financial secretary’s report are filed for audit; no motions are made regarding those reports.
If you print your reports on both sides of the paper, be sure to give two copies to the recording secretary, as they have to be glued into the minute book for permanent records.
Safeguard PTA Funds
Most of us know that every PTA check should be signed by two people, that all incoming money should be counted by two people (one of whom should be your treasurer or financial secretary), and that volunteers should never take money home to count it.
Here are some additional ways to safeguard your PTA funds:
- Keep track of the funds you expect to receive from automatic store donations, box top programs and similar sources, and note when you expect to receive them. Make sure they have been deposited into your PTA’s account.
- Make sure you receive your cancelled checks from the bank. The auditor should verify that there are two signers on every check.
- Someone besides your treasurer should review all bank statements. It’s a good idea to take a quick look at the check endorsements to make certain that the correct person cashed the check.
What are some signs of possible mismanagement?
- Lack of receipts and/or treasurer’s reports
- Missing bank statements or canceled checks
- Payments made in cash rather than by check
- Missed meetings
- Unanswered phone calls or e-mails
If mismanagement of funds is suspected, refer to the financial section of the California State PTA Toolkit regarding the correct procedures to follow. Contact your council or district president immediately and keep him or her informed.
Getting Started
By now, financial officers (treasurer, financial secretary, and auditor) should have attended a training workshop and should have a lot of information on how to begin their jobs.
It is also important for the financial officers to read through the Finance Section of the California State PTA Toolkit (available online at www.capta.org). Another source of excellent information is National PTA’s Money Matters.
The school year has started and you have done, or are working on, the following items:
- Obtain all financial records and materials from your predecessor.
- Change the signature cards for your PTA’s bank account to reflect the new signers, as authorized by your bylaws and elections.
- Hold a budget committee meeting and carefully plan a proposed budget to serve as a financial guide for the year.
- Present the proposed budget to the executive board for approval.
- At the first association meeting of the year, present the proposed budget for adoption.
As the year continues, it is important to remember the following:
- Issue a receipt for all monies received by your PTA. If there is no financial secretary, promptly deposit funds in the PTA bank account.
- The budget is not an authorization to pay bills. Bills must be presented to the association or the executive board for approval before payment, or ratified according to procedures in the unit bylaws.
- Send your payments of membership dues through PTA channels (units to councils, councils to Fourth District PTA). Dues must be submitted monthly thereafter. The unit only retains the unit portion of membership dues and must submit the council, district, State and National portions through PTA channels.
- Be certain that two people count all PTA monies and both sign the cash verification form.
- Every PTA check must have two signers.