Treasurer: Your Unit's Fiscal Manager
Lead the PTA way!
The Treasurer is the authorized custodian of the PTA's funds and receives and disburses all money in accordance with the budget as approved by the General Membership. This position does not require an accountant, but it does need someone who is organized. This section provides a foundation for policies and procedures governing PTA financial practices. Sound financial management helps to preserve the trust of your members and ensures that local, State, and National PTAs can fulfill their mission of making every child's potential a reality.
LAPTA is here to help and guide you as needed. The LAPTA Treasurer is Ashley Snell who can be emailed at treasurer@LouisianaPTA.org. Please keep in touch!
IRS Federal Tax Filing
For an easy way to file taxes, go to irs.org, file990.org. or efile990.org. The annual deadline to file is 4 1/2 months after the close of the fiscal year, which is November 15 for most PTAs. Support documentation and directions from the IRS are available here. The IRS uses ID.me to log in which requires a Driver's License and other authentication steps that verify your identity. Make note on your Accounts & Passwords Summary Sheet (see Toolkit for sample) for your predecesors. If you had less than $50,000 gross income, then you electronically file the Form 990-N which is very easy and quick to file with only 8 items of basic information: the EIN, tax year, legal name, mailing address, and any other names the organization uses, name and address of a principal officer, website address if one exists, confirmation that the organization’s annual gross receipts are $50,000 or less, and, if applicable, a statement that the organization has terminated. If your gross income was between $50,000 - $200,000, then you file Form 990-EZ. If your gross income was over $200,000, then you file the Form 990.
If the IRS revoked the nonprofit status of the PTA for failing to file Form 990 for three consecutive years, visit the IRS website for full directions on "How to Have Your Tax-Exempt Status Reinstated." If the PTA is uncertain when taxes were last filed, search the IRS site for the PTA's tax filings here.
Operating Guidance: School Officials and PTA Funds
Louisiana PTA issued the following Operating Guidance on PTA Funds which can be downloaded below. There is also a letter from National PTA's attorney on the matter. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, PTA is an independent association designated by its unique IRS Employee Identification Number (EIN) and governed by its Board of Directors and membership. It is required to uphold a Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, and Duty of Obedience to the local PTA, Louisiana PTA, and National PTA. Its priority and legal obligation with the IRS are to further the mission of PTA. All local PTAs fall under the Louisiana PTA tax umbrella. The IRS does not classify PTA as an educational organization but as a civic organization with the primary activity listed with the IRS as "Parent Teacher and Student Advocacy." If any of these components are not upheld, then the IRS has the authority to remove the nonprofit status and Louisiana PTA can revoke its charter. Commingling of private and public funds is forbidden by the IRS. This is cause for revocation of the nonprofit status and is considered tax fraud if educational and PTA funds are commingled. PTA funds belong to the members, and the general membership as a whole approves the proposed budget and utilization of those funds. The PTA Board of Directors is then responsible for the proper management of the PTA funds. A school official (a school employee with authority over teachers) may be on the Board of Directors although not on the Executive Committee as that presents the impression of having undue financial influence over the PTA’s spending. A school official may not be an authorized signer on the PTA accounts. A school employee, and not a school official, may have signing authority on a PTA account only if they are an elected officer of the PTA. The PTA checkbook resides with the PTA Treasurer. A minimum of three authorized bank signatories are required on the bank account with two of these being the President and the Treasurer. Bank statements are mailed to the PTA’s permanent address which is the school’s address or are printed electronically. All bank statements are reviewed and signed by a non-signatory as required by insurance providers. PTAs annually submit their Active Affiliation Report to LAPTA which includes documentation of IRS tax filing, LA Secretary of State annual filing, current Bylaws, approved budget, insurance declaration page, LAPTA training, and the PTA Audit Report. The audit of the previous year’s financial books is conducted by three or more people who are not authorized signatories. LAPTA reviews all documentation. If you have a question or concern that needs clarification, email LAPTA President, Kayla Pagel.
Learn the details about being the Treasurer by reviewing the Treasurer Toolkit, by downloading the Treasurer Training PowerPoint, and by watching the following videos. See the complete training schedule here for all classes. Download and complete the Proof of Training Certificate which is needed for the Active Affiliation report due October 27, 2023. All elected officers are required to complete 4 credits of training. Email any questions to Treasurer@LouisianaPTA.org.
2023 Active Affiliation Requirements Training
2022 Treasurer Training Course by Louisiana PTA
AIM - PTA Webinar
Treasurer Training
LAPTA Toolkit: Treasurer
Scroll through the PDF Viewer or download the entire Treasurer Toolkit as a Word File or PDF.
Index for Treasurer Toolkit:
45 Introduction
45 Responsibilities of the Treasurer
46 Treasurer’s Binder
46 MoneyMinder and CheddarUp
47 Principles of PTA Financial Management
48 Budget
49 Banking and E-Commerce Policy
52 Insurance and Bonding
53 Audit Committee and Report
54 Raising Money
54 Articles of Incorporation
54 Federal Taxes
56 State Sales Tax
57 Gifts to Schools
57 Reports
58 Record Keeping & Retention
58 Additional Resources
59 Active Affiliation
59 Retention Plan
60 Inventory Accountability Form
61 Treasurer’s Overview
62 Budget Approval Form
63 Sample Budgets and Comparison Reports
65 Year-End Financial Checklist
66 Deposit Form
67 Expense Form
68 Bylaws and Amendments Approval Form
69 Audit Report Form
70 Audit Procedures and Helpful Hints
71 Audit Worksheet
72 Sample Letter for NSF Check
73 Monetary Donation to a School or District
74 Equipment Purchased by a PTA for Its Use
75 General Donation Agreement
76 Passwords and Accounts Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Start Up Funds
All budgets must include a Startup Funds line item. This gives a maximum amount that may be spent BEFORE the General Membership approves the annual budget. There is no authorization to spend money beyond the amount in the Start Up Funds until the General Membership has approved the budget. It can be any reasonable amount for expenditures until the budget is approved. The first General Membership meeting of the year should be held as soon as possible, such as at Open House. The purchases that are made do not get entered into this line item but rather into their actual line item. You should enter your amount in the expense AND income columns so that there is a net of $0 on the budget. It really only acts as a place to designate the maximum amount pre-approved to spend before the budget is approved, and then it is never actually used. See all three of the following budget samples.
Carry Forward Balance
The carry forward balance is the amount of money at the start of the fiscal year (which is July 1). There are two ways to account for your carry forward balance on your budget.
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One way is to have the carry forward balance listed above the budget. MoneyMinder does this. The problem with MoneyMinder is that the starting balance cannot be changed once you set up your fiscal year. See Sample Budget #1 below.
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The second way to account for the carry forward balance is to make it a line item within the budget. If you do it this way, your starting balance is technically $0 and then the Carry Forward Balance line item is the actual money in the account on July 1. When you do the audit, you would use $0 as the starting balance. See Sample Budget #2.
Sample Budget #1
Sample Budget #2
Ending Balance
The ending balance is the amount of money the PTA will have at the end of the fiscal year (which is June 30). All money does not need to be spent at the end of the year. You at least need the amount in your Start Up Funds line item. There are two ways to account for the ending balance.
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If you choose Option 1 for the carry forward balance, then do not include an "Ending Balance" line item. See Sample Budget #1. MoneyMinder will have a final line that says, "Projected Ending Bank Balance if on budget" and the dollar amount.
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If you choose Option 2 for the carry forward balance, then you will add the "Ending Balance" line item. See Sample Budget #2. After you have your budget figured out, you will have a number under "Budget Net" in the Grand Total line. Take that amount and put it as an expense in the Ending Balance. This will leave $0 as the Budget Net in the Grand Total line. See the two sample budgets above.
Free Accounting Software
A free alternative software to MoneyMinder is the Wave Financial App. If you use it, email the LAPTA Treasurer to give us feedback on it.
A free alternative software to Microsoft Office is Libre Office. It allows you to read and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
