Teresa Rasnake Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Our local homeschool group is planning to start a co-op this fall offering classes once a week for grades k-12. No tuition will be charged but we will be collecting money to cover any expenses. We checked with a local bank about opening a checking account and was told we would have to have either an EIN or TIN (I don't remember which). If we do follow through and get a tax id number, then should we file for a non-profit status? It costs $400 to do this and we have zero funds. Also, we would like to hold some fund raisers to help families with expenses and maybe participate in the box tops program. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it vary by state? We live in Virginia. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if we get a tax id number does that mean we will have to file a tax return each year? Of course, :tongue_smilie: we don't want to do that! Thank you, Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjmakmom Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 The way we did it to get around all of that was to have parents write a check for supply fees for each class directly to the parent teaching the class. We each cash the checks for our own class, buy what we need and keep receipts. At the end of the semester, we have to either show enough receipts to cover the supply fee (I always spend more than I get from parents) or return the leftover money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Get Carol Topp's book. Seriously. Very helpful in terms of finances, planning, etc. If you want to open a checking account as an organization you will need an EIN, but I wouldn't recommend going full-out non-profit unless you are a large group and expect to have an income (meaning any funds going into the group account--even if they go right back out again) of more than $5,000. This is the cut-off point where you will have to pay taxes if you are not a non-profit. Get the Carol Topp book. She's a CPA who has also coordinated co-ops and she knows what she's talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Our local homeschool group is planning to start a co-op this fall offering classes once a week for grades k-12. No tuition will be charged but we will be collecting money to cover any expenses. We checked with a local bank about opening a checking account and was told we would have to have either an EIN or TIN (I don't remember which). If we do follow through and get a tax id number, then should we file for a non-profit status? It costs $400 to do this and we have zero funds. Also, we would like to hold some fund raisers to help families with expenses and maybe participate in the box tops program. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it vary by state? We live in Virginia. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if we get a tax id number does that mean we will have to file a tax return each year? Of course, :tongue_smilie: we don't want to do that! Thank you, Teresa I'm not a tax specialist and I don't play one on TV :D but many groups get a tax I.D. number for just the same reason you're considering it. I've done it several times. You can file for non-profit status if you want, but the only advantage is that you don't have to pay sales tax, and people can make tax-deductable donations. It's probably overkill for your purposes. And no, you don't have to file a tax return every year. You might also have to file a DBA (Doing Business As) in the name of your co-op. The process varies from state to state. Some banks will open an account in the business name with just the tax I.D. #, some will want a DBA. There's another kind of business...LLC (? I think that's it). This protects all individuals involved with the "business" in case of any kerflufflels--lawsuits or what have you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Get Carol Topp's book. Seriously. Very helpful in terms of finances, planning, etc. If you want to open a checking account as an organization you will need an EIN, but I wouldn't recommend going full-out non-profit unless you are a large group and expect to have an income (meaning any funds going into the group account--even if they go right back out again) of more than $5,000. This is the cut-off point where you will have to pay taxes if you are not a non-profit. Get the Carol Topp book. She's a CPA who has also coordinated co-ops and she knows what she's talking about. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Rasnake Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Thank you for all of your suggestions. We did get the Carol Topp book and it is awesome! Our first informational meeting is coming up in one week, so we are very excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Our local homeschool group is planning to start a co-op this fall offering classes once a week for grades k-12. No tuition will be charged but we will be collecting money to cover any expenses. We checked with a local bank about opening a checking account and was told we would have to have either an EIN or TIN (I don't remember which). If we do follow through and get a tax id number, then should we file for a non-profit status? It costs $400 to do this and we have zero funds. Also, we would like to hold some fund raisers to help families with expenses and maybe participate in the box tops program. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it vary by state? We live in Virginia. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if we get a tax id number does that mean we will have to file a tax return each year? Of course, :tongue_smilie: we don't want to do that! Thank you, Teresa In our co-op, every parent teaches or co-teaches something. We just write checks directly to the teacher of each class and she/he determines the fees for that class. Some classes collect once for the year and some collect each semester. A lot of checks get exchanged twice a year, but it really does keep it simple. The class I taught was $30 for the year. You can expect to pay more for art or science classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetsouthern Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 both states that i have lived in and participated in co-ops, have been large ones. we simply wrote a check to one of the designated members of the board to avoid the whole tax issues. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.